Saturday 5th October 2013
Today I met up by chance with Steve, a recent house purchaser in Civray, and his two friends, Simon and Craig, who were all on their way to a wine tasting at a vineyard up near Poitiers. They invited me to tag along and, seeing I was doing nothing, I agreed.The vineyard was named Manoir de Lavauguyot and was located near the small village of Marigny - Brizay.
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| Manoir de Lavauguyot |
This vineyard has been growing in importance in the Haut Poitou and is the business of Frédéric Brochet : a native of the region. It has grown from a mere 1,5 hectare to 75 hectares over the last 20 years, and has a production split into three "brands". Ampelidae; the upper cuvées, Marigny Neuf; the mainstream but constant-quality series, and Brochet; 3 cuvées meant to express the particular character of Sauvignon through particular batches. More than half of of the vineyard surface is planted with Sauvignon, including the rare Fié Gris which is a variant of Sauvignon.
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| The Vineyard |
Frédéric Brochet has family roots in the village as I said, his father and grandparents had a small vineyard along with other family properties near Marigny-Brizay for many years but it is only since 1995 that things have developed to what can be seen today.
We had a little difficulty locating the vineyard itself as the signing was not always clear. It was only after stopping off at the village bar and asking for directions that we finally found ourselves at our goal. Frédéric himself left us in the more than capable hands of Didier, his right-hand man, who invited us into a very pleasant shop and bar for an introduction to the history of the vineyards (there are two - the bigger of which is at nearby Les Roches, where the actual wine is produced.)
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| The Range Of Wines Are Introduced |
The vendange was in full swing and it was a very busy time - too busy for a tour of the production facilities at Les Roches. We were, however, given an informative presentation of the wines produced and, of course, an opportunity for some wine tasting at Marigny- Brizay.
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| A Wee Tasting |
Steve and the others were intent on taking some of the fine wines back with them to England, so I sat out in the sun while they finalised their respective orders. When all was sorted, we then took a wee walk about the vineyard among the vines themselves, tasting some of the grapes as we went.
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| Lovely Sweet Grapes |
As I said, the vendange was in full swing and there were folk out busy picking the grapes which were then being taken away for the next production stage at Les Roches.
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| Back-Breaking Work |
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| The Purpose Of The Vendange |
Altogether, it was a most interesting and enjoyable day out, and in brilliant sunshine, we thanked our hosts and made our way back home to Civray. The next day Steve, Simon and Craig would be going back to England with their purchases to remind them of their holiday for some time to come.... if they could restrain themselves that is!
