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We are now getting some of the weather that the UK has been suffering with while we've been enjoying warm, dry days. The wind is strong with frequent bursts of rain as we drive into E.Leclerc in Ruffec to refill the gas tank. Last year Ali refilled on her own for the first time at this place and had a few snags getting it to go smoothly. This time she gets it connected, pumped and disconnected easily and doesn't even have to argue with the cashier for short changing her.
Once we get on the dual carriageway the rain and wind make driving unpleasant. We circulate around Poitiers then join the D347 single carriageway towards Loudon and here it goes from unpleasant to downright nasty. The road is straight but totally exposed over a flat plain. We are heading north and there is a westerly gale with violent gusts. Steering against the wind is not so bad, but every time a large artic passes in the opposite direction its sudden shielding effect tugs Mary*Lou 2-3 feet towards the centre line. Thankfully the truck behind us sees our difficulty and leaves plenty of gap for us to slow down for each oncoming juggernaut. At one point there is such a strong gust and howling draft that we think we've lost one of our newly cleaned skylights, but a quick layby stop proves all is OK.
At 14:20 we reach tonight's stop, our first France Passion since 27th December, Domaine du Grand Cros. It's a vinyard set in typical Loire Trogladyte caves which means we have a 6m high rock face to park beside, sheltered from the wind.
Early evening we go into the cool cave for tasting. 20 hectares produce 50,000 bottles annually from Chinon and Cabernet grapes. The white is a little fruity followed by the woodiness of the cask, reminding Nick of when his Grandad used to split kindling wood from railway sleepers. The Loire is synonamous with Rose wines and we try two varieties; one fruity and slightly dry, the other sweet enough to almost feel the sugar. Finally the cabernet red, fruity, dry and slightly smoky. The proprieter is not shy on measures and after four good sized glasses we are ready to buy a few bottle, which average out to €5/bottle.
Lamb chops and red red wine for dinner.
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