After far too much lunch under a spreading cypress tree we move on to my very first Châteauneuf supplier; Château de Nalys.
This was once the estate of the great Docteur Dufays, town's doctor, founder of L’ Eschansonnerie des Papes and a man I still remember best for his long discourse on how a wine merchant should behave, given to me in a nightclub after the very first Bordeaux Wine Fair in 1970.
There was a bunch of medal-winning wine growers there from every corner of France, who had formed a group to promote their wines. The Docteur was not their official leader but he was the one they all looked up to. They loved his wisdom … and wit. Especially as he would keep ordering bottles of Dom Pérignon. Great man. But then his only son died tragically and soon he too. So the estate was bought in '79 by the GROUPAMA Insurance group.
That
rather put me off buying the wine, which was a mistake because the
estate had – and still has Pierre Pellissier as winemaker . He has
always revered the great Docteur - who, learned man that he was,
introduced a lot of revolutionary ideas to Châteauneuf and Rhône Valley
winemaking.
He was, along with André Roux, the worlds great exponent of maceration carbonique (whole bunch fermentation) a terrific way of giving wines a dancing, cheerful lightness whilst (contrary to the opinions of most playsafe oenologists) taking nothing away from the wine's wines ability to age gracefully. (I still have bottles from the '80's drinking beautifully). Pierre agrees with me. And increasingly so, these days, do many keen young winemakers.
Anyway, we've been buying Nalys wines for many years and many customers adore them. The Docteur lives on in his wines.
We found we were booked in at a lovely hotel called Hostellerie du Chateau des Fine Roches; a turreted castle on hill. Lovely terrace. Pool. Wasted on us, as usual, because we only check in to check out.
This was once the estate of the great Docteur Dufays, town's doctor, founder of L’ Eschansonnerie des Papes and a man I still remember best for his long discourse on how a wine merchant should behave, given to me in a nightclub after the very first Bordeaux Wine Fair in 1970.
There was a bunch of medal-winning wine growers there from every corner of France, who had formed a group to promote their wines. The Docteur was not their official leader but he was the one they all looked up to. They loved his wisdom … and wit. Especially as he would keep ordering bottles of Dom Pérignon. Great man. But then his only son died tragically and soon he too. So the estate was bought in '79 by the GROUPAMA Insurance group.
 |
| Winemaker Pierre Pellessiere |
He was, along with André Roux, the worlds great exponent of maceration carbonique (whole bunch fermentation) a terrific way of giving wines a dancing, cheerful lightness whilst (contrary to the opinions of most playsafe oenologists) taking nothing away from the wine's wines ability to age gracefully. (I still have bottles from the '80's drinking beautifully). Pierre agrees with me. And increasingly so, these days, do many keen young winemakers.
Anyway, we've been buying Nalys wines for many years and many customers adore them. The Docteur lives on in his wines.
We found we were booked in at a lovely hotel called Hostellerie du Chateau des Fine Roches; a turreted castle on hill. Lovely terrace. Pool. Wasted on us, as usual, because we only check in to check out.
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