Monday 6 September 2021
Lunch at Chateau Carbonneau
Sunday, a midi, we accompanied our friends, Kerrie and Graham to the picturesque village of Gensac, about a 15-minute drive from their home in Port-Saint-Foy-en-Ponchapt.
From Gensac, which is a stone's throw from the Dordogne River, we travelled about a kilometre east, turned off the road and drove down a gentle slope along an avenue of mature trees.
This was the magnificent 19th century Chateau Carbonneau.
We parked under a shady, exotic tree where dozens of weird, tennis-ball-looking fruit had dropped and were strewn on the ground.
With the Chateau's vineyards as a backdrop, two couples were seated under a giant conifer which I later found out was a Sequoia Gigantea, or a Californian Big Tree.
Kerrie and Graham had been to the Chateau before and knew the owner Jacquie, who showed us to a table in the cool shade of a stately chestnut tree.
What a magnificent site for an alfresco lunch.
Our lunch platter was a work of art and a gastronomic delight.
It consisted of charcuterie (cold meats), paté de compagne, two types of cheese, olives, crudites, fruit and dips. The accompanying bread was superb.
For pre-lunch drinks we had the house semillion bubbles, followed by a claret, a wine that sits between rosé and red and is served chilled... apparently this style is all the rage in France this summer. We continued with a bottle of Classique, the Chateau's vin pour tous les jours, a smooth and very enjoyable blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon with a dash of Malbec.
After lunch, I took a walk around the Chateau to admire and record its beauty.
The following shots were taken in the grounds.
There is a very warm and welcoming tea-room at Chateau Carbonneau, specialising in delicious scones, cakes and pastries. I particularly loved the spiral staircase.
There are five themed chambres d'hôtes and an exquisite conservatory.
After a satisfying lunch in such salubrious surroundings, we came away with a more convinced view (if indeed it needed re-inforcing) that retiring to France was the best decision all of us had ever made.
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Hi Tony. The fruit is called "osage orange" and is inedible. It was truly a wonderful day with perfect weather and the best of company. To be repeated.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mrs. Roberts, for the Osage Orange. Now, I know what was that tree I saw at Mount Vernon, the George Washington’s estate in Northern Virginia some fifty years ago!
DeleteHi Tony, I see you intersperse your English text with French words. Good. Soon you’ll be writing your posts in French!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you feel so much at home in my native country! Any idea of becoming French citizens? For that, would you need a minumum of fluency? Talking about that, be careful to remember accents in French. They’re very important, they could change the meaning of words and their pronunciation.
The appellation château is really pretentious. It is, at most, a maison de maître. Google images that and you’ll see it fits perfectly. Using château for that kind of building would be only, as it is here, if they are wine makers to enhance their product!
You’re right, Tony, about your lunch plater. It made me think of those 17th century Flemish natures mortes. I’m sure it was delicious, not the natures mortes, but the lunch!
I like the birds on the lawn and the angler in the pond, and I agree with you about the spiral staircase.
Tony, your photo of the chateau is deceptive, because it shows only a pavilion of the chateau which is much bigger and can be called a chateau then. LOL!
DeleteDear Charles-Henry, yes, I am definitely thinking of applying for French citizenship.
ReplyDeleteYou probably won’t lose your Australian citizenship.
DeleteI’ve been wondering if the big tree in photo #3 is a Wellingtonia aka Sequoiadendron giganteum or, simply, Sequoia? The trunk is enormous.
ReplyDeleteYes Charles-Henry, that is exactly what it is.
ReplyDelete