Spilt Wine

50. Disruptions in Gevrey

Loic arrived with photocopies of all the Domaine Ducroix holdings in Chambolle-Musigny. Then he went to the Morey mairie to get copies, returning with them before Jean-Paul arrived from Gevrey.

He was studying maps of scattered parcels with Catherine and me when Jean-Paul came in and said, "The woman I know in the cadastre office has been away from her desk for a week. The office is in a lot of confusion from the unexpected absence, and the fill-in staff is trying to catch up with a backlog and to sort things out. After my long wait, they told me to come back on Friday."

"Well, that can wait. There's no rush." Catherine shrugged. "We have the Chambolle and the Morey plots. You can start working at that end and by the time you're ready to move into the Chambertin parcels, they should have given us those plans."

Jean-Paul and Loic seemed excited to be working together as they tumbled ideas around on where to start and with what. Catherine gave them the flowchart Louis had compiled, and they decided to begin with an assessment walk-through at the southern end of the Chambolle vineyards.

When they returned toward the end of the afternoon, they both expressed how surprised they were to see that Louis had put as much care into the Premiers Crus vines as he had with those of the Grands Crus. They were even more amazed to find that the vineyards for the Village wines received the same care.

Catherine and I took them down to the cellars to show them the results of the care. We introduced them to Gerrard and Sophie and then took the four of them on a tasting tour to introduce them to the wines.

"Louis copied his father's opinion. Treat the vines well, they will do the same for you," I said. "This Chambolle-Musigny is nearly as good as the Bonnes-Mares from some producers."

"This is better than the stuff I had last month that was labelled Bonnes-Mares." Loic laughed. "A friend brought a bottle from Grotkopf to a ..." He paused and looked up at Catherine and me, "Not the best time or place to mention that name, is it?"

Catherine put up her hand. "No, that's okay. I think we can talk about that. His game is over now, and we're just waiting for the last pieces of his little empire to fall."

We continued the tasting, ending with the Clos de Bèze. As we nosed our glasses, I raised an arm and swept it around the cellar. "This is what Madame Ducroix is working to maintain."

Catherine looked at me and said, "What we – what all of us are working to maintain." Then turning to Jean-Paul and Loic, "Have you two finished your stroll through the Chambolle and Morey vineyards?"

"Almost, just some up at the tops here, Clos-de-la-Roche and above. We should be only two more hours – three at the most." Jean-Paul looked at Loic and added, "We'll finish it on Friday."

"Friday?" Catherine asked. "Have I missed a day again?"

"Tomorrow is 8 May, Victoire 1945, the commemorative of the end of the war," Jean-Paul replied, "It's a national holiday."

"But that was cancelled by de Gaulle in 1959, the year I started school. I remember my brother complaining he would miss a school holiday. He wrote a letter to the President telling him to think of all the sad school kids." She chuckled. "So innocent."

"Mitterrand restored it three or four years ago," I said.

"Guess I've been too busy to notice. Louis rarely took a day off."

Thursday 8 May 1986

Catherine and I spent a very quiet holiday, which began by relaxing in bed and telling each other stories from our pasts until we got hungry around mid-morning.