Out in Bordeaux last Friday with my mate Chris, we noticed a sign for Lillet, the aperitif made from a blend of wine fruit liqueurs somewhere south of Bordeaux. Lillet has come to prominence of late due to being featured in the last James Bond film, Casino Royale (and, of course, Ian Fleming’s original book). Bond adds it as an ingredient when explaining how he’d like his vodka martini…half a part Lillet, three parts gin, one part vodka, five ice cubes and a twist of lemon. At least that’s how it’s described on the rather sweet Lillet website (though turn the music off).
I read somewhere soon after the Bond film was released that Lillet had experienced a - probably predictably – huge increase in interest and demand. On the one hand I was delighted. Lillet was featured in the film purely because it had also been mentioned in Fleming’s original book, not because, like so many other brands, it had paid millions of dollars to the producers. On the other hand, I wondered if it would be able to cope with the increase in demand. Reading the website, Lillet takes between 6 and 12 months to mature…it’s not like they could simply turn on a tap and get some more. I’m sure they weren’t grumbling, though.
Neither Chris nor I had ever tried any so, when we saw it on the wine list of the bistro in which we landed, thought we’d give it a go. There are two types – red and white – so we had one of each. Nice, we thought, but not particularly special. The white was very similar to a Bordeaux dessert wine and the red, as Chris pointed out, had a definite sense of mulled wine. We both concluded that it was probably best used – as by Bond – to add a touch of flavour and perhaps sweetness to a cocktail.
Leaving Bordeaux on the way to Pau the following morning, we decided to steer clear of the autoroutes and stick to minor roads. Glancing at a map in a newsagent’s (which, on reflection, probably should have been purchased) we saw that there was a direct and very straight route south from Langon to Pau – some 180km. Navigating by memory alone, we found the road and headed through the enormous vineyards of the the Graves. We became slightly uncertain that we were on the right road just as we entered a small town called Podensac; coincidentally the home of Lillet. We didn’t stop, but did pass the very small but very sweet Lillet distillery. Actually that’s a lie. We did stop – to look for a map! When I couldn’t find one we changed direction, nipped back to the autoroute and then a few kilometres further down rediscovered the right road.
Staying on the correct road on the return journey was much simpler, and it turned out that those kilometres we missed on the way down were quite important, featuring, as they did, the villages of Barsac and the much better-known Sauternes. The reason for Lillet having similarities to a dessert wine were becoming clear…
It was a real bonus for me to pass through these two little villages, the epicentre of the sweet wine world. Sauternes, as I say, is the more famous. It’s home to one of the best-known wines (sweet or otherwise) in the world: Chateau d’Yquem. The Oz Clarke Bordeaux book tells me that, whereas most vineyards work on an average of one bottle of wine from each vine, Chateau d’Yquem is so rigorous about quality that it works on one glass of wine per vine…and has been known not to produce any in lesser vintages (the last time in 1992).
The greater fame of Sauternes is reflected in the village – it’s a lovely little place, very clean with some beautiful houses. Once you pass over the Ciron river – critical to creating the conditions that allow for the production of such sweet wines – and into Barsac, you’re conscious that it doesn’t attract the same attention (and prices) as its illustrious neighbour. It’s a little scruffier…
It’s a shame that it loses out to Sauternes, however, as some of its wines are supposed to be on a par. Ever the fan of the underdog, I shall be searching out some Barsac to try in the next few weeks.
June 13, 2007 at 8:57 pm
Pinny,
Felt a bit Lillet-livered after our Pau raid. Have now finished Oz’s very entertaining Bordeaux book – I guess all the unsold sweet stuff around Barsac and Sauterne ends up in the Lillet vats?
Hot on the heels of the decanting challenge, I’ve got another one to try. Curries usually taste better the day after, lime putty mortar is best knocked up the day after – but does a bottle of red taste better on the second day?
This next bit might get censored – it refers to a New World wine. To accompany the Canadian GP, I had the bright idea to open a bottle of Ringbolt from Margaret Valley where our old crims ended up (a 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon).It went down as well as Lewis Hamilton in a Tapas bar, so I returned to it on a school night. In 24 hours it was transformed. From an ugly duck-curry to a beautiful box of pencil shavings. Have you ever had the misfortune to try the 24 hour taste test?
Beau regards,
Chris
June 13, 2007 at 9:11 pm
Hello chum!
Funnily enough, another book that I’m slowly ploughing my way through at the moment (and to be honest it’s quite hard going) is Hugh Johnson’s “Wine: a life uncorked.”
I forget the exact phraseology, but in it he does talk about how a wine opened the night before can actually improve the following day, so there’s something in it. It will certainly change…whether for good or bad.
He actually writes something like, “a wine that challenged you with its erudite questions the evening before can be nothing but a sweet and playful child the following morning” which tells you all you need to know about (a) Johnson’s prose and (b) the old soak’s drinkig habits.
The wife and I are off to Cap Ferret tomorrow – I’m hoping to pop into the St Medard Leclerc on the way back if she’ll allow it. So I’ll probably have my hopes dashed.
Had a result the other day, though. Some giters managed to spill red wine up one of the walls in the new gite (they were the first residents). It came off a treat, but I didn’t tell them that and they turned up later that day with a nice ’99 Cap de Mourlin St-Emilion Grand Cru Classe to say sorry. Bless ‘em!
The Oz book’s useful, isn’t it? I just swatted a mosquito with mine.
June 14, 2007 at 5:34 pm
You can squash a load of slugs with the World Atlas of Wine. Mr Johnson’s style is a bit academic. I’m still only halfway through his history of wine and don’t expect to finish it anytime soon. I like the image of his early morning drinking though. Tasting note: A First Growth tends to overpower the muesli, but an open bottle of Chateau de L’Hospital goes well with last night’s curry…
The giters’ penalty bottle sounds like a very fair house rule to introduce. If that’s what they bought you, what the hell were they splashing on the walls?
Have a lovely weekend with your ferret headgear.
Chris