Deux-Pieds
Adopting vines in the Languedoc
Why here?
It was Napoleon Bonaparte’s fault of course. His armies were fuelled by oceans of cheap wine and someone had to make it. Guess who?
Years later, though, when the
Thankfully, times have changed. New vines, new ideas and new viticulteurs like Hans and Christa have established dozens of ambitious and serious vineyards in the area. These days their wines are causing quite a furore around the best spittoons.
Domaine Bourdic is not a grand marque. Not yet. What it does do is produce good wines, mostly red, that are distinct and full without needing to be carved with a knife. The wines are tenderly-made and lovely to drink.
When chums who have been to stay in this part
of
Home is a heaviness of red earth baked by long, hot summers. Home is the sharp, salt-flint of fossilised oyster shells which emerge from the soil and insist on reminding us that this was a sea-bed once upon a time. There is a fragrance of olive, cherry, quince and figs from the wild trees that grow on the margins of the vineyard. You sense the painted colours of the wildflowers that carpet the soil, free from the pesticides that might otherwise see them off. You can hear the crickets singing and see the pastis clouding.
It’s what home is. It’s what home smells like. It’s what you know when you pull the cork.
