Maison Des Bulliats

We have been in London for a short while to have a special family dinner.

The theme was Italian food. The best way to please alot of different tastes, is a first course of antipasti, delicious combinations of fish, salads, fruit and vegetables arranged decoratively on a large platter. 

Melon dressed in balsamic vinegar, lemon and a twist of ginger, wrapped with parma ham, prawns napped with a light mayonnaise, baby broad beans with crispy pancetta, tomatoes and home made basil pesto [so easy to make, and works with any herbs blended with parmesan cheese, olive oil and pine nuts or almonds] Herring and warm potato salad, wild rocket leaves…

I am growing some from seed in Beaujolais, slow to start but will be be there all summer for me to pick.

Roasted red peppers,that are divine with an oil and vinegar dressing. Black, succulent olives and powerful little capers bursting with flavour set the whole dish off and a piece of parma ham twisted into a ‘rose’ becomes the centre piece.

Our fine Regnie Beaujolais complimented the dish so well. No fighting of flavours or competition, just total harmony!

Little home made rolls in the shape of knots, so easy to make… I can tell you how if you would like me to.

Note the colour of the wine, deep red with violet tints, it has body and loads of character, you have to try it!

We visited the Bel Air Lycee,just outside Belleville. It was their open weekend when students have the opportunity to advertise the courses on offer here and show off wines made as a result of their studies in viticulture and vinification. The surrounding vines are the practical learning ground where all aspects of vine cultivation are taught. The Lycees all over France, running courses in viticulture, are represented here. We tasted several white, rose and red wines from many regions. The 2006 Beaujolais from Bel Air tasted of ripe bananas, the ubiquitous flavour that does not appeal to me. We asked the students what they had been taught about thermovinification. It seems that a blend of ‘thermo’ and ‘nonthermo’ is the common practice,still we struggle to understand why it is such a common practice,what are the advantages and disadvantages? If the grapes are heated,usually to a temperature of between 60 and 70 degrees centigrade, more colour is extracted from the skins of the fruit and the wine will have a deeper, more vivid hue. The fruity flavours are initially more powerful, the ‘cassis’ or blackcurrant taste being the most predominant. The down side is that firstly the floral flavours tend to be lost,and secondly the wine will not keep its robust flavour for longer than a year. A high price in my view for deep colour and cassis taste! I think the ripe banana flavour is more to do with the type of yeast used rather than,as I first thought,this thermo treatment…. WE continue to learn the intricacies of this fascinating art.

The Western world has in the last several months woken up to the fact of climate change. Virtually every man and woman on the street has taken up the ‘green cause’, although frequently in denial as to just what personal sacrifices are called for if we are really going to reduce global warming. Experts are resigned to the fact that the best we can do is to stabilise emissions. At this point, I would like to mention that the treatment of French vines and wine is strictly controlled, which means that on the whole they are most natural in the world. But more about that later. What I want to offer here are some comments on ‘sustainable motoring’. In Beaujolais, our transport is an ageing Land Rover. We would prefer communal transport, but in a rural area, complicated by running our wine business, this is just not realistic. In London, 4×4’s are generally known as ‘Chelsea tractors’. They are increasingly targeted by the green element, especially when used on school runs. Our Land Rover is in its 22nd year. The 2007 design is little changed. On the whole it is mechanically simple and I am normally able to effect repairs without sophisticated equipment. The result is that it has been kept going all this time. Many are those who like to acquire a new vehicle every couple of years, especially if it exhibits some new gimmick or image. This is great for a capitalistic economy, but think of the energy requirement, and so the CO2 footprint, of building a new vehicle with all that steel, plastic, glass and rubber plus the machining and fabrication. I have to admit that I have not yet calculated a kilowatt-hour figure, maybe someone out there has, but as an engineer I know that it will be large. We cannot shut down the bulk of the car industry at a stroke; the social implications are unacceptable. And I am not suggesting Land Rovers for all, that is clearly ridiculous. I am using our situation only as a means to transmit the concept of ‘sustainable motoring’. We need purpose-designed sustainable vehicles. Additionally, our Land Rover happens to be diesel powered. Basic thermodynamics says that this is the green option. This is simply because the diesel operates at a higher compression ratio than is possible with the petrol (gasoline) engine and consequently the diesel engine thermal efficiency is greater. Not so long ago Tony Blair, as an example, argued in favour of the petrol engine because the diesel is polluting. The cynic would say that he did this so that he would be justified in introducing another stealth tax, diesel fuel in the UK is now more expensive than petrol even though it is cheaper and more energy efficient to produce. It is true that the unfettered traditional diesel produces oxides of nitrogen and particulates in quantities no longer acceptable, but modern clean-up technology has eliminated this problem. And the diesel is to be preferred for the new ‘hybrid technology,’ where, in its purist form, the powerplant is constrained to run at the speed (rprm) at which it exhibits its best fuel consumption.

Thank you to John O’Garra for you kind words about the wine.  We really appreciate it and are looking forward to being able to take this wine to a much wider audience.

Congratulations Fred and Hélene on your entry into the world of the viticulteurs.

As a local resident I can vouch for the integrity of your wines and the seductive parfum of your 2005 vintage. I tasted a bottle or two of your 2006 just last week and I think that it is a very promising and fruity wine.

Its the kind of wine which can be drunk with friends in all kinds of animated social gatherings and yet . …it goes so well with saucisson or a nub of goat’s cheese for a light snack.

It has also the depth of colour which shows it to be an ideal accompaniment for a nice steak or farm chicken. I must say that I don’t think your wines will stay “our Beaujolais secret” for very long.

When other amateurs enjoy it as we do then it will become even more internationally famous.

Very best wishes for your production, John O’Garra