Washington Merlot v. St. Emillion

The latest edition of the Tour de France finished up during the last weekend of July.  This year's tour was light on drama in the context of overall victory - Vincenzo Nibali established a lead in the first week of the race and never let go.  Well, he did give up the Yellow Jersey on Bastille Day "as a gift to the French" according to his team's Director Sportif, Alexander Vinokourov.

The race itself was still interesting as the route traced its way through the Alpes and the Pyrenese mountain ranges.  This year the race spent a considerable amount of time traversing the South of France and through the Pyrenese where the final mountain top finish was waiting for the racers.  Once the Hautacam was conquered all that stood in the way of the Paris finish was a sprinter's stage and long (54 km) Time Trial.

The Time Trial started in Bergerac and finished in Periguex, slightly East of the Bordeaux wine region.  That is close enough to Bordeaux to earn top billing on this week's Lucha Vino challenge.

2009 Alexandria Nicole Gravity Merlot v. 2009 Chateau Lyonnat Lussac St. Emilion

The French had their best Tour de France finish in almost 20 years placing two riders on the podium in second and third place.  Can the Ch. Lyonnat follow up that performance with a victory in this week's challenge.  Let's find out...