We picked up some AnAdvil Rhume for me at the pharmacy and toured the Theatre Antique d'Orange.
Built over two thousand years ago by the Romans, this 7,000-seat theater is really incredible. On our tour, we learned that as the Roman Empire declined during the 4th Century, and Christianity had become the official religion, the theatre was closed by official edict in 391 A.D. After that, the theatre was abandoned completely. It was sacked and pillaged by the Barbarians and was used as a defensive post in the Middle Ages. During the 16th century wars of religion, it became a refuge for the townspeople. During the 19th century the theatre slowly began to recover its original splendor, due to the efforts of Prosper Mérimée, who then held the position of director of “Monuments Historiques”. It is so well preserved today, that it’s still used as a musical and theatrical venue in the summertime.
Finally, it was time to hit the vineyards! The vines grow amongst thousands of large, round, smooth stones that originated in the Alps, having been carried down to the Rhône by the glaciers of previous ice ages.
Our first stop was Domaine Roger Perrin. A little old lady answered the door when we knocked and after speaking one of the few words we know in French, dégustation, she led us to the tiny tasting table. We had a few wines and bought a bottle of their Côtes du Rhône and left for another vineyard.
We arrived at Chateau Mont Redon after a bit of a drive through its vineyard. Mont-Redon's extraordinary location, at an altitude of 360 feet on Châteauneuf-du-Pape's highest elevation, is one of very few to include all three soils types found in the appellation. We tasted some very delicious wines. We never really liked Châteauneuf-du-Pape blanc before- but its really pretty good. We purchased a magnum of their Châteauneuf-du-Pape rouge before leaving.
Then we headed into the town of Châteauneuf to pick up a map at the tourism office and a hearty lunch of lasagna and linguine carbonara (how un-french of us!). Next up was Château la Nerthe. David was so excited about trying their 1992 Cuvee Des Cadettes. Afterwards we looked around the property a bit. The vineyard was beautiful. The sunlight made the trees look like they were glowing. We had met this wacky couple from New Mexico who thought the sunlight around the vineyard was “way trippy.” We thought it was time to leave.
So we drove to Clos du Papes and tried a few things but didn’t buy any. They were excellent wines but a little too expensive. Maybe we should have nabbed a few bottles while the woman in the cave left us to go deal with a delivery man and we were alone for 10 minutes.
The next stop was Domaine Pierre Usseglio (did you know there are two different Usseglio winemakers in Châteauneuf). We had come right behind a large family from Toronto and the wine was ok but nothing spectacular. So we left and went to Cuve du Vatican for a bit and then found the absolute gem of the day in Domaine de la Charbonniere.
We spent nearly an hour with Caroline Maret who let us taste as many of their wines as we wished. Her English was excellent and we ended up purchasing a magnum of their 2005 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvée Vieilles Vignes as well as a bottle of their red Vacqeuyras from 2005. They were so kind and patient- it was such a pleasure to meet them. Eventually it was time to move on to our next cave. 
We tried to go to Paul Autard and Pegau but nobody was home at either, so we finished up the day at Domaine De La Janesse which was incredible.
All good things must come to an end however, and the day had been wonderful but long. We picked up some sandwiches from the boulangerie and returned to the B&B for a swim and some dinner.
Right now we are hanging out in the pool sunroom, listening to an aria from Carmen and enjoying our sandwiches with a bottle of wine from the day’s purchases. Not a bad. Oh yeah, and I’m feeling a lot better too.
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