Menetou-Salon

Welcome to part 4, which is a little overdue. We now take the tour from the mighty city of Reims to the smaller commune of Epernay, the principal trading post for Champagne in the region and home to many of the oldest, most prestigious houses. The drive between the two iconic Champagne locations is a joy in itself. Straight through the middle of the national park, I think there was only a 10-minute stretch in a wooded area that you couldn’t see sweeping vineyards and various other recognisable…

Domaines Paul Jaboulet Aîné was founded in The Rhone Valley in 1834 in the town of Tain L'Hermitage by Antoine Jaboulet and his sons, Paul and Henry. In 1919 they acquired the very famous Saint-Christophe chapel at the top of the renowned Hermitage vineyard. You'll have likely seen this crop up in pictures of Rhone vineyards without realising it! With the death of Gerard Jaboulet in 1997, the house saw its fortunes fall as the family business fell into disarray and the wine went downhill. It was…

This has been a remarkably long time coming but the time to reminisce about two of the excellent Rhone Valley producers I visited in May 2024 has come. It was partly spurred by finding the Ferraton La Matinière Crozes-Hermitage on a restaurant menu recently, which was unfortunately out of stock! Still, at least you can get hold of it for a good price from retailers. But, the real thing you are here for, presumably, is the tour exploring Ferraton and Domaine Farge, the famous hills of Hermitage…