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onjour!
Today, let’s visit St. Emilion, a small medieval town rich in history that owes its reputation to
its exceptional beauty and its prestigious wine (of the same name) which is exported worldwide.
St. Emilion is located on the north hillside of the Dordogne valley, about 22 miles northeast of
Bordeaux. France is very proud of this village and its many historic monuments: It was listed as
a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999.
But before continuing, please remember that you can access and read all the newsletters already
published at http://www.francemonthly.com/
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An Unusual Village
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St. Emilion is all the more charming because it is so different from all the other French medieval
villages. It has suffered little from all the blights which so often over the centuries devastated
the other French cities and countryside.
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St. Emilion - The Heart of the Village
(Click photo to enlarge)
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The villagers never needed to seek refuge by gathering around a lord’s castle. Nature itself has
formed the boundary of this village perched high up on a limestone rock, in the shape of an
amphitheater, and enabled men to live in the 173 acres of underground galleries that run through it.
Above these galleries you will find tightly fitted houses of a warm ocher color, all nestled one
against the other, separated here and there by small steep and winding streets. Some of these streets
are still covered in the original granite cobblestones that had once served as ballast for the
otherwise empty ships returning from Cornwall. Indeed, these ships would export the delicate local
wine held in such high esteem by the Crown of England. St. Emilion has all the charm and beauty of
a land distinguished by perfect harmony between nature and man.
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The Legend of St. Emilion
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Emilion was born in Brittany in the 8th century, to a modest family. The count who ruled the
province chose him to be his financial steward, which turned out to be an unfortunate distinction
in his life: Jealous rivals accused him of thievery to discredit him in the eyes of his master
and confidant. One day, as he set off to distribute bread to the poor, the suspicious count asked
him to open his coat. Miraculously, the pieces of bread that he had hidden inside of it had
changed into old bundles of firewood. After this sad experience, the pious young man decided to
go on a pilgrimage. His path eventually led him to a forest where, captivated by the serenity of
the area, he dug out a cave and dedicated his life to God. After his death in 767, the hermit
had performed so many miracles and done so much good around him that his name was given to the
place where he had lived which became known as St. Emilion.
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Recipe for November 2006
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Winemaker Sauce
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The Monolithic Cathedral
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There is a very unusual place not to be missed in the heart of the town, near the St. Emilion cave:
A Romanesque church with catacombs that is as large as a cathedral: 125 ft long, 66 ft wide and 36
ft high. All you can see from the exterior are a few windows on the one facade and the steeple,
topped with a Gothic arrow 174 ft high, that seems to have been set on the very ground at the top
of the limestone cliff.
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The Cloister in St. Emilion
(Click photo to enlarge)
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Benedictine monks were the inspiration for this church carved out of solid rock which is Europe’s
largest monolithic cathedral! This very strange sanctuary was built fairly quickly in the 11th
century, taking only 40 years. After following a long gallery, one comes across an altar oriented
towards the west, rather than the east as is the Christian tradition. The sobriety of the
ornamentations stands in stark contrast with the wealth of lessons to be learned from them.
Unfortunately, in the 18th century, revolutionaries scraped the church walls to collect the
saltpeter they used as a base ingredient in gunpowder. A lot of damage was done to the murals,
but thankfully some very beautiful samples were spared. This very original place of worship is
definitely worth your extended visit.
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The Zodiac of St. Emilion
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It seems that the Benedictine monks who designed the plan for St. Emilion drew their inspiration
from ancient customs, and let the stars guide them in the outlining of their town.
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La Porte Brunet, St. Emilion
(Click photo to enlarge)
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Indeed, the Ancients always started off with a water source, essential to life, to draw up the
horoscope of the place where they chose to settle. One can find the zodiac in the nave of the
church, between the low-reliefs featuring angels. The monks, using a sighting instrument, would
demarcate a portion of the sky that they would then copy onto the ground. In the center, they
would set up a pole: The shade following the sun’s path acted as a compass and allowed them to
determine the limits that a plowshare would then draw in the ground. Every time the augury would
indicate it, the plowman would stop at the very place where a gate was to be. These gates
corresponded to the ‘celestial gates’. Just like in ancient times, the plan for the sacred monuments
of St. Emilion appears in the sky: The Brunet gate, the only one that is still standing today, is
placed under the sign of the Scorpion.
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The Jurade
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When John ‘Lackland’ succeeded his brother, Richard the Lionheart, to the throne of England in
1199, he signed the ‘Falaise Charter’ which accorded St. Emilion the statute of a free and
independent commune, with the right to be administered by a mayor, twelve members of the Jurade
(the town council) and twelve advisers elected by the town’s notables.
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The King's Tower, St. Emilion
(Click photo to enlarge)
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These councilmen had vast power that included rendering justice. Winegrowing was such an
important part of the local economy that they also regulated the manufacturing process and
the sale of wine, and even publicly announced the start and the end of the grape harvests.
It is in memory of those privileges that still today, every third Sunday of June and September,
the members of the Jurade parade through the streets of the village, wearing their impressive
red robes. From the top of the King’s Tower, the last remains of a castle that represented
royal power inside the free town, they solemnly proclaim their will to faithfully defend the
reputation of St. Emilion and its wines.
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The Wine |
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It is impossible to talk about St. Emilion without mentioning its vineyards and magnificent wines,
recognized and appreciated by aficionados the world over. Vines are everywhere, on the slopes, the
hillsides, the plateaus, up to the heart of the village where it is not unusual to come across a
few vines planted in small gardens. St. Emilion’s well deserved glorious reputation has been
established for years. The strict regulations issued by the Jurade that controlled the painstaking
winemaking process undoubtedly contributed to its reliable quality. Romans were the first to raze
the forest to grow vines. The microclimate and exceptional amount of sunshine the region receives,
combined with the richness of the soils, either clay, limestone or sand depending on their location,
all ensured early on the production of excellent wine. In addition, the 125 miles of underground
galleries which crisscross St. Emilion and its surrounding areas allow for perfect wine aging by
maintaining a temperature of about 56 degrees (F) all year long. It was as much the ease of
transporting the wine to Bordeaux, which is so close to Dordogne, as it was the hard work of many
religious communities and the unconditional love of the English for this nectar that promoted such
a successful wine trade and the consequent prosperity of the region.
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The King of Wines
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The Cardinal's Palace, St. Emilion
(Click photo to enlarge)
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The kings of England called it the ‘king of wines’,
Louis XIII called it ‘exquisite’, and Louis XIV considered it to be ‘the nectar of the Gods’.
It is therefore not surprising that the winegrowers of St. Emilion decided that such a wine deserved
its own patron saint. While French winegrowers all placed themselves under the protection of St.
Vincent, the people of St. Emilion chose St. Valery, a saint who doesn’t appear in any French calendar,
to watch over them. That worked out fine, and everyone can still admire in the beautiful collegiate
church the statue of the patron saint of St. Emilion winegrowers. This benevolent man wears a beret
and clogs while holding a sickle in one hand and a hoe in the other. Men venerate him, and women who
wish to get married often come implore him to help them find the ideal spouse.
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An Invitation to Travel... |
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Today, nine communities are entitled to the ‘St. Emilion’ and ‘St. Emilion Grand Cru’ A.O.C.
designation (for: Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée, or ‘Appellation of Controlled Origin’), the
top category in the French system for ensuring quality wines. Grown and bottled on small family
estates averaging 17 acres each, ‘St. Emilion’ (a blend of 60% merlot and 40% cabernet) offers
a very wide range of wines with a myriad of flavors and colors. Some of them are such great vintages
that they belong to the class of the ‘Grands Crus Classés’ (Great Growths) and even the ‘Premiers
Grands Crus Classés’ (First Great Growths). However, no one wine can rest on its laurels since
this classification system first developed in 1954 is updated every 10 years, to ensure the
seriousness of the selection process and uphold a promise of quality. A very enjoyable little
train ride will let you discover the vineyards that surround the village, and a visit to the
‘Maison du Vin’ will further explain to you how these wines are made, and just how that process
has evolved over the centuries. You must also visit the monolithic church and the St. Emilion cave.
Many women come to St. Emilion to sit on the hermit’s meditation armchair carved out of the
limestone rock: Legend has it that sterile women who go there and make the wish to have a child
find themselves pregnant within the following months. Every year, the Tourist Information Office
receives birth announcements from grateful women who made the trip to the very mystical village
of St. Emilion and later had their wish come true...
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