The Wine Gang, five UK wine critics put on berets to visit Saint Mont in the South West of France. This is their description of visiting the charming town of Saint Mont and touring the area including spending time at Producteurs Plaimont.
The Wine Gang have graciously let us reproduce their blog on the DiscoverVin blog.
Eric shows Grace how to wear the beret Saint Mont style
Leaving Côtes de Gascogne, we headed to Saint-Mont, a charming town surrounded by vineyards and blessed with beautiful ancient stone buildings including a magnificent monastery
(which is also a hotel). Eric Fitan (president of the Saint Mont Wines
trade body), Charlotte Grizeaud (communications manager) and Xavier
Didelon (area sales manager, Plaimont Producteurs) stuck a beret on our
heads (the beret is almost a uniform in Saint Mont!) and took us for a
walk around the town.
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| Ferme Descoubet’s owner shows us his sustainable farming methods |
We then joined Christine Cabri in Plaimont Producteurs
tasting room for a brief introduction on the three main Saint Mont
terroirs and their influences on the wines from the appellation.
We tasted a selection of Saint Mont
white and red wines, including a rare wine made from vines that date
from before phylloxera destroyed most of the French vineyards in 1863.
Not only does Saint Mont have some vines
that are more than 180 years old, but it also has grape varieties that
are so rare that they have not been identified yet!
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Saint Mont terroirs
Eric shows us around the Saint Mont classified plot
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| Visit of Saint Mont monastery with Eric, Charlotte and Xavier |
We moved on to Château de Sabazan and then Château Saint Go,
where we tasted a flight of Saint Mont reds, including a vertical
tasting (several vintages of a same wine), showing the ageing potential
of these tannat-based wines.
Saint Mont vineyards
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| Plaimont Producteurs have played a key role in preserving andidentifying Saint Mont’s grape variety heritag |
What a great way it was to discover the
two appellations! We tasted our way through the different expressions of
the local varieties: Tannat, complemented by Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon for the reds of Madiran; and Gros Manseng, Petit Manseng, Petit Courbu, and Arrufiac for Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh’s dry whites and sweets.
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| Pacherenc du Vic Bilh’s barrique d’or |
We moved on to dinner at the restaurant Le Prieuré, our appetites whetted by all the lovely wines we had just tasted.
We were joined there by Frédéric Richevaux (Plaimont Producteurs) who had brought wines from their respective properties to complement our dinner.
We first enjoyed a homemade foie gras terrine with sweet Pacherenc du Vic Bilh. Followed by a white fish in a creamy saffron sauce, paired with dry Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh.
We then had duck served with a sauce and vegetables. It was brilliant to taste Madiran
wines with food, after having tasted them on their own an hour earlier.
We could see how the tannins of the wine cut through and lifted a rich
dish like the duck.
Our hosts had prepared another surprise for dessert, pairing chocolate fondant with a 100% tannat Madiran wine. And what a success!
Our trip ended with a lunch at the
restaurant de la Tour in Lembeye, where the chef and winemakers had
worked together to pair a Moroccan inspired meal with their wines.
It highlighted how modern these wines
are, and how they can be a perfect match for not only local cuisine, but
international dishes, including spicy food.
So, next time you order a curry from the take-away, try and match it with a Madiran or a Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh!
A million thanks to all the producers
and representatives involved in the trip, who made it a great voyage of
discovery, and who made us fully experience the warmth, the hospitality
and the passion of South West French wine producers!
With Roland et Emmanuel
http://www.thewinegang.com
http://southwestfrancewines.
Discovervin is pleased to sell the wines of Producteurs Plaimont in Australia, including this mixed pack of 6 bottles of their wines.
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