Day 45 - Rocks and Wine

It was a day of exploration. We left early and headed west, off the Saone and into the hills of southern Burgundy (and the Beaujolais border).

First stop was to find Roche de Solutre. 

From Wikipedia:

The Rock of Solutré (French: Roche de Solutré) is a limestone escarpment 8 km (5.0 mi) west of Mâcon, France, overlooking the commune of Solutré-Pouilly. It is an iconic site in the department of Saône-et-Loire, in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.

It was very hot and sunny, and the hills were a bit foreboding, but we managed as we were early in the day and had plenty of water. We got some spectacular views. 

And did some more climbing 

And then circled around the rock before heading to the Chateau. 

We took our picnic lunch and enjoyed some time in the shade on the grounds of Chateau Chasselas.  

We had a tour booked and we were thrilled to find ourselves the only ones there with a lovely bilingual guide Silvie. 

The oldest tower dates to the 14th century, the chateau was originally built in the 1800's. It fell into disrepair but was fully renovated in the 1970's. The current owners (since 1999) created a small winery with 12 hectares of vineyard, and have made it a beautiful wedding space, complete with helicopter landing pad, if you want to arrive in style. 

The back garden had kiwi growing, providing shade for wedding guests.  

We had a little walk in the vineyard and learned of the year round efforts to keep the grapes happy. These are chardonnay grapes, some older vines (they can live to be 80-100 years old) and some newer vines, which take at least three years to produce fruit. 

And the wine cellar. Beautifully cool under the chateau and surrounded by thick walls of stone. It was at least 15 degrees cooler in there, and always is. No AC required.  The barrels are all French oak and are replaced every three years. 

And then we were treated to a wonderful tasting and charcuterie, with Silvie providing all the background of each wine, year, varietal and appropriate pairing. 

Also, famous for a mention in a Monty Python skit (you tube).  

Tomorrow we will continue on our journey towards Lyon.  Today's stats, 1 meter short of 600 😉

Thank you for sharing our adventures. Please leave a comment and your name if you have time.