THIRTY SIX THOUSAND BOTTLES OF GRAND CRU

Living amongst the Bergerac vines we thought it was time to discover some of the better known and more expensive Bordeaux wines.

The Bordeaux tourist office organises all sorts of different visits to many of the 10,000 châteaux in the area. We plumbed for a morning tour of two châteaux near St Emilion – Le Vieux Maillet which produces the renowned Pomerol and Château Ferrand owned by the Bic family (of Bic pen fame) and which produces a fine St Emillion Grand Crus.

Before embarking on this guided tour we decided to stay close to Bordeaux at Libourne in a small hotel called L'Hotel de France. The hotel had been a former Relais de Post ( a coaching Inn) and it had a certain old world charm but our room, which gave onto a busy road, was small, dark and uncomfortable.

In the reception area I noticed a group of Chinese sitting at a low table littered with bottles of half empty wine. To my surprise, on asking them whether they were here to buy wine, they asked whether I would like to taste the wines they had chosen to market back in China. Their guide and interpreter was a Chinese lady called Fanny Antoine who had a commercial wine business in Libourne.

“Please come a sit with us and try our wines. Taste this one first. It's a 2004 Château Grangere Grand Crus St Emillion,” she said

Explaining that I was no expert but was here as a tourist, I tentatively took a sip.

“What do you think? Go on drink some more,” she said filling my glass.

It was without doubt the best red wine I had ever tasted. Smooth, full bodied, slightly sharp but, by the same token, rounded and mellow. I told her so.

“Yes. Very good. I agree,” she said.

“Good , yes, you like? Have some more,” the Chinese buyers chimed in unison.

This was becoming a bit embarrassing as I had nothing to offer in return. I resorted to congratulating them on finding such a good wine asking whether they were exporting this to China.

“You want to know the price we bought this Château Grangere?” asked one.

“ The price is fifteen Euros a bottle. But you wouldn't get this price in the shops. I did a deal with the château because my clients bought several thousand bottles. They have bought two crates for shipment to China.” said Fanny

“How much wine do you get in two crates?” I asked,

“Thirty six thousand bottles,” she said

.

According to Xan, who appeared to be the leader of the group, this huge sum would be divided into approximately a third Grand Crus St Emilion, a third Pymorol and a third Grand Crus Pauliac.

The Chateau Grangere St Emilion was expected to be sold in China for a the equivalent of £40 a bottle, the Pomorol 2005 purchased for 19 Euros a bottle for £60 and the 2009 Pauillac for in excess of £100 a bottle

“What about the rumour that the Chinese mix this expensive wine with coca cola?” I asked

“Yes that was before our people became more educated about wine . They mixed their wines with Fanta. That's because the Chinese have a sweet tooth,” he said

The Chinese buyers were off early to Paris the next morning and we set out for the Bordeaux Tourist Office to join our tour.

There were seven of us plus our guide, Sybil. There was a couple from Argentina and another couple from Brazil and a young Chinese girl who drank for China.

On our way to St. Emilion Sybil gave us a running commentary.

She told us that there were 10,000 Châteaux in the Bordeaux area with 57 different appellations. St Emilion, she said, covered 5,400 hectares. There were 70 Châteaux each one with approximately 7 hectares and 95% family owned..

In the 8^th century a monk named Emilion from Brittany chose to withdraw from the world in a place called Ascumbas (the town's original name). Emilion evangelised the local population and created what became a major monastic centre that his followers named after him.

The jurade of Saint Emilion, the appellations vinous brotherhood, can trace its roots back to a royal charter issued in 1199 by John Lackland, King of England. In exchange for these rights, England was granted the “privilege des Vins de Saint Emilion” This meant that that English merchants had priority over everyone else with regard to buying the wines of St Emilion

The Romans started growing wine there 2000 years ago but, according to Sybil, it wasn't very good because they mixed wine with salt water.

The first vineyard we visited was Château de Ferrand, a miniature version of Versailles, owned by the Bic family since 1978. This Grand Crus St Emilion is made up of 75% Merlot, 15% Cabinet Franc and 10% Merlot. soil is clay and limestone and the yield is 49 hectare litres for 1 hectare. They produce 18000 bottles a year and 10 vintages. We tasted a 2004 Grand Crus which I found had a slight Tanin taste.

The second vineyard, Château Vieux Maillet, was in the tiny Pomerol sector whose gravel, sand and clay soils produce a red wine distinctly different from its St Emilion neighbours. We tasted a 2004 which was rich and smooth priced at 32 Euros a bottle. Just up the road from Château Vieux Maillet our guide pointed out a Château producing the fabulously expensive Petrus wine. A bottle of 1947 Grand Crus sells for 10,000 Euros. A 2009 vintage goes for less – a mere 3000 Euros.

A GRUESOME ENGLISH MURDER

Our neighbour in Les Mayets, Bernard was the first to tell me that an Englishman, who lived in a village only a few miles from us, had been found dead at his house.

That was three years ago in June 2009

He had apparently been murdered by another British national who had been staying with the deceased and there had been a heated argument.

Sure enough, the local regional newspaper, Sud Ouest carried a story in the Monday edition (June 30 2009) about the incident on its front page. Peter Fuller, aged 67, had died on Saturday night or early Sunday morning and his body was discovered by his ex-wife on Sunday at midday. He had suffered head wounds which were thought to be caused by a blunt instrument.

Fuller lived alone in a large house near Plaisance but for the last three weeks he had a young Englishman lodging with him who is said to be in his 30s. When the Gendarmes arrived at the scene the man had disappeared. The Sud Ouest reported that the man, who has not been named but who is the prime suspect in the murder case, boarded a plane at Bordeaux airport bound for London where he was detained by the British police.

Two of Fuller’s cars were missing. One, which had broken down or been involved in an accident, had been found abandoned near Fuller’s house. The other had apparently been used by the assailant to get to Bordeaux.

Formerly employed in the oil industry Fuller had been building an 18-hole golf course but was short of money and, to make ends meet, had started a restaurant selling English roasts and fish and chips.

On July 1^st 2009 the “SudOuest” reported that the suspected assailant of the retired English entrepreneur, Peter Fuller was Neil Andrew Ludlam aged 30. He could be sent back to France on the recommendation of English magistrates under “un mandate d’arret European”.

The body of Fuller was found by his ex-wife last Sunday morning at what was described as a “scene d’horreur”. He had been hit several times over the head with a blunt instrument.

According to French police Fuller was found face down in a sea of blood “une mare de sang”. There was evidence of a fierce fight. Furniture was turned upside down in the living room, the kitchen and in the dining room near the bar where empty bottles of alcohol and glasses were found. There were traces of blood on the walls and on the furniture.

Ludlam, who had been staying with Fuller, is reported to have fled the scene in one of Fuller’s cars. He was arrested by the British police at Luton airport when the aircraft he boarded in Bordeaux landed. He is reported to have had a large sum of cash on him.

One of the other unsolved mysteries is reported to be the theft of two cars stolen from Wheeler’s house. One was a red AX Citroen found crashed 12 kilometres from the scene of the crime. The other was a Mercedes coupe which has not yet been traced. The police have not been able to confirm whether this was the car Ludlam used to drive to Bordeaux airport.

It is also not known whether anyone else was involved in Peter Fuller's murder.

However “SudOuest” reported that this affair had created a degree of turmoil - “emoi” - in the British community living in the Dordogne.

Ludlam languished in a French jail for three years until he was finally found guilty of murdering his expatriate employer. He was sentenced by the Perigeux Tribunal de Justice to 18 years in prison for “stabbing and battering to death Peter Fuller in a drunken attack.”

The court heard that Mr. Fuller, 67, a retired Total oil engineer, was found face down in a pool of blood with cracked ribs, 59 injuries and seven stab wounds, including a punctured lung.

The Daily Telegraph carried the story of the trial on Saturday June 2. Ludlam is reported to have received well below the maximum 30-year term for murder after Charles Charollais, the prosecuting judge in Perigeux, argued that he had shown remorse and accepted responsibility for his crime.