A visit to Pomerol

Christian Moueix is the same age as me (67) and we first met in '67.  I was writing my Geography 'Dissertation' and I'd been told if I wanted to see a good Negociant-Eleveur then Etablissements J-P Moueix were the best. They still are.

Where are all the countless other Negociants whose Chais once lined the Quais of Bordeaux? Where are all the famous 'Maisons' who built the fame of Bordeaux? ('Cos it wasn't the Châteaux who did that. They reaped the rewards.)

All are gone. Or changed beyond recognition. Whereas J-P M are still there on the Quai du Priorat in Libourne. Almost unchanged. Still buying young wines to 'éleve', to blend and bottle. We buy a lot. You cannot get a better generic Pomerol than theirs. Well, there's no Wine Co-op in Pomerol and Moueix owns, or have under contract, most of the best Châteaux. And they don't do Second Labels so all the young vine stuff etc goes into Christian's Pomerol Cuvée.

The extent of the holdings of the two branches of the family is unknown. But my belief is that it is more than anyone can possibly imagine. And all started by Grandfather J-P coming down from Correze on his bike in the bleak days after the War. Tough business people, but there is not a more hard-working, professional and likeable family in wine.

We looked in at a few Pomerol places. They'd all finished, all pumping over what looked to us like good, richly-coloured wine. But just very little of it. Last year was not big. This year is tiny. But they didn't really get hail damage. And anyway, here they can afford the kit that ensures they only make wine with the perfect berries which will always occur in every vintage. So don't be surprised if, despite all the woes of '13 there aren't nice wines on show next spring. 

Here and elsewhere the surplus wines of earlier vintages will soon all be gone. I wouldn't therefore expect any drops in price. Quite the opposite.

At the beautiful new La Fleur-Pétrus cellars we tasted everything we have on reserve. All good. Very good. Pascal was there. Runs the cellar. Son of Bernadette and Guy, brother to Olivier our farmer. I've know him since he was a tiny lad helping in our vineyard, so we greeted each other with the full French cheek-kissing thing. Which I think rather surprised my boy Tom!

Harvest Lunch of vegetable soup, beetroot salad, roast chicken, cheese and chocolate cake in the 'canteen' at Pétrus with the Moueix family and all their workers.  They drink a 'Harvest Wine' in unlabelled bottles which would score high in any tasting!

Tom had to fly home to see his chum Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen about his wine and classical music show, Sunday. Jean-Marc, Mark and I went to Le Comptoir de St Genes to try Remy's Autumn menu  with Elsa Lejeune (who last week was in Marlow helping her Dad install Henry's shiny new tanks which will be baptised any day now. The Lejeune's in St Magne right next to our village are known throughout the entire wine world for their amazing stainless steel tanks. Works of art really … masquerading as fermenters).  

Happy to see the Comptoir as buzzy as ever. Shook quite a few black-stained, horny, scarred old hands. Exhausted winemakers still with the energy to stagger in here, late at night, to eat huge chunks of meat with copious quantities of their wines. Sometimes too copious. 'EPL' we call it in the trade: Excessive Product Loyalty! Every trade has its risks.