Stoned

This interesting stone set into the wall of a house in Puligny Montrachet, in the Burgundy region of France, might make an interesting letter box, but it also reveals the different rock formations found in these hills that mark the different qualities of the local wine.

Terroir and grape are everything - along, of course with the weather - as we learned this morning on a tour of the vineyards.

Later we met legendary winemaker Olivier Leflaive, the 18th generation of winemaker in his family. What a warm and lovely man, generous of spirit and with a marvellous sense of humour. After a personally guided tour of his caves, we had a degustation meal in his restaurant, sampling ten different wines, from regional Burgundy to Grand Cru. I must admit that we spent most of the afternoon sleeping.

The good news of the day, however, was that the French movie producer who optioned the rights of The Killing Room, one of my China Thrillers, has renewed the option and will start filming in South Korea early next year.