Grape Varieties

If you are a fan of Muscat wines then Perpignan (66 Pyrenees-Orientales, Languedoc-Roussillon) should be your destination from 31 January – 2 February 2009 with the Rencontres Mediterraneenes du Muscat (Mediterranean Muscat’s Convention).

Open to the public, the event offers culinary and wine-tasting workshops and the opportunity to taste a range of Muscat wines and Vins Doux Naturels (fortified wines) including St Jean de Minervois, Lunel, Rivesaltes, Frontignan and Mireval in the Languedoc, Beaumes de Venise in Provence, Cap Corse in Corsica and Samos in Greece.

The Muscat grape in its various guises tends to produce wines with the most obviously “grapey” taste, and they are usually sweet or dessert wines , such as the local Muscat de Rivesaltes. However a dry style is produced in Alsace and some domaines in the Languedoc (under the Vin de Pays d’Oc label)

For more info see www.rencontres-muscat.com

For more info on Perpignan see www.perpignantourisme.com

The appellation system in Burgundy get confusing – whereas elsewhere in France an appellation usually covers quite a wide geographical area, in Burgundy an individual plot of land can be classified as a separate appellation. So for example in Meursault, one of the best white wine areas (Chardonnay) with some pretty good Pinot Noir reds, the following are the individual appellations:-

La Barre et le Clos de la Barre.
Les Casse-Tête.
Les Charrons.
Les Chevalières.
Les Clous.
Les Corbins.
Les Criots.
Le Cromin.
Le Limosin.
Les Luchets.
Les Marcausses.
Le Meix-Chavaux.
Les Millerands.
La Monatine.
Le Murger-de-Monthelie.
Les Narvaux.
Les Pellans.
Les Pelles.
Le Pré-de- Manche.
Les Rougeots.
Les Terres-Blanches.
Les Tessons.
Les Tillets.
La Velle.
Les Vireuils.

For more info see http://www.ot-meursault.fr/meursault/fr/lemeursault.htm

Michel and Jocelyne Gendrier at Domaine des Huards are great enthusiasts for these wines – elegant and richly flavoured. Their reputation has spread beyond the local region to Paris – and every weekend you’ll find Parisiens at the domaine, having travelled down the autoroute just to stock up on these wines.
You can be assured of a warm welcome at the domaine (see map). The Gendrier family have owned the domaine since 1846. In 1950 4 hectares of vines were cutlivated, mostly of the the white Romorantin grape. Today the domaine covers 32 hectares and produces 170,000 bottles of wine annually. The soil is predominantly clay and chalk with some areas more sandy.
The Gendriers show a constant concern for the environment, avoiding the use of synthetic products for treating the vines and banning weedkillers and chemical fertilisers. In many ways this is a return to the way it was done 50 years ago, working the soil to conserve the natural potential of the different soils and microbiological diversity of the vineyard.
Michel et Jocelyne Gendrier at Domaine des Huards
41700 Cour-Cheverny (see map)
T:00 33 254 79 97 90
F: 00 33 25479 26 82
E: infos@gendrier.com www.gendrier.com/

Cheverny Blanc AC Domaine des Huards 2001
A delightful and successful blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay – great grassy crispness from the Sauvignon augmented by the rich smoothness of the Chardonnay. Made from 20+ year old vines combining gooseberry, elderflower, grassy Sauvignon fruit with lime blossom floral tones. Ripe fruit with fresh acidity.
2** stars in the Guide Hachette des Vins de France 2007
Reviewed in ANDYS SCRIBBLINGS: “A superbly interesting aroma – very floral with a gravel path edge. These aromas are duplicated on the medium-bodied palate. The Chardonnay component supplies a peachy quality with the cool climate origins revealing themselves in the high/crisp acidity. Scribblings Rating – 88/100″

Cour Cheverny AC Cuvée Francois I Domaine des Huards 2001
Old Vine Romorantin. Unique in France this appellation uses only the ROMORANTIN Grape. This cuvée is produced from vines aged over 50 years old – the earliest planted in 1922! Hence the yields are low and this lends enhanced concentration to the wine. It has a pure and very fresh refined bouquet. Big in the mouth, with tones of lime, butter and fresh walnuts! It is long lasting in the mouth On harvesting one-third of the wine is left in contact with the skins for 15 hours to extract tannin and minerals. After fermentation the wine is left on some of the lees for 5 months and bottled without filtration.”exotic with spice, apricot, ginger, lychee and grapefruit zest. Tangy and long in the mouth with a creamy texture amd a spicy,floral, biscuity finish.”
Recommended in the Guide Hachette des Vins de France 2007.
Reviewed in ANDYS SCRIBBLINGS: “A good lightly brushed golden hue with a really interesting aroma. The palate is quite taught and minerally – austere almost, but there is a nice weight and some lemony-stony fruited flavours. The old vines used here have certainly played their part in imparting complexity and quality. Good Length too. Scribblings Rating – 88/100 ”

The French wine laws are idisyncratic and a little obscure – infuriating too, as with the exception of Alsace, the grape variety cannot be mentioned on the label of AC (Appellation Controllée) wines. So whilst South American Malbec is easily recognised on the supermarket shelf, the wines of Cahors, made from the same grape, remains a mystery to most consumers. Not only that but the scope for confusion in a country with 450 AOCs, and 140 vins de pays is substantial. Bordeaux alone has over 50 separate appellation names which can be on the bottle!

The proclaimed aim of the French wine appellations is to safeguard both the geographic origins of specific wines, and to control their “typicity” but restricting the grape varieties which may be used for a particular wine, and sometimes even requiring a minimum or maximum percentage of specified grape varietals. It is also claimed that this provides a quality guarantee, but that is questionable. However, you can be confident that, for example, a Cahors AC wine will have been produced in a specified area around the town of Cahors, and that it will contain at least 70% Malbec (locally known as Cot or Auxerrois), the other permitted grapes being Tannat, Merlot and Jurancon Noir. There will also be some restrictions on yield (hectolitres per hectare), maturity (sugar) levels, and approved methods of pruning etc. That said, there is a wide variation in quality in this and most other appellations, but there will be some limited consistency in style, due to the grape varieties and climatic conditions. In many ways the AC system is probably designed more to protect the authenticity and provenance of the wine, than to serve the needs of the consumer. (AC status started originally to prevent producers or merchants calling their wine “Nuits St Georges”, or “Champagne” or “Chateauneuf-du-Pape” when there was no connection whatever with those places.)

There are various levels of presumed quality:-

Vin de Table – few restrictions – can be blended from different regions, even different countries within the EU – usually basic wine.

Vin de Pays – probably the most widely seen label – especially from the Languedoc (Vin de Pays d’Oc) – restricted to specified, but often large geographical areas (e.g.Loire Valley) with few restrictions on grape varieties, but some control on yield and sugar levels. As such it includes many reasonable wines – and some gems because growers have used the relative freedom to produce wines which do not conform to the traditional style.

VDQS - Vins Délimité de Qualité Superieure – an Appellation Controllée but with wider limits on grape selection and viticulture than AC – generally used as a transitional stage between Vin de Pays and full AC – allowing producers to improve their techniques and to converge their approach.

Appellation d’Origine Controllée (AC or AoC) the strict control of many aspects of the wine production process, sometimes involving a “tasting” panel – but as this is administered locally it is unlikely to apply a very high threshold.

In Bordeaux and Burgundy there are further classifications – generally the more specific the AC name, the more limited are the producer’s options.

A cynic would suggest that the system relies more on political influence than on quality or character distinctiveness. I suspect few experts could consistently differentiate between the 14 appellations in Beaujolais, where every wine is made solely from the Gamay grape – and yet it was only a few years ago that the 14th was added – Regnié.

For the consumer the AC system does offer a limited indication of style and quality, but increasingly it is worth finding individual producers who make consistently good and interesting wines, regardless of the AC level. There are undoubtedly some fabulous Vins de Pays which outshine more prestigious AC wines, and often at a lower price.

However, the French system of wine control is excessively bureaucratic and slow to adapt. It would help consumers and producers immeasurably if an indication of grape variety could be included on the label, rather than arrogantly assuming that everyone knows that Vouvray is made from Chenin Blanc, or Madiran is mainly Tannat! There are suggestions of changes in Bordeaux, forced on it by poor sales (and often disappointing quality), but elsewhere the old regime prevails!

Whilst there are still some complacent French wine makers around who rely on the name of the wine to sell it, there are many committed and exciting winemakers throughout France making tremendously good wines – see Andrew Jefford’s recent book “The New France” for confirmation and masses of good writing about the new wine landscape of France. Go back

New Appellations

Côtes de Bordeaux AC (see above)

Beaumes de Venise AC – Reds in the Southern Rhone

Saint Sardos VDQS – was a Vin de Pays in Midi-Pyrenees south of Montauban and Fronton.

Vins De Pays d’Atlantique is expected to include all grape varieties from the Charente, Dordogne, Lot et Garonne and Gironde – and potentially the Pays Basque (from 2006)

Fronton AC is the new name for what was known as the “Côtes du Frontonnais” in SW France, near Montauban.

Download a pocket guide to French wines here

Found as a single varietal in the famous whites of the Loire – Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé (plus Quincy , Reuilly and Menetou-Salon) the highly aromatic Sauvignon Blanc also forms part of the white blends of Bordeaux. The wines are noted for their piercing acidity and aromas of gooseberries and cut grass. The grape also used in the sweet wines of Bordeaux, often softened with the use of Semillon.

Zesty, fresh lemons and very dry,grassy finish.
Best with Seafood, creamy pasta dishes, goat’s cheese

Sauvignon Blanc – Found in Loire, Bordeaux , South West France

The famous Bordeaux wines of St.Emilion and Pomerol are predominantly based on Merlot. Here it produces full bodied wines with plum characteristics to the flavour and aroma; similar to Cabernet Sauvignon in many ways but generally less tannic. It is often blended with Cabernet Sauvignon. Several regions of Bordeaux see Merlot dominate the plantings. In the wines of Graves , Bourg, Blayes and Fronsac Merlot predominates. While in the South West of France Buzet, Gaillac, Cahors and Bergerac the classic variety adds softness to the local varieties with which it is blended.
Merlot grapes produce generously plummy, medium-bodied reds
Goes best with roast poultry, peppered steak, rich tomato sauces, pork chops
Merlot grown in: Bordeaux , Languedoc , Bergerac, South West France .