France trip, Oct 2009 - Bordeaux, behind the scene

Bordeaux is the home to the 5 Premier Cru wine, namely Château Latour, Château Lafite Rothschild, Château Margaux, Château Haut-Brion, Château Mouton-Rothschild .

After our tour around the Fifth growth Château du Tertre, the only way is up, right? So we decide to drive around Margaux and Pauillac in search of the First growth château.

But before that, someone started this:

It seems that SOMEONE just can't resist plucking bunches of plump grapes from the vine! Note: VL wasn't the plotter. She just took charge of the 'loot'

A beautiful château near Château Latour.

Following a certain someone's example, here are more photos of the crime in action at Latour:

In front of the famous tower of the Latour estate!

Then we moved onto Château Lafite-Rothschild. Lafite-Rothschild was placed at the top of the list of the premier grand cru and it has been consistently one of the most expensive wine producers in the world. A bottle of 1787 (once owned by Thomas Jefferson) also holds the record for being the most expensive bottle of wine in the world, after it went for USD$156,000 in 1985. The château surely produces enough to maintain its very fine grounds:

After all the obligatory posed photos, we went back to our shameless old ways again:



Last but not least, we visited Château Lafite-Rothschild, another one of the Rothschild estate:

This estate is actually much better organised. In front of the château, there is actually small plots of land that show the grapes by type. So we tried the grapes on each plot and selected (i.e. plucked) the ones that we liked.

It was certainly a group effort :-P

As if this isn't enough, you probably won't believe what happened next: we made face masks from the grape skins. SP was inspired by Caudalie brand and its very expensive Vinothérapie Spas. If we can't afford to go to the spa, why not do our own? It is all very easy:

Step 1: remove juice from grapes. Keep the grape skin and seed, both high in polyphenols--proanthocyanidin (PCO), a kind of anti-oxidant.

Step 2: create a relaxing spa environment with fluffy towers, pillows and soft music. For a more economical option, deck chairs and seat cushions will do.

Step 3: Apply the mask and wait 5 minutes. Make fun of your spa client in the mean time as she can't smile or move a muscle.

I felt fully rejuvenated after my spa treatment and I am sure my friends have a good laugh too :-P

So what happened to the juice, you may ask? Well, we weren't going to let the "First growth juice" go to waste.

The juice was left in the fridge to 'ferment' overnight and the boys actually drank it in the morning for breakfast. No tummy troubles were reported.

So that's it, we are jointly responsible for the reduced production of 3 of the 5 First growth château in 2010. But if you ever ask me about the grapes in person, I will absoluetly deny having done it!