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Lockdown meant we did spend all our time in the vines and the vineyard is looking terrific. No wine tours yet so no-one can see how lovely it is.
we managed to do a bottling of 14,000 bottles so our 2018 red is maturing for six months before going on sale and our 2019 Blanc Sec is now available. May is wet and rainy mostly. the orchids are glorious and the hoopoes and nightingales are here and singing away. it is very bizarre with no visitors although people can and do drop by by appointment to stock up.
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 Taking a walk in the spring sunshine through our valley where the wild flowers, including snakes head fritillaries, make this a most romantic place
Now just a day trip away! many of our UK friends and regular customers have wanted to buy our wine at chateau gate prices without driving all the way to the Dordogne. Here it is. Further details on this website under 'More'.
In these hot summer days tasting cool wine in the deep shade of the lime tree is perfect. Our lovely customers are now tasting 2016 whites and rosé and all our 2015 reds including the award winning 'edition médaille'. Martin Walker has written the wonderful Bruno series and, through the eyes of the Chief of Police explores the region of Périgord. He has explored the wines of the region in depth and was interviewed by the wine critic of the New York Times Eric Asimov. We are thrilled to read the result in the Times today “It’s a deep pleasure knowing the guy who made the wine, to hear them talk about it,” Mr. Walker said. “The look of pride as they pour the wine, I adore that.” Among his favorites are Château Lestevenie, which makes an excellent Côte de Bergerac Rouge and a rich, waxy Bergerac blanc; Château de Tiregand — a favorite of Bruno’s — which makes superb, long-lived Pécharmants, a small appellation within the larger Bergerac region; Château de Jaubertie, whose white Cuvée Mirabelle is another favorite of Bruno’s; and Château Feely, which makes delicious wines from biodynamically grown grapes in Saussignac."   very proud to have won in this most competitive category. And the band at the celebration "In Vino Veritas" was great too.  We have just bottled our lovely 2016 wines and a very special 2015 red that has been matured in oak barrels and is really smooth and mellow now. The bottling plant comes to us - a massive trailer that unfolds into a mobile bottling line. After bottling and corking the wine is packed into wire crates. It will then rest for a while before we sell it. This year we bottled some magnums of the amazing 2015 red. Not that many, just fun for presents etc.
Chateau Lestevenie has suffered the same fate as hundreds of vineyards from St Emilion through Entre de Mer to Bergerac. A couple of nights of severe late frosts have devastated the vines whose shoots and buds had been encouraged to grow fast by the hot weather of the last month. It will now be a very challenging year with a lot of extra work....after walking round on an inspection I feel the need of a glass or two of wine! the photos below show how the vines lower down the slopes suffered far more than the vines up top   |
AuthorSue Temperley writes the Wine and Wildlife blog. Archives
May 2020
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