From Troyes we travelled to Chablis. This is one of my favourite wines from France. We had a tasting and this just confirmed my view. There are 4 standards of chablis: petit chablis (from the top of the hills and this is the lowest standard), then chablis, premier cru and grand cru. We didn't get to taste the grand cru (naturally) but the premier cru was excellent: it's made from chardonnay but for God's sake don't think of Australian chardonnay because this is so different. It is minerally, flinty, has strong citrus (lemony) flavours. And the flavour lasts in your mouth for ever. I bought a half bottle of premier cru for lunch tomorrow but when tomorrow came I had a bread roll so I will keep it for later. I was looking around Dijon for a fromagerie but in vain. It will keep.
Chablis is really a very small towm (given the reputation of its wines) and only has about 50,000 hectares under vine.
After Chablis we travelled to Verzerlay whose claim to fame is that it has it houses the relics of Mary Magdaleine. The church was quite deceiving. It didn't look all that big from the outside but once inside it appeared huge and the colour of the stone and the light inside made it a place of grandeur. This is now in the Burgundy area and the countryside is rich and productive. Last night we had a typical Burgundian dinner of Eggs with a Dijonaise sauce, Beef Burgognon and pears poached in red wine. This was accompanied by a burgundy (what else!) which is made from pinot noir.
If I can get the blog to download some photos I'll show you some of the places.
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