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| September 26, 2008 | ||
| 6:00 pm |
Now, I thought I knew Bergerac and its wines pretty well, having imported their wines from the earliest days of Allez Vins!, and numerous visits over the last 20 years or so. But truth be told, I probably know about a dozen vineyards in any detail, and I am a fan of the wines of the region which tend to be consistently good (with the exception of some cheap supermarket versions) and usually great value.
However, my knowledge and passion for the region is completely overshadowed by Phil Hargreaves and his new book The Wines of Bergerac. This is a comprehensive and authorative guide to the 13 appellations (including Montravel, Pecharmant, Rosette, Monbazillac and Saussignac)and to ove 90 producers, each of which has a full page full of details of location, opening times, the nature of the “terroir”, how the grapes are grown and how the wine is made - plus details of UK stockists, contact details and tasting notes!
This has clearly been a labour of love, as I cannot imagine that anyone could do justice to more than a couple of vineyards a day to produce this amount of reliable detail -as always I checked out his entries on domaines which I know well such as Chateau Grinou, Chateau Haut Garrigue and Chateau Beauportail, and the entries are spot on! I share his affection for the Merlot and Cabernet reds, Sauvignon and Semillon dry and sweeter whites. His secret has been his career as a linguist and wine merchant - but also his sheer enthusiasm for the wines of Bergerac.
“..my love affair with the Dordogne started some 40 years ago when I was a student in Perigueux in
1968 . A few years later, my late father-in-law introduced me to the wines of Cahors and Bergerac and the seed was sown for an interest in wines that would lead to twenty years in the wine trade and ultimately, this little book.
1 have personally visited the vast majority of the producers in this guide and wines from every
winernaker included have been tasted by myself and my tasting team, drawn from friends and
colleagues at the Hengate Wine School and the Premier Cru Wine Club, based in Beverley,
East Yorkshire. I have resisted the temptation to give wines a star rating as I recognise that
taste in wine is a very personal thing and it does not pay to be too dogmatic. However, I hope
the tasting comments will help you establish which wines will most appeal to you.
There’s plenty of background to the region and its wines in addition to the individual producers’ pages, which makes the book both readable and an indispensible guide to visiting the region and its vineyards - I will certainly be taking a copy with me on my next trip to the Dordogne!
For more info on Phil Hargreaves, Hengate Wine School and the book “The Wines of Bergerac” see www.hengatewineschool.co.uk
The official launch of new guide “The Wines of Bergerac” will take place on Friday 26 September at 6 p.m. at Beverley Arms Hotel, Beverley, East Yorkshire. Book signing and free Bergerac tasting - see www.hengatewineschool.co.uk
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