Adventures of Gerty Blue also entitled Into the hills with the Blue Wagoon

So basically the coolest thing has happened.  When talkin car, yeah you know guy talk and all that: piston, horsepower, chassis, spark plug...I mentioned that my favorite car in France is an old style Renault I didn't even know the name of it.  When in the midst of the conversation a friend says I have one of those.  'Yeah I drive it in the summer, it's a really fun drive'. Uh excuse me, first thought maybe I could sit in it and take a picture second thought maybe I could drive it a tad.  'I have to fix a few things up on her'.  Awh no go, ah well.  One week later 'you know I lent this car out to a friend awhile back, once I get her up and running well again would you like to have it for a bit?'  

Jaw drop, rent this little gem of a car?  Tool around in the countryside with a little no heat, no power steering, no vacuum brake beauty?  Uh yes!  And so it was that in early March I was given the gardian ship of Gerty Blue otherwise known as the Blue Wagoon.  Like any Gertrude to get her up and running is a bit of a challenge and she's a bit complicated to change gears but man can that little old thing go. First trip le Gers down south with the girls.  Second day trip adventure:  Cahors and prehistoric caves.  

Cahors, a small town in the Lot departement about 2 hours north-east of here.  Known for being the birthplace of the Malbec grape this area has made its name in red wine.  After a short stay near villeneuve sur lot, breakfast and a quick call to make reservations for a prehistoric cave tour I was off in this little loveable cantankerous tin box of glory.  This time of year the south is coming to life again the weather is heating up and the trees are flowering, that all changed on my drive deep into the Lot through tiny villages, ravening down switchbacks on dark stone hills peppered with barnacled scraggly bushes.  I convinced myself that I would not panic when I saw a dragon fly over the road.  The area has this quiet threat of prehistoric personas that could come out of the ground at any time.  It doesn't help that the closest big city around is about 3 hrs away.  You're in the middle of nowhere and right when you wonder if you've gotten lost you'll see a sign that says La Grotte de Pech-Merle.  

Caves in France.  First cave in French is 'la Grotte' if you say cave that means 'wine cellar' or just plain 'cellar'.  So you might of heard of a little place called Lascaux and wonder well Emily why didn't you go there?  Here are two and a half reasons:  the site at Lascaux has been closed to the public for years as have many prehistoric caves in the southwest, the Lascaux paintings you can visit today are very good replicas of the originals, second being more touristy you must get tickets far in advance, half a reason I wanted to try Cahors wine and I knew there was a cave nearby.  Basically if you just search a tiny bit you realize the prehistoric caves to visit in France are Font de Gaume in Dordogne up north or Pech-Merle to the northeast of Agen.  This area is full of caves by the way.  These caves still host the original prehisoric drawings and the like and offer tours.  What I found interesting was not only the paintings (horses, mammoth, bears, women with lots of curves) but some person however long ago traced their fingers in the mud on the ceiling and made a sort of relief that has turned into stone.  There is also a footprint in the mud and lots of symbols and interesting stalagmite formations.  

After my tour I made back for Cahors which is a pretty...quiet town.  Yes it's pretty but man quiet as all get out, Agen feels feels like a bustling place after Cahors. But then again I didn't just come to Cahors for the pretty face.  Dissapointed that I didn't have time to visit a chateau for a wine tasting (they're everywhere) I decided to stop at a wine shop (more like a depot) on my way back home.  Wuh-ow!  My area makes wine as well called Buzet but I'm sorry to say Buzet Cahors has you beat.  I would even venture to say that for me Cahors has some Bordeaux beat.  Scrumptious.  Bordeaux in a nutshell uses merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon with small amounts of Cabernet franc and other 'cepages' in order to balance out their wines.  They like Cahors are known for being robust reds with tannin and the ability to age.  

I think this is the best tasting of anything I've ever done.  You know how usually at the tasting the server asks if you can't you feel the difference between this one and that one and you slowly nod and whisper to yourself 'no not really'?  Well come to Cahors.  3 bottles.  3 different drinks. All red wine.  Cahors is known for Malbec which already is a beautiful grape but then sometimes they add in small amounts of Cabernet franc and Tannat.  Oh my goodness whenever I see those last two grape varieties my eyes start to shine.  It's like a match made in heaven because not only do they have these beautiful grapes but in France they age them in oak.  Sometimes for more than a year, 12-18 months.  They also sometimes use new oak barrels which add a whole new flavor depth to the wine.  While doing my tasting and kind of enticing the server to bring out the big guns he says 'wait you have to try this' he reaches down and pulls up another bottle of wine this one with a different bottle shape.  I take a sip as he's waiting for my reaction and wow no acting necessary that wine was amazing.  My eyes open wide as I suck my cheeks in to finish tasting the wine, I unconsciously am nodding my head and he smiles.  'I told you it was good'.  Uh yeah it's good.  If you've ever heard of a round wine it's an 18month new oak aged Cahors Haute-Serre prestige.  Do I need to say wow again?  I was impressed I had never had such a powerful, silky smooth, robust, and yet fresh tasting red before.  So note to everyone keep Cahors on the look out, but make sure it's aged in oak for a bit, new oak preferably.  Best served with duck 👍🏼.  I also got a wooden crate for free, you do you Cahors you do you.  

So concludes day trip Cahors of Gerty Blue.  See you next time for->Little Gerty Blue: Que Sarlat Sarlat






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