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Since retiring as a wine merchant and importer of French Regional wines, we have drunk well-enough from the modest cellar accumulated over 15 years of tasting and buying. But I confess to missing the buying and tasting trips which always provided delights, surprises and sometimes disappointments.Not least in meeting winemakers with their passions and idiosyncracies.
Until now I had never rated French wine merchants - the Nicolas chain probably one unexciting exception, and predominantly found in and around Paris.
But other independent wine merchants were often disappointing - usually a reasonable selection of local wines, but inevitably a predominance of fine Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne, Seldom much from elsewhere in France, and certainly no more than a token from outside Fran
A recent article bemoaned the absence of Languedoc wines on many French restaurant lists, and yet the wines of the Languedoc are gaining an increasingly impressive reputation for superb quality and great value for money - even in the higher price brackets.
I was therefore pleasantly surprised (and even a little envious) of a new discovery in the small village of Montcuq in the Lot departement (46 Midi-Pytrenees).
Now admittedly this area tends to attract a rather more cosmopolitan crowd than some other parts of the South West,but few businesses will survive if they rely only on northern European visitos and second-home owners. So inevitably the a proportion of the customers throughout the year will be local French.
And yes the Vins et Saveurs shop on rue de la Promenade (tel:05 65 35 57 15) does stock an impressive range of the local Cahors AC wines, but only a modest selection of well-choses Bordeaux and Burgundy - matched by an impressive selection of wines from elsewhere in France (little from outside France) - especially the Languedoc - such as the superb wines of Domaine Piccinini in St Jean de Minervois AC. Chateau l’Hortus in Pic St Loup AC, the Madirans of Chateau d’Aydie, Basque wines from Iroleguy AC plus Loire, Rhone, Alsace and Beaujolais - and all at reasonable prices.
Jerome, the genial owner clearly knows his stuff, and works on the same principle as I used at Allez Vins! - i,e, he only sells wines he likes!! He is very approachable. very knowledgeable and his English is good - so don;t hesitate to ask for his recommendations.

I’m tempted to ask for a job there - doing something I could enjoy in a quiet part of South West France - don’t tempt!

Montcuq has a small but lively farmers market on a Sunday morning which is well worth a visit - fresh fruit and vegetables, local Agen prunes, Cabecou cheeses, Quercy Melons - even a couple of wine stalls selling Cahors and Coteaux du Quercy wines from small independent producers.

Searching for a decent warming red for this wet and windy summer, I found a bottle of Pic St Loup AC from the Coteaux du Languedoc - from La Bergerie de l’Hortus - and an excellent choice it was, demonstrating how powerful and well-made Languedoc wines can be.

North of Montpellier the summit of the Pic St Loup (Wolf Peak!) rises some 2000ft (658m) and dominates the landscape and provides some of the best wine-growing terrain in the whole of the Languedoc. The name “Pic St Loup” is something of a mystery - some argue that from a certain aspect the shape of the Pic looks like a howling wolf in full cry, neck extended, nose at the summit. others claim that a`giant wolf stalks the slopes in the winter guarding the dormant vines from predators - and the howling wind is actually a howling wolf! A further superstition (cleverly thought up by wine merchants probably) is that the absence of a bottle of Pic St Loup on the vignerons table will mean the wolf turns to stone and leave the vines unprotected!

The Bergerie de l’Hortus (shepherd’s hut) is at Valflaunes (34 Herault, Languedoc-Roussillon) was created as a wine domaine in 1978 by the Orliac family, where they make red wines from the tannic Mourvedre, Syrah and Grenache grapes; and a few whites from Chardonnay, Viognier, Roussanne and Sauvignon Blanc.
The reds in particular get their great structure and complexity from the clayey limestone soils which are typical of the area, and the Cuvee Classique is aged in new oak casks for up to 15 months.

This is definitely a good wine area to visit and explore - Pic Wines specialises in Languedoc wines and are based in the area.

For more info on these wines - see Syndicat des Vignerons du Pic St-Loup at Maison de la Charte in St Mathieu-de-Treviers (34 Herault, Languedoc-Roussillon)

There is a path which leads to the cross at the top of the Pic St Loup if you’re feeling energetic (probably before tasting the wines!) - but beware it is a steep climb, and the limestone can be slippery when wet. However the view from the top on a fine day will be well worth the effort.You can access the path from the village of Cazevielle.

The official in charge of French road safety has promised to increase the number of speed cameras to 2000 this year (2007), as the casualty figures have fallen quite dramatically since the crack down on speeding was initiated several years ago. France had one of the worst records for road safety, and tended to traat road accidents with a rather gallic shrug - but it meant that France was the “lanterne rouge” - the back marker - in European road death statistics. Now she is 8th out of 27, and aims to make up for the late start with some vigour. (The UK has 5000 speed cameras, of which 700 are in London)

However, by law, every fixed speed camera has to be signposted in advance - so if you see a sign saying “Controle Vitesse” take it seriously - as there is every chance that a speed camera will be positioned within the next kilometre.

However, there is seldom little warning (other than drivers coming the other way flashing their headlights) for an increasing number of mobile speed traps - very cunningly hidden by the gendarmerie with small cameras on the hard shoulder of autoroutes - and often with a police motorcycle waiting a few kilomtres down the road or at the next autoroute toll booth (peage) to flag down errant motorists. For foreigners there is the prospect of an on-the-spot fine of several hundred euros - if necessary including a visit to the nearest cash dispenser in the company of the gendarmerie!!

The road safety campaign gets into full gear in July and August when the roads are busiest (especially at weekends), And do remember that autoroute speed limits are reduced to 110 kph (69mph) when the roads are wet!

Whilst safety rather than environmental concerns drive the speed limit crackdown, caring for the environment is bringing about big changes in the use of packaging in France. For some years the hpermarket chain E.Leclerc has not provided plastic bags at the checkout - offering only the option of re-using old bags or purchasing a “Bag for Life”. Now most of the other big chains have followed their example - so make sure you take your bags with you when you next go shopping in France,

Similarly rubbish disposal is now much more environmentally conscious - with different bins for glass, paper, recyclable materials etc - make sure you read the instructions on the bins - high fines are threatened for anyone not complying!

Markets in the Gironde (33, Aquitaine)

Arcachon for oysters and seafood, Bazas for beef.and almost everything in Bordeaux.

The following list is provided as an indicator of what markets take place whenin good faith, but bear in mind that some markets will only take place in the summer, others may be 2-weekly or monthly - always check with the local tourist office.

Andernos Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
Arcachon daily
Ares Tuesday
Audenge Tuesday
Bazas Saturday
Blaye Wednesday, Saturday
Bordeaux - Aubiers Friday
Bordeaux - Bacalan Friday
Bordeaux - Belcier Tuesday
Bordeaux - Capucins Monday-Saturday
Bordeaux - Chartrons Tuesday-Saturday
Bordeaux - Grand Parc Saturday
Bordeaux - Grands Hommes daily exc Sunday
Bordeaux - La Bastide Thursday
Bordeaux - Lerme Wednesday, Saturday
Bordeaux - Pins-Francs Wednesday
Bordeaux - pl St-Amand Saturday
Bordeaux - pl St-Pierre Thursday
Bordeaux - Quais Sunday
Bordeaux - Royal Saturday
Bordeaux - St-Martial Wednesday
Bordeaux - St-Michel daily
Bordeaux - St-Suerin Friday
Bordeaux - St-Victor-Dupeux Tuesday
Bordeaux - Victor Hugo daily
Bourg-sur-Gironde Sunday
Cap-Ferret Wednesday
Captieux Monday
Castillon-la-Bataille Monday
Coutras Wednesday, Saturday
Creon Wednesday
Gujan-Mestras Wednesday
Hourtin Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday
La Teste Thursday, Saturday, Sunday
Lacanau Tuesday
Lacanau-Ocean Wednesday
Lege Saturday
Lesparre-Medoc Tuesday, Saturday
Libourne Tuesday, Friday, Sunday
Monsegur Tuesday, Friday
Pauillac Saturday
Sauveterre-de-Guyenne Tuesday
Soulac-sur-Mer daily
St-Andre-de-Cubzac Thursday, Saturday
Ste-Foy-la-Grande daily
Villandraut Thursday

Evening Jazz concerts in the vineyards of the Southern Rhone

1 September 2007 – Cairanne

27 October 2007 – Visan

17 November 2007 – Cairanne

For more info see www.frenchduck.com

Nice (Cote d’Azur Provence)- The NICE JAZZ FEST, one of three major jazz events in Europe with Montreux and The Hague, draws more than 45,000 spectators every summer with its 500 plus musicians, 8 days, 75 concerts and 120 hours of magic and music! Every night from 7 pm to midnight, 3 stages present a prestigious array of world-famous artists.
see www.nicejazzfest.com

Pouilly-sur-Loire (58 Nievre, Bourgogne), best known for its crisp Sauvignon Pouilly-Fumé wines, celebrates its wine festival on the banks of the Loire.
For more info see www.ot-pouillysurloire.fr

A helpful French wine label at last!

I have long been frustrated at the vagaries of French wine labelling regulations for Appellation Controllee wines,which arrogantly assume that the consumer knows that Sancerre is made from Sauvignon Blanc, Chablis from Chardonnay and Madiran from Tannat etc.

Hence a frisson of excitement to discover a Cahors AC (South West France) from one of the top Chateaux offering a wine called “le Malbec”. Now admittedly some of the best Cahors wines are made from a blend where Malbec (locally known as Cot or Auxerrois) grapes dominate, but 100% Malbecs are becoming more fashionable. The wine in question comes from the Chateau de Chambert, previously stocked by Allez Vins! But this 100% Malbec is packaged and priced as a little downmarket - clear bottle, funky font and modern front label. Of course, what we see as the front label is technically the back label, as all the legal stuff about its status (Appellation Cahors Controllee) is on the front label (yes - I am confused too). But it is a pleasant little wine, and hooray for some consumer-friendly packaging (albeit in French).
A similar wine is produced by Georges Vigouroux - his Pigmentum (named for its intense black colour) has a bit more body and smoothness - stocked byAdvintage wines)
However, for a real contrast try to get hold of a bottle of Chateau les Hauts d’Aglan’s Cuvee “A” - also made of 100% Malbec with no oak and no filtering - but rather than a “second” wine, Isabelle Rey-Auriat rightly has her wine at the very top of her range - rich,smooth and well-structured.
Of course, Argentina is now providing stiff competition for Malbec wines - my own experience suggests that the South American versions have wonderfully ripe upfront fruit, but lack the tremendous depth and complexity of the Cahors wines. In many ways they do not compete head to head - they really are quite different styles of wine. Personally I like the tannic structure of good Cahors, where the tannins have softened by continue to give the wine some backbone. But then, I have often been told that my tastes are a little “individual”!

If you are in the region (46 Lot, Midi-Pyrenees) then you can visit the Fete des Vins du Pays du Lot the Lot Valley wine festival held at the Chateau la Coste at Grezels, west of Cahors. There will be local Vins de Pays (red, white and rose) and local food products for tasting and buying - and you could join a vineyard walk of 8km (or a shorter 3km version) - on Sunday 24 June 2007.

Links -
Frenchduck.co.uk on Cahors
Chateau de Chambert
Cahors Wine website
Georges Vigoroux

Bordeaux can be overpriced and boring! If you separate out some of the finest and most expensive wines in the world, the remaining huge bulk of Bordeaux wines can have a tendency to rely on history, name recognition and reputation with a certain gallic arrogance. That has to be an outrageous over-simplification, but I have so often been disappointed with affordable Bordeaux that I have tended to look elsewhere in France to excite my palate and save my bank balance.
But inevitably something stirs, and the problem then comes for the few adventurous, passionate wine makers in Bordeaux to grab the attention of an increasingly sceptical consumer. Fancy packaging can help, but then I suspect that “modern” labels and garish colours can be just a marketing ploy which disguises an otherwise unremarkable wine.
So it was with some relief that I came across Terra Burdigala - Burdigala being the Roman name for Bordeaux. Certainly the packaging looks modern and funky, the website is swish, but does this necessarily imply that the contents of the bottles are any different?
Well, for a start this is not a traditional chateau operation. Two young Frenchmen, Stéphane Derenoncourt & François Thienpont, create wines by selecting grapes from chosen vineyards (sometimes from some of the less fashionable appellations) and determining precisely how the grape is vinified into wine - a sort of local verion of the flying winemaker crossed with the best negociant approach.

We launched this venture in the spring of 2001 and are involved every step of the way, from the vine to the bottle, so that our wines are a true testimony of our concept of Bordeaux: fruit, balance and pleasure

Another reason to believe that these Bordeaux wines stack up is that Andrew Chapman at www.surf4wine.co.uk is stocking them. Surf4Wine has a strong leaning towards the New World, so any Old World wine has to compete directly with some really exciting wines from Australia and South America to get a place on the list.

www.surf4wine.co.uk stocks half a dozen of these Terra Burdigala wines from a Bordeaux AC at £6.99 up to a St Emilion Grand Cru at £18.99.

Of course, the other interesting thing in Bordeaux this week is the bi-annual wine trade exhibition - VINEXPO - probably the biggest wine gathering with exhibitors and buyers from around the world. Probably not a good week for visiting French vineyards, as many winemakers will have deserted their domaines and have decamped to Bordeaux for the 3-day event! Also probably not a good week to try to find a hotel room in Bordeaux either!

France prides itself on its seafood - and a Plateau des Fruits de Mer is a visual as well as a gastronomic tour-de-force. Moules Frites - or mussels and chips - is a more common feature on many menus - there is even a fast food chain “Leon de Bruxelles” which majors on Mussels!

A recent trip to the Baie de la Somme just west of Abbeville (80 Somme, Picardie) seems to offer the most extraordinary range of choice for your mussels - beyond the usual Moules Marinieres and Moules a la Creme.

The Hotel Les Pilotes at St Valery-sur-Somme offers an extraordinary selection of more than 40 different recipes - from Moules Anadalousie (from Andalucia); Moules au Champagne (in Champagne);Mussels in Ginger and Moules Lucifer to name but a few.

Personally I go for the Mariniere - poached in a light broth, which you eat messily with the fingers, dunking the french bread in the juices and served with a crisp dry white such as a Picpoul de Pinet from the Languedoc.

St Valery-sur-Somme is a pretty little port on the southern side of the Bay, more tidal riverside than seaside. On first acquaintance the view can seem just a muddy expanse when the tide is out, but it is a haven for birds and can afford some wonderful vistas and sunsets. There is a long broad boardwalk along the riverside for some gentle excercise, people- and bird- watching.

For the seaside you need to head a little further east to Cayeux-sur-Mer on the Opal coast - but whilst it has a spectacular shingle beach, the town lacks the charm of St Valery-sur-Somme. One option is to take the le Chemin de Fer de la Baie de la Somme steam train which runs round the Bay,from Cayeux to Le Crotoy on the northern banks of the Bay via St Valery-sur-Somme.

The Hotel Les Pilotes offers great views from some bedrooms and from the Restaurant where you can sample from the 40+ mussel dishes (and other seafood). It is a Logis de France, and is comfortable enough for a short stay,but neither the hotel nor restaurant could be regarded as “special” except for those views.

For more on St Valery-sur-Somme and the Baie de la Somme see www.saint-valery-sur-somme.fr” and www.somme-tourisme.com

Every summer the city of Toulouse (31 Haut-Garonne, Midi Pyrenees) holds a world music festival, and for 2007 the focus is on Spain - flamenco, guitar,dancing, salsa etc -

“Rio Loco attempts to reflect the variety and the artistic wealth of the invited country through a program where famous artists mix with young talents.
With 150 000 festival-goers in 2006 for Senegal, Rio Loco invites Spain for its 13th edition in a park on the banks of the Garonne river: open-air concerts, youth public performances, cinema, visual arts, gastronomy and craft “village”. During the month of June, Toulouse will also live at the Spanish rate with exhibitions, performances, concerts, danse, readings, projections, afters… in all the city within around fifty cultural structures associated to the festival.”

The festival runs from 15-24 June 2007 and provides yet another good reason for visiting this vibrant city - for more info see:-
Toulouse Tourism Office