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Late November/early December the Vignerons Independants (independent winemakers) hold a series of public wine fairs, most notably in Lyon, Reims, Lille and Paris where you can taste a seemingly mind- and tongue-boggling array of wines from all over France. The exhibitors are mainly small independent winemakers (no co-operatives, negociants or multi-nationals) who are keen to show off their wines.
In Lille alone, there were over 460 stands covering the whole of France and Corsica, and for the wine-enthusiast it really is a great opportunity to discover new wines.
The problem is that you cannot physically taste more than a small fraction of those wines on offer, so a bit of pre-planning or a good helping of serendipity is required.
I usually go with a few friends, and our strategy is to split up for the first couple of hours and then meet up to compare notes and share “discoveries”. So the following mix of old favourites and new wines to watch is not a scientific analysis of all that is available, but a personal selection from those that I did visit::-
Mas de Martin, Coteaux du Languedoc AC
Here Christian Mocci makes some excellent and very drinkable wines which he blesses with mythical names - Ultreia and Cincarca. These are really well-structured blends of Syrah and Grenache (plus Mourvedre for the Ultreia) but with juicy red fruits predominating. Regrettably not available in the UK as yet, but hopefully someone will start importing them, especially as they have won two “Coups de Coeur” in the Guide Hachette and a bronze in the Decanter World Wine Awards 2007. See www.premiumwanadoo.com/masdemartin The Domaine also offers self-catering accommodation - see www.frenchduck.co.uk
Domaine de Cauhapé. Jurancon AC and Jurancon Sec AC
I am a great fan of good Jurancon wines from the foothills of the Pyrenees. These idiosyncratic wines are primarily based on Petit Manseng, Gros Manseng and Petit Courbu, and range from steely dry (Sec) through to gloriously rich dessert wines. Domaine de Cauhapé produces some of the very best, and this year Henri Ramonteau, the owner was present to show his stylish wines. I personally prefer the dry wines, although I will confess that his dessert cuvee Quintessence du Petit Manseng is a really exceptional wine.
Of the dry whites I like them all for the wonderful combination of crisp, delicate acidity with exotic fruit flavours. Even the names of his cuvées are enticing - Chant des Vignes (song of the vines), Ballet d’Octobre and Symphonie de Novembre (from the late harvesting), la Canopée: “The aroma has a rare complexity, combining hazelnuts and quince paste with smoky notes and mineral characters. The palate is extremely aromatic - an explosion of fruits and spices.” For more on the Domaine see www.cauhape.com. UK stockists for Domaine de Cauhapé include Arthur Rackham
Domaine Octavie, Touraine and Touraine Sauvignon AC
An old favourite, but I was really impressed with even their basic cuvée of Touraine Sauvignon 2006 - good clean crisp, fragrant Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire - and at just €5.00 at the stand and vineyard this is incredible value - and such nice people. For more info see www.frenchduck.co.uk
Available in the UK from Eton Vintners and others
Chateau Ricardelle, Coteaux du Languedoc, la Clape AC Back to the Languedoc for the other star of my tasting - the Cuvée Closablières from this fine vineyard near the coast near Narbonne. “La Clape” is a rocky outcrop between Narbonne and the Mediterranean and this slope on the North East side of the outcrop is able to produce wines of great intensity probably due to low rainfall and cooling sea breezes. This wine is a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Carignan aged in oak for 12 months.
This wine is stocked by Pic Wines
This chateau also offers self-catering accommodation amongst the vines! For more info see www.frenchduck.co.uk
Overall I still think that the Languedoc continues to improve in terms of quality and value for money - by contrast the Rhône wines were a little disappointing - a personal view based only on a fairly random selection of wines available in Lille.
Until 9th December 2007 Threshers are again offering a stonking 40% off their still wine, sparkling wine and champagne. Valid in most Threshers, Bottoms Up, Wine Rack, Haddows and Victoria Wine stores.
They have a decent selection of French wines including Pic St Loup AC from the Languedoc, Louis Jadot wines from Burgundy, Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais and a good selection of Champagnes - and with that sort of discount the prices have to be pretty unbeatable.
All you have to do is to click on the voucher image above and print off your copy today! Then present it at any participating Thresher Group store between 29th November and 9th December 2007 to receive your 40% discount!.
According to the Independent the Beaujolais region is effectively enjoying a climate equivalent to that 100 kilometres further south compared to 20 years ago. This also means that grape harvest is starting earlier, and hence the wines are no longer quite so “nouveau” when bottled, which should allow for a touch more maturity and finesse in the wines.
On the eve of the launch of Beaujolais Nouveau 2007, there is some thoughtful analysis of the issues facing the winemakers of Beaujolais:-
Beaujolais, however, is starting to fight back. For the first time this year a substantial amount of a Beaujolais Nouveau rosé will be sold. There is also a significant drive to improve quality.
“We were carried away with the euphoria,” said Dominique Piron, a wine producer and trader at Morgon, in the northern part of the beautiful Beaujolais hills, just north west of Lyons. “The more mass-produced forms of Beaujolais Nouveau were sometimes, frankly, bad and damaged the image not only of Nouveau but of all types of Beaujolais.
“Worse than that, the fad for Nouveau meant that even the better forms of Beaujolais, the ten ‘crus’ such as Morgon, Fleurie, Chiroubles, were made in the light, ‘nouveau’ style, without the richness and subtlety that good Beaujolais should always have.
Beaujolais Nouveau rosé is not something I have tried, but given the rise in popularity and availability of rosé wines on the shelves then a rosé may be a more attractive option - I shall obviously have to experiment!
Nick Dobson Wines still has some traditional Beaujolais Nouveau and Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau available if you are quick - plus he has written about his trip to the region last week - see www.nickdobsonwines.co.uk
A highlight of the wine year has to be Yapp’s pre-Christmas sale which runs on 23 and 24 November 2007 (9am-5pm) at their delightful premises in Mere, Wiltshire. The setting is the Old Brewery and the range of wines on their list is an impressive choice of some of the best and most interesting growers in the Loire and Rhone, Provence, Alsace, Champagne, the Savoie, Roussillon, the Midi and Corsica.
To add to the offerings there is also an exhibition of contemporary still life paintings running from 9th-29th November 2007.
Amongst my selections from their list (not necessarily in the sale) I would highlight:-
- the Pic St Loup wines of Mas Bruguière (Languedoc)“.. rich, compelling wines with vivid garrigue fruit aromas, an earthy palate and good firm tannins.”;
- Menetou-Salon AC Domaine Jean Teiller (Loire) - “An atypically fruity wine with a scent of newly mown grass. The ripe, juicy palate yields a fresh, dry finish.”;
- the biodynamic Savennieres AC Coulée de Serrant (Loire) ;
- the red, white and rosé Lirac ACs from la Fermade (Rhone) “Sweet black cherry, touch of roasted sage, good brisk tannins - this is a Rhône red of finesse “;
- Bunan’s intense Bandol AC Mas de la Rouvière (Provence)“A deep ruby colour with intense aromas of truffles and peppers. The palate displays liquorice and tobacco with plenty of firm tannins.”
And let us not ignore some of the lesser-known offerings of Jasnières AC and Thouarsais (Loire); and the selection of wines from Savoie and Corsica.
Yapp Brothers Ltd, The Old Brewery, Mere, Wiltshire BA12 6DY
Jonathan Ray in The Telegraph selects his top 10 sweet wines, which includes the little-known and hard-to-pronounce appellation of Pacherenc du Vic Bilh from South West France. Reserved solely for white wines, it is the white sister to the red Madiran AC, covering virtually the same area in deepest Gascony.
It is most often seen as a late harvest dessert wine, but you can also find dry versions. Permitted grapes include Gros Manseng, Petit Manseng, Arrufiac and Petit Courbu grapes, similar to nearby Jurancon AC, but tending to have a touch more mineral edge.
2005 Rive Haute Reserve Pacherenc 13.5%vol, France (£8.99 per 50cl; Playford Ros 01845 526777, Coe Vintners 020 8551 4966, Wheeler Cellars 01206 713560).Pacherenc du Vic-Bihl is the white wine AOC from Madiran in south-west France. Made from Gros and Petit Manseng, Petit Courbu and Arrufiac picked between St Martin’s Day (Nov 4) and St Albert’s Day (Nov 15), this has hints of lemon and apricot. Great with fruit tart.
This comes from the Plaimont Co-operative, who also produce another superb Pacherenc - Cuvée St Albert.- for more see www.plaimont.com
Other French wines on the list included a Jurancon from the Southwest, a Barsac from Bordeaux and a demi-sec Champagne from Pol Roger!
Johnathan Ray makes the point that we too often pigeonhole such wines as “dessert” or “pudding” wines, when there are ocassions when they can be a perfect compliment to other foods.
“Pan-fried foie gras, simple pâté de foie or even smoked fish at the start of a meal can work beautifully with a sticky. I once enjoyed a fine German Beerenauslese with a main course of roast wild boar.”
Will Lyons has prepared a top 100 wines for the Scotsman - inevitably a personal selection, but nevertheless it includes some surprises amongst the French wine selection - e.g. several Beaujolais wines, which have been rather out of fashion in recent years.
From the fireside in Elgin to the trestle tables of St James’s, over the last 12 months I have swirled my way through the offerings of Britain’s wine trade on your behalf. My selection criteria are twofold: the wine has to be of interest and must always represent value for money. The results, my 100 best wines of the year, are below and include something for every palate.
Touraine Sauvignon AC, Domaine Octavie (£4.66) - a wine which we used to import for Allez Vins! “A little gem from one of the best estates in the Touraine. It has plenty of the gooseberry and mineral fruit that you’d hope to find in decent Sancerre.” Wines of the World (more on Domaine Octavie)
) in Bergerac “A real gem. Full, rich, creamy and packed with honey, peach and apricot flavours.” Andrew Chapman Fine Wines
This is a critical time in the winemaker’s year, and the only time when the vineyards and cellars seem really busy - choosing when to pick is such an important decision - too early and the grapes may not have reached optimum maturity - too late and the weather
Over in Alsace, the harvest at Hugel et fils is due to start on Monday 10 September 2007. Despite a generally poor summer, a good Spring and some decent weather in recent weeks has led to a promising early vintage.
Alsace is known as the “wine merchant’s wine” as they get to taste it and rave about it, but it tends not to sell as well as it should. But get beyond the Germanic names and bottle style, and these can be some of the finest dry white wines in the world, especially Riesling. There is no real entry-level wine to serve as a good introduction, but choose a good producer and you’ll not be disappointed with these elegant, dry and rich wines.
One of the best names in Alsace is Hugel et Fils, and to get winelovers involved with the harvest their website is running a daily diary of this year’s harvest in the form of a blog. This will give readers an opportunity to ask questions and make comments in a very interactive way.
Our 2007 harvest will begin on Monday 10 September and we have just posted our first comments on-line. These will be regularly updated and can be accessed directly at http://blog.hugel.com/en/
Hecules Wine Warehouse in Sandwich, Kent stocks some of the Hugel wines in the UK/
Cotes de St Mont VDQS and Madiran AC celebrate significant anniversaries in 2007 – 25 years for St Mont and 100 years for Madiran. These anniversaries coincide with the recent interest in the Tannat grape for its health-giving properties. The Plaimont Co-operative has been key to the development of these appellations.
The French Paradox in South-West France is based on a unique combination of terroir, growing practices and grape varieties. In concrete terms:
• a growing process, described in the winegrower’s production specifications set up some 30 years ago - disbudding, leaf plucking, yield control through cluster thinning, health status control, etc. -, which enables the grapes to reach perfect maturity,
• “privileged” grapes: the grapes growing in the Pyrenean area have the advantage of late bud break and flowering. They are thus protected from bad weather in Spring, frost and poor berry set, and enjoy cool nights and sunny days during late Summer, which gives rise to the particular maturity that is specific to the region. Grape harvesting is left until late in September,
• in-depth knowledge of plot soils.Also associated are traditional winemaking methods:
• beginning of vinification through slow fermentation, which promotes extraction during the non-alcoholic phase (pre-fermentation maceration under controlled temperature),
• traditional vinification with temperature control and long maceration,
• maturation on lees with controlled aeration (such wines require much oxygen).The current techniques respect and reinforce these principles of traditional winemaking.
Within the framework of his work, Professor Roger Corder has analysed many wines from around the world. The results are to be found in his book The Wine Diet
.
Among the wines analysed in this region, the following have been awarded an “excellent standard” rating:
• St-Mont, Château de Sabazan, Château de St-Go, Château du Bascou, Le Faîte.
• The Plaimont producers’ Madiran Plénitude
• Madiran Château de Crouseilles and Château d’Arricau-Bordes from the Crouseilles wine co-operative.
Dr Roger Corder has a new book coming out in September 2007 – The Red Wine Diet
Plaimont wines in the UK are stocked by (amongst others) the Wine Society – the Chateau de Sabazan Cotes de St Mont VDQS has been a favourite of mine – a good oaked tannat red, but with a touch more fruit than many Madirans “A gorgeous ripe tasting red from Gascony” (£9.50)
In the southern Cotes du Rhone a series of Jazz concerts at vineyards is now available – sounds an ideal combination of sensual music, verdant surroundings and an opportunity to taste good wines. Furthermore as the autumn approaches the autumnal colours of the vine leaves can produce a wonderful symphony of red and brown hues.
On 1st September 2007 the venue is Domaine Berthet-Rayne at Cairanne (84 Vaucluse, Provence) one of the named Cotes du Rhone Villages. In the UK the Sussex Wine Company stocks this wine “Berthet Rayne’s Cairanne is a rich spicy traditional blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre with much of the fruit coming from very old vines indeed.”
In October the venue is Visan one of the lesser-known village appellations to the north of Cairanne. Great Western Wine stocks Domaine de la Guitrady, Cotes du Rhone Villages Visan AC – “The promising inky black colour is the introduction to a stunning bouquet of black fruits, violets and hickory. Rich and velvet smooth on the palate with complex layers of peppery flavours”
November the venue is back in Cairanne at Domaine Brusset – a domaine which receives high praise from Andrew Jefford’s The New France: A Complete Guide to Contemporary French Wine (Mitchell Beazley Wine Guides)
For dates see www.frenchduck.co.ukand details of the venues and artists see www.jazzdanslesvignes.com
According to statistics issued by the Mutualité Sociale Agricole, around 47,000 grape pickers will work in the Beaujolais vineyards this year - that’s almost the equivalent of the population of Macclesfield and more than the number of people employed in the French Navy.
More than 115 different nationalities will harvest the future 2007 Beaujolais vintage by hand* across the 22,000 ha of vineyards in the region. Although 85% of the pickers are French, the remaining 15% are a truly international group, with workers coming from Turkey, Poland, China, Russia, Albania, Brazil, Kazakhstan and Australia.
47% are under 25, 37% are women, and 90% are lodged and fed by the winegrowers, carrying on a tradition that has been in place for centuries. On average, one grape picker harvests 500kg of grapes per day.
Beaujolais is the only French vineyard (together with Champagne) where hand-picking is the general rule. Beaujolais wines are made from the Gamay grape. Although best known for Beaujolais Nouveau, the region also produces more serious and elegant wines from the various “cru” villages such as Fleurie, Moulin a Vent, Cote de Brouilly.
Recommended producers include Paul Beaudet and Pierre Ferraud.. Nick Dobson stocks a good range of Beaujolais wines in the UK.
For more info on Beaujolais wines see http://www.beaujolais.com
