Search Results for "quercy"

We have long been fans of the Domaine de Merchien. at Belfort du Quercy (46 Lot, Midi-Pyrenees) (south of Cahors and north of Montauban) Sarah and David Meakin have been developing the Domaine and its production of both wine and beer.

Rather idiosyncatically as well as producing French wines (often for sale to Brits) they also decided to try to prioduce beer for the French! Clearly the British taste in beers is quite different to that of the French. Personally I love French beer. but it tends to be best in hot summer weather and the traditional “pression” tends to somewhat gassy and light in taste. It is a long way from a pint of English bitter.

Hence, although the Meakins were a bit of a mission to bring the French around to our point of view of beer, they have instead focussed on developing a style of beer which might also appeal to the French. So  what is it that the French like and dislike?

We took nearly 100 x 500cl bottles and sold out and probably could of sold half as much again!  This was the Bronze mainly with a few of the Dorée, it isn’t over hoppy and although you wouldn’t call it sweet it definitely lacks any bitter end/after taste and has a fair bit of gas for a real ale.  I would say its the bitterness that our French customers don’t like , hence we have tried to calm it down and it seems to have worked.

In addition to beer, the Domaine de Merchien produces a range of wines, including a VDQS Coteaux du Quercy – a red made from Gamay, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cot(Malbec) and Tannat.

For more info see www.merchien.com

Amanda Lawrence’s new bookWhite Stone, Black Wine: focuses on part of deepest South West France, and although subtitled ” Life Among the Ancient Vineyards of the Quercy Blanc” it is about so much more than wine, as important as this is. Quercy is the ancient name for an area which includes the departements of Lot (46) and Lot-et-Garonne(47) in the Midi-Pyrenees, with the town of Cahors at is heart. The white limestone of the area gives the landscape and buildings of the area their distinctive style. Much of the countryside is and was covered with various types of oak trees (latin:quercus) and the predominant wine is the deeply coloured (black) wine of Cahors.

The Quercy Blanc – named for its white stone – is a wild and sparsely populated area of rural France, squeezed between the great wine trading port of Bordeaux and the fizzing city of the south, Toulouse. It’s home to the goose and the grape, sumptuous foiegras, the mysterious black truffle and world famous Agen prunes. There are miles of walnut groves and, most important of all, acres of vines. The author introduces us to some colourful local characters, freezes from the kneecaps down whilst braving the famous winter truffle market in Lalbenque, throws herself with Gallic gusto into numerous fetes and uncovers traces of the luminaries who once called this place home. From Champollion, who translated the Rosetta stone, to the illustrious Eleanor of Aquitaine, whose marriage to Henry Plantagenet brought the area to the English crown.

Ideal winter reading in the UK, conjuring up the warmth and richness of life in South West France.

For more info – White Stone, Black Wine: OR get an Amazon Gift Certificates.

The Truffle Market in Lalbenque (46 Lot, Midi-Pyrenees) takes place every Tuesday from the first Tuesday in December through to mid-March. For more info see www.lalbenque.net

For more on Quercy on FrenchDuck see http://frenchduck.com

If you are a fan of the pungent Truffle then Lalbenque (46 Lot, Midi-Pyrenees) south of Cahors in the heart of the Quercy Blanc is the place to head for in the winter months.

Starting on the first Tuesday of December and on every Tuesday until mid-March the truffle market of Lalbenque takes place in the main street, called ” la rue du Marché aux Truffes “.The main street and neighbouring streets are fragrant with the perfume of truffles. Buyers and tourists crowd round the stalls where the producers sell their harvest.

For more info see www.lalbenque.net

I am a great fan of the Lot département (46 Midi-Pyrenees), initially from wine-hunting around the town of Cahors, and more recently further upstream on the Rivers Lot and Célé, where the landscapes get even more enticing. A recent trip was greatly enhanced by having Helen Martin’s book Lot: Travels Through a Limestone Landscape in SouthWest France, which tells the story of the landscape and people of this region of South West France.
It was her recommendation which led us to the stunning view at Reilhaguet (46 Lot) (see above) which she accurately describes as “the view to end all views, a roof of the world view, a heart-stopping, aching, yearning view” (about 25km north of Cahors just east of the N20).
But one of the undoubted joys of the region has to be its gastronomy and the richness of its markets, and with Helen’s permission we can share an extract from her chapter on “Food and Drink in the Lot”

Eating and drinking in the Lot is not so much gastronomy, it is more a way of life. Simple pleasures like early-morning mushrooming results in gastronomic treats at meal times.
The food used to revolve around the polyculture practised by the small propriétaires, less so today. But fruits are still bottled, geese are still stuffed, pigs are fattened, påtés are tinned, ducks are turned into hunks of confit, and yellow chickens, dotted with oil and butter and legs akimbo, are forced into ovens to emerge an hour or so later, tasting simply sensational. It is a day-in, day-out, year-long occupation. Tout es bou per sa sason ‘To everything there is a season’ takes on new meaning. ©Helen Martin

Helen Martin writes more about the Lot in her blog at http://lotbook.blogspot.com/

To read more about Food and Wine in the Lot see……… [Read more →]

The winemakers of the Coteaux du Quercy VDQS celebrate their annual wine fair at Montprezat-du-Quercy (82 Tarn-et-Garonne, Midi-Pyrenees) on 8 August 2008.

Located between Montauban and Cahors (46 Lot, Midi-Pyrenees), these red and rose wines are unusually (for the south of France) based on Cabernet Franc (40–60% of the blend) with Malbec, Tannat, and Gamay being the other allowed varieties.

The name “Quercy” comes from the latin “quercus” for oak – and was the name given to a large area of South West France until the current departement system was introduced in 1790. The Coteaux du Quercy area was known as “Bas Quercy” and is dominated by the high “Causses” or moorland which still has a lot of “scrub oaks”.

Jancis Robinson in the Financial Times (12 May 08) talks about the growing number of Brits who have followed their dream and bought a vineyard in France.

It is hardly surprising then that a substantial proportion of the hundreds of thousands of Brits who own French property have been tempted by the apparently bucolic life of a vigneron……
Are there any French winemakers left down there?
I asked Walter McKinlay, whose Domaine de Mourchon southern Rhône wines are some of the most successful from a British domaine, whether his Domaine de Mourchon wines were financially viable. He frowned. “Just about,” he said cautiously, then smiled. “But it’s a lovely lifestyle though.”

My own observation would be that it can be incredibly hard work and despite the attractions of the climate, landscape and the French way of life, it can also be very stressful. And as with all winemakers, a bad harvest, particularly in the early years can be devastating.

So, here’s our list of British vineyard owners (and 1 Irish couple) – that we are aware of (not an exhaustive list I am sure). Visits can be much more informative if the language is no barrier:-

Domaine de Laroux – Cotes de Gascogne, Armagnac (32 Gers, Midi-Pyrenees) – Nick and Karen Kitchener
Chateau Haut Garrigue - Bergerac, Saussignac AC (24 Dordogne, Aquitaine) – Sean and Caroline Feely (the Irish couple running an organic vineyard also known as Wild Earth Vineyards)
Domaine de Fontenay – Cote Roannaise AC (42 Loire, Rhone-Alpes) – Simon and Isabelle Hawkins

Chateau Richard – Bergerac, Saussignac AC (24 Dordogne, Aquitaine) – Richard Doughty

Domaine de Merchien – Coteaux du Quercy and beer! (46 Lot, Midi-Pyrenees – David & Sarah Meakin

Clos d’Yvigne – Cotes de Bergeac, Saussignac AC (24 Dordogne, Aquitaine) – Patricia Atkinson

Chateau des Milles Anges – Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, Cadillac AC (33 Gironde, Aquitaine) – Heather van Ekris

Chateau Lezongars - Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux, Bordeaux AC (33 Gironde, Aquitaine) – Philip and Sarah Iles

Chateau Teyssier – Saint Emilion Grand Cru AC (33 Gironde, Aquitaine) – Jonathan and Lyn Maltus

Chateau de Sours – Bordeaux AC (33 Gironde, Aquitaine) – Esme & Sara Johnson

Domaine Gourdon – Cotes de Duras AC (47 Lot-et-Garonne, Aquitaine) – John Coulthard
Domaine du Grand Mayne – Cotes de Duras AC (47 Lot-et-Garonne, Aquitaine) – Andrew Gordon
Domaine de Begude – Limoux AC (11 Aude, Languedoc-Roussillon) – Catherine and James Kinglake
Domaine de Mourchon – Cotes du Rhone Seguret AC (84 Vaucluse, Provence) – Walter McKinley
Maison des Bulliats – Regnie AC Beaujolais (69 Rhone, Rhone-Alpes) – Fred and Helen Lockwood
Chateau Méaume – Bordeaux Superieure AC (33 Gironde, Aquitaine) – Alan and Sue Johnson-Hill

Domaine a Sauvageonne – Coteaux du Languedoc AC, Vin de Pays d’Oc (34 Herault, Languedoc – Roussillon) – Gavin Crisfield

Domaine Sainte Rose – Vin de Pays d’Oc (34 Herault, Languedoc-Roussillon) – Charles and Ruth Simpson

Chateau Bauduc - Bordeaux AC (33 Gironde, Aquitaine) – Gavin and Angela Quinney

Domaine Sainte Croix - Corbieres AC (11 Aude, Languedoc-Roussillon) – Jon & Elizabeth Bowen

Chateau Monplaisir – Bergerac AC (24 Dordogne, Aquitaine) – David and Helen Baxter

Chateau du Seuil  – Graves AC (33 Gironde, Aquitaine) – Sean and Nicola Allison