On a quiet Sunday morning we leave St-Emilion for the Medoc and our rendezvous at Chateau Clarke in Listrac, but first...

We have an appointment to see Chateau Monlot just outside St-Emilion.  It's on our way and it's reasonably famous, being one of the Grand Cru producers.

'Grand Cru' means, simply, 'lots of land on which to grow grapes'.  When there are many acres of grapevines the quality of the juice tends to get better.  This has an implication for the California wineries as well, since their holdings are typically huge by European standards.  It's not surprising that California produces such good wine.  The surprise is that they haven't pushed these smaller European vineyards into permanent second-class citizenship.  In the minds of some, this has already happened.

The wines of Ch.Monlot, however, admirably defend France's reputation for excellence.  We brought two bottles home.  We have been assured they will be at their peak on our 40th wedding anniversary.

Note the roses at the end of each row of vines.