Settled in on the couch for the 3 week telly cycling fest and in the spirit of the Provence sunshine, started of with a Le Chataignier 2006.
Dry stawberries, with something a little bit floral, sour cherries, a lick of liquorice and just a hint of Framboise. A light sweetish mouthful with a reasonably lightweight middle palate and surprisingly grippy tannins which seemed to softened off a couple more glasses in.
A blend of 30% Syrah, 30% Grenache, 30% Carignon and 10% Mouvedre
Quite pleasant, but nothing outstanding, somewhat similar to the Aussie team efforts in the first couple of days (apart from Mark Renshaw who's been doing a heroic job as Cav's leadout man)
Next up was a Valdemor Albarino 2005 from Galicia as the peleton has headed into Spain. Pretty bottle, but I wish I'd taken a closer look at the vintage when I bought it, as I suspect this one is past it. Damn that girl thing - always distracted by the style! The cork is suspiciously stained up the sides, suggesting this bottle has had a less than happy journey.
Some juicy tropical notes on the nose, but a bit sad & flabby in the mouth and not what I was expecting from a bottle in that price range. Pretty disapointing, and right up there with the Silence Lotto TTT efforts, and Dodger's crash.
Better pull something good out of the box tonight to make sure the news inproves as we head into the hills!