A VISIT TO THE BEST FRENCH VINEYARDS. 



281 



feet. The wines are classed, according to 

 their excellence, into {c7-i(.s) growths ; and 

 only a very small portion of Modoc is capa- 

 ble of producing ^'■premiers crus." Indeed, 

 here, as upon Prince Metternich's estate, 

 at Johannisbergher, the vine is equally ca- 

 pricious ; and you will find the finest wines 

 growing within six inches of the most dege- 

 nerate, although it is impassible to discover 

 the least difference in soil or cultivation. 



The following is a list of the wine grown 

 in Medoc, with the average quantity of each 

 season. The tun contains four hogsheads, 

 called barriques. 



1st Growth. 



Chateaux Margaux, 140 to 160 tuns. 



do Lafitte, 120 do 



do Latour, 120 do 



Haut Brion, 60 to 80 tuns. 



2d Growth. 



Mouton, (Lafitte,) 120 to 146 tuns. 



Leoville, 145 to 186 tons ; (the best of 



the St. Julian.) 

 Rauzan, (Margaux,) 75 to [95 tuns. 

 Then come La Rose, Pichon, Longueville, 

 Durport, Lascof?ibe, &c. — in all, 700 to 800 

 tuns. After these come the 3d, 4th, 5th 

 crus, which are produced in the vicinity of 

 the first rate vineyards, but without par- 

 taking of their excellence. All the best 

 year's products are exported to England, 

 the 2d best to Holland, and the inferior 

 retained in France. This is so well un- 

 derstood, that the proprietor of the vine- 

 yard La Rose used to hoist the English flag 

 on his house, in good years, the Dutch in 

 middling, and the French in inferior. 



England consumes more than one-half 

 of the " premiers crus,^' and very little of 

 inferior sorts. Russia takes a good deal, 

 and Paris a little of the best. Holland con- 

 sumes most of the second quality, and the 

 third, anl vins ordlnaucs, are chiefly used 

 in France. 



The impression that prevails in our coun- 

 try, that these light French wines are more 

 or less adulterated, or mixed with brandy, 

 is erroneous; it would spoil them. They are 

 sometimes foriified with Hermitage, or the 

 stronger Rhine wines. The great charac- 

 teristic of the Bordeaux wines, is their 

 boiK^idt [aroma,] whic!;i will penetrate 

 i\i'co\ig]x\\\Q'\T fortifications, unless improper- 

 ly mixed. 



T!ie usual price of a genuine wine of the 

 '''premiers cr«5," is £o0 (per hogshead;) 

 duty, carriage, bottling, &c., run it up to 

 £30, — about 70 shillings sterling per doz. 

 The entire vintage of Chattait Margaux 

 has been sold on the spot for 1000 francs, 

 ($200,) per hogshead. The annual produce 

 of M'-doc, each good year, is from 150,000 

 to 170,000 hogsheads : of which, perhaps, 

 6,000 go to England. 



It is a very pretty excursion down the 

 river from Bordeaux, to visit the principal 

 vineyards, and may be made in a steamer 

 in six or seven hours ; and in September, 

 especiall}^, it is really a very gay and 

 charming sight ; for then, Medoc presents 

 a scene of bustle and rejoicing. The pro- 

 prietors, with their families and friends, 

 generally come out from Bordeaux to su- 

 perintend and have a frolic. Vignerons 

 pour in from all sides, like the Irish har- 

 vesters into England, and busy crowds of 

 men, women, and children, dance and sing, 

 and work in the vineyards from morning to 

 night. All mouldy, defective, or unripe 

 fruit is carefully picked off', and every road is 

 thronged with carts, loaded with tubs, filled 

 with " good measure, pressed down, shaken 

 together, and running over," which the 

 patient oxen are dragging to the press- 

 house. 



The latter, like our cider mills in New- 

 England, is usually in some out-house, like 

 a barn, and always presents a scene of 



