Their vineyards neighbour two truly great estates Chateau Larcis Ducasse and Chateau Pavie. The magnificent vintage of 2009 certainly puts this wine up there with the best and I will ensure the Chai barrel-ageing will make this an absolute cracker! 
Flowering has also finished here in St Emilion - patchy in places but looks healthy and the grapes can now be clearly seen, here we go again! With that done I am on the road heading south to blend and finalise the 2009 Viognier in Carcassone with my old friend Richard Osborne, chief winemaker at domaines Degrote. I have never seen, smelled or tasted varietal character like this for quite some time! Luckily all was blended and decided before the French lost and were eliminated from the World Cup as at the end of the day all the cellar staff were in foul moods. Cellar master Antonio is Portuguese so at least he was happy!
Off to the Herault tomorrow to get the new Cabernet de Canet then a quick stop to make sure the 2009 Champs d'Etoile is bottled perfectly before heading back to the Chai as the La Voute Chardonnay needs me. Is this what its like having lots of demanding children I begin to wonder?
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