A Day in the Countryside ~ October 4

A Day in the Countryside ~ October 4

Although our original plan was to drive to Arachon on the coast today, our hostess convinced us that with so little time in Bordeaux we should modify that plan, and after following her advice we are all grateful.  Instead, she made a reservation for us to do a tour and tasting at Chateau Bonhost.  What an absolute delight this was!  We pulled up to the Chateau and were greeted by Delphine, our hostess and guide for the morning.

First, a bit of history ... Château de Bonhoste was born around 1895, when the Buissiere family arrived at “Bonhoste”, located in the village of Saint Jean de Blaignac, where the Chabert family resided since the end of the XVIIIth century. Bernard Fourniere, grandson of Mrs. Bussiere, brought the two properties together in 1977.  Bernard and his wife, Colette, worked side by side to create this family winery.  In 2005, their children Sylvaine and Yannick Fournier, took over the business - the fifth generation to work the vines.  Yannick studied viticulture and oenology and takes care of the wine making side.  Sylvaine, who studied economics and business management, handles the marketing and sales side of the business.  Delphine assured us, however, that Bernard and Colette remain active in the day to day running of the business.  

I loved the creative use of wine barrels to make these chairs just outside the tasting room and offices.
One of three "winery dogs," Gabby, met us and traveled with us up to the wine-making room, where she promptly became enamored with a rabbit hiding in the shrubbery and ignored us for the rest of the visit.

Located at the 45 ° parallel, Bordeaux enjoys a temperate climate, favorable to the vine with winters with rare frosts, wet springs, hot summers, and sunny autumns.  Château de Bonhoste is located on a hillside facing Saint-Émilion, overlooking the Dordogne valley.  The 44 hectares of Château de Bonhoste are located on clay-limestone soil, with good drainage potential, it leaves the surplus water to flow in depth where it is not likely to asphyxiate the roots of the vines.

Our guide, Delphine

As Delphine drove us in a golf cart to the various buildings, Gabby, the vineyard dog (all vineyards seem to have at least ONE dog -- this one had three) followed along.

Delphine explained how the white wine is made - a relatively simple procedure in comparison to the process used to make the reds.  She explained that the red wine ferments and they pump the juice from the bottom up to the top to mix it well.

Next, she took us into the cave (the cellar), which was dug out of the limestone in the region more than 200 years ago.  The original reason for the excavation was to provide stone for Bordeaux houses.  Since 1986 the cellar has been used for aging the wine in both barrels and in bottles. The cave provides both a stable temperature and a humidity rate of 100% - perfect conditions for aging wine.

Here she described the aging process in the French oak barrels - at least 6 months for the red wines.  The barrels, she said, are only used for three years, and they cost 2,700 euros each!

After the tour, we settled into the tasting room, where we tasted many different wines - each one more unique than the one before it.  It was a very pleasant 

At the end of our extensive tasting, we ordered a case of wine - 7 bottles for the Bowles family and five for the Van Wagenens to be shipped home.  Delphine returned with a gift of three bottles -- 2 of Peter's favorites, and a bottle of the bubbly rose that I favored -- for us to take with us.

I think we were there for nearly three hours - a truly delightful morning!  From there, we headed back to Les Vendangeurs for lunch and a bit of a rest before heading out to our next excursion.

The afternoon took us to Abbaye de La Sauvre-Majeure.  According to Wikipedia, in 1079 Benedictine abbot Gerard de Corbie and a dozen monks and knights founded Notre-Dame de La Sauve-Majeure.  Its name refers to the Silva Major, the great forest that then occupied the whole region known as the Vignoble de l'Entre-Deux-Mers (the vineyard between two seas), a gift to Gerald from Duke William VIII of Aquitaine.  The abbey prospered and grew rapidly due to the support of the duke, the Pope, and a large number of generous benefactors and protectors - including the kings of England.  Sited on the route to Santiago de Compostela, it served as a local point of departure for pilgrims.  Upon his death, Abbot Gerald was buried there in 1095, and Pope Celestine III canonized him in 1197.

Although Grande-Sauve Abbey did not belong to the Cluniac Order, its monastic life was governed by the Rule of St. Benedict based on that of Cluny.  It was a rich and powerful house during the Middle Ages, possessing 51 priories, including at Burwell in England.  Eleanor of Aquitaine stayed there often.  It rivaled the urban center of Bordeaux in wealth and power. 

During the Hundred Years' War (1337 to 1453), the abbey suffered significant damage, the start of its continuing decline.  In 1665 a great storm caused severe damage to the roofs of the church, the dormitories, and the refectory, as well as to the bell tower, which collapsed at the end of the 17th century.  An earthquake seriously weakened the structure of the church in 1759.

During the French Revolution, the abbey's assets were confiscated and dispersed.  Surviving buildings were used as a prison starting in 1793.  Then, in 1809, the church roof fell in, and for the next forty years the remains were used as a quarry for the village of La Sauve.

A Jesuit college was built on the site in 1837 and later was converted into a teachers' training college.  Destroyed by a fire in 1910, the site was again abandoned.  Between 1914 and 1918 the remaining buildings were used as a small military hospital.

The French government acquired the site in 1960, and the ruins were made stable in order to open it to the public.

The Refectory

The refectory is where the monks assembled to eat their meals, in a spirit of equality and brotherhood.  Only the 13th-century south wall with three bays still stands. Its pink coloration is due to the 1910 fire in the Teacher Training College.  This refectory was composed of bays with ribbed vaulting. The staircase to the reader’s pulpit originally led straight down into the refectory.

The Cloister from a distance

The Cloister

The Chapter House

This is where the monks met, under the abbot’s authority, to hear the reading of a chapter from the rules of St. Benedict.  Here, they debated, took important decisions, and elected a new leader after the death or removal of the previous one. They also confessed their own sins and received their penances in the Chapter House.

I was fascinated by the "capitals" - a sort of sculpted "capstone" on each of the pillars.  I managed to capture some of the descriptions that I read in the guidebook for many of the capitals that I photographed.  A few of the more memorable are listed below.

One of the Capitals in the Chaple of Saint Nicholas
Daniel in the Lions' Den

For Christians, Daniel is a reminder of Christ.  His time in the lions’ den is compared to Christ’s descent to Hell after the Crucifixion.  Daniel triumphs over the lions, just as Jesus triumphs over Satan.

The Three Temptations of Christ

This capital has been damaged, most probably intentionally.  The face of each Christ has disappeared, but he can be identified by his halo marked with a cross.  For Christians the three temptations inflicted by Satan proved the divinity of Christ, who resists them.  

The three Temptations:  The temptation in the desert, the temptation on the mountain top, and the Temptation on the pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem

The Great Pinecone Capital

The fruits decorating this capital are either pine cones or bunches of grapes, which are both highly symbolic and close in meaning.  The pine cone symbolizes the resurrection. It can be seen notably int he pine cone atop the “font of Life” in the center of the atrium known as the “Garden of Paradise” in the Old Basilica of St. Peter in Rome. The cluster of grapes is a reference to Christ’s sacrifice, celebrated on the nearby altar during Eucharist.

Betty Lou and I try to decode the capitals - I'm using my trekking pole to make a point.

St. Peter's Church across the valley from the Abbaye ruins

Jeff climbed to the top of the bell tower and shot this picture of the valley

Another shot from the bell tower -- I am the white "dot"

The abbey is located in a charming village, so we took some shots as we walked back to the car.

What a wonderful way to end our time in Bordeaux!  We were all tired, but happy as we headed back once more to Les Vendangeurs.  We stopped in Branne to pick up a broccoli gratin for dinner, which we enjoyed along with some cheese and baguette slices and the red wine from this morning's tasting.