Move over, Bro- there's a new kid on the block....

Hi


Tessa (Iris) here welcoming you all to my blog. OK, it's not really mine, but my brother has been hogging the limelight for over 3 years and I know he won't mind a quick post from me. So here I am weighing in at 3.6kg, half a kilo heavier than when I arrived on 27 June after a swift, but apparently eye-watering, delivery, sans anaesthetic (ouch).

And I gather that I might be entitled to a share of my brother's wine empire, which is also pretty good news. Not sure about wine, but some say it's even better than milk, so it gets my vote. Haven't had a full tour of the winery and vineyards yet, but I gather there's plenty of wine downstairs and this year's crop is also looking good with just some 6 weeks until picking. Lots of mildew about but Daddy has escaped pretty well unscathed. Fingers are now crossed that we get no hail and that the wild boar which love to roam in Champ Fort just up the road don't manage to beat the electric fence as they did last year.


Was pleased to be introduced to Granny and Grandpa shortly after my birth, and also to Tata Christelle and cousin Alexis. I also see Mami and Papi regularly with many of the family commenting on my likeness to Mami, having darker hair at the moment than Basti, who sends his bisous to all his readers- he'll be back on blog shortly.


The Tour de France was won by Bradley Wiggins and I was there, well at least on the local stage between Arc et Senans and Besancon. Great fun being bombarded with free gifts for an hour before the time trial. Basti enjoyed riding his bike up and down the road with Union Jacks on it and what seemed like most of the police motor-cyclists in France, accompanying the procession and riders, waving at him. During a break he would pedal up and down with the locals crying "Allez, allez". Show-off (but he ain't seen what a girl can do yet!).


Well GP did say that he would reluctantly taste the 2011 vintage and report back- "someone has to do it" he cries. And here is his verdict. "Wow". We all know (OK, possibly not me, but I'm getting there) that Ploussard is a very versatile and under-rated variety, except in the Jura. Well I'm pleased to tell you that despite the heavier-cropping last year the flavour is right up there. Possibly not as complex on the tongue in some instances, but definitely very fruity and more-ish. GP is selling the rosé, white blend of Savagnin and Chardonnay and the red Côte de Feule. Very pleased with the new rosé (good job as the rest has sold out) and he likes the new basic Ploussard so much that he might add it to his selection. He will probably stick with the 2010 white for a little while (his 2010 favourite) before moving onto the 2011 but the new edition is just as good. www.hb-wines.co.uk for details.


Well I think I've done pretty well not to doze off whilst writing this, but don't want to tempt fate so will say adieu, ftb. I look forward to meeting you all soon- no doubt I'll catch up with a few of you in September at vendanges time. As always the more the merrier, so do contact Daddy if you can spare a weekend in the country.


Love to you all


Tessa xxx

My sister's nearly here, with an extra 10,000 bottles to greet her...

Hi- Basti here-and I'm now 3 years old. Had a very enjoyable party 2 weeks ago, and got some super presents including a battery operated Thomas and a collapsing bridge for my (beloved) train set. 

It doesn't seem like yesterday that this blog started although it's over 3 years ago when I was being threatened with the name "Cadwallader". And "Coriander"  is due next week, so Mummy is quite a size, as you can imagine. Not sure what it will be like to have a sister, but as long as she will be able to kick a ball around pretty quickly, I am sure that we will be great friends. Otherwise I don't suppose that my life will change much, or am I in for a surprise? Wonder how I would have got on at school as Cadwallader Hughes Beguet- it has a certain ring, don't you think. See that Bastian Schweinsteiger, the only famous Bastian apart from me, is described today in the Telegraph as a Colossus of the German football team, which I think is a compliment!

Suppose that I may have to share my wine empire with my sister, well, a little bit of it anyway, but I can live with that, particularly as this week Daddy has bottled last year's harvest and so there are nearly 11,000 bottles of the 2011 vintage in the winery. The more observant of you will have spotted that we don't normally bottle until almost the day we start picking the next year's grapes and so this is most unusual with both the alcoholic and malolactic fermentations finishing in record time last year. Apparently it is all looking good and I will update you on what it tastes like after Grandpa and I have got together next month and compared notes. I particularly like the Ploussard which is a delicate number and seems to come from a bottle marked R-I-B-E-N-A; I'll probably be able to read soon and then fully appreciate the tasting notes.

You may be able to detect in the photo above not only the pub sign on the front of the winery, but also the organic (Agriculture Biologique) green sign on the side. Already the 2010 vintage shows the "en conversion" statement, as will the 2011, and the 2012 crop this September will be the first to be fully organic. A long hard slog for Dad whose tractor has a habit of breaking down just when another spray is due, but worth it in the end. My Ploussard certainly tastes cleaner and fresher without the additional chemicals applied to non-organic wines, and so does GP's.

Well that's about all the HB news at present, although you may want to see my video from the VE-Day commemoration.

Not sure how I am going to be able to combine life as world-class trombonist with an award-winning domaine, but as you can see I am pretty versatile. Will get sis to say a few words to you in July. Hopefully then I will be able to announce a French or English win at the Euros.....?

Love to everyone

Basti xxx

Good heavens, has it been that long...?

Can I apologise for having a grandfather like GP? He is supposed to be keeping this blog up to date and jolly nearly 6 months have passed in the meantime. Heck, that's 20% of my life so far. Has anything happened in the meantime? Well only a massive harvest, Christmas party, lots of Michelin restaurants, me going to school, and did I mention a new brother or sister? And GP just ignores it. I reckon I'll be taking over by this time next year so there should be some continuity.


So where was I? Oh yes- a very successful harvest last year, more than 50% up on 2010. Thanks as always to all the helpers which included this year Tata Icky and Tonton T. (I can now say Vicky, grandpa!). GP made some excuse about a bad back.... Lots of barrels in the cellar, needless to say, and fermentation all over in weeks rather than the 11 or so months for 2010. Possibly bottling in April to save the last minute rush.

When all the work was over (!) GP and Granny came over with THE sign which was attached to the front of the house above the shop and unveiled with a big party for the village in December, including some magnificent music from Papi. Not many pub signs in the Jura, especially with lion/cockerels (lickerels?), so we'll get noticed! 


We had a very good Christmas with Mami and Papi, Christelle, Nicolas and cousin Alexis before going over to England in January where the weather was better than last July. It will be the last trip before I bring over my brother or sister, due in June when I will be 3. I looked at the scan last week but couldn't really tell. A brother would be good!


In the meantime I have been going to nursery for some time now and am also going to school where there are some bigger boys and girls. I am now the official translator for Granny and Grandpa and frankly I think they are getting lazy knowing that I have the answer. This blog will be bilingual before you know it. On that topic Mummy has been doing a lot of translating and is about to run an 8-week (2 hours pw) course teaching wine staff English so that they can understand and explain their wines to English speakers (which often includes Dutch and Germans).


In England I met another cousin, Ben and we had a good time together. He's got a rather bigger train set than I got at Christmas, but I am trying not to get too despondent and really enjoy playing with mine, even if it is smaller(and already 3 times the size of the photo below)..... I also got a bike with pedals which I had to leave behind but which will be coming over in May.


Daddy has been selling lots of wine and had a very good Percée, if freezing. Daddy is looking forward to having his own vin jaune, but still a few years to wait (6 years in barrel). He was at Orléans recently and we're off to Clermont Ferrand this weekend. Now have 3 restaurants with Michelin stars in France, as well as plenty of other good ones, and an "espoir" in Kent, where GP has just set up a business www.hb-wines.co.uk . Happily the wine is so good it doesn't matter if GP doesn't really know what he's talking about. "An enigmatic little number - rather smoky as the slope is rather more south-westerly than usual - hints of pawpaw and coconut with overtones of syrup of figs". I'll swear he makes it all up as he goes along.

Well I think GP has just about brought you all up to date and he's putting a few extra photos alongside. I'll make sure that he is more timely with our next contribution.


Bisous to you all


Basti xxx