A tradition of unique grapes add flavor to South West vintages

Dave de Simone writes about wine for Trib Total media out of Pennslyvania in USA.

He recently wrote about the wines of South West France.  In the article he describes the wonderful food and wines of Gaillac and Fronton.  Two areas we love.

"Never heard of négrette, fer servadou, duras and gros manseng , let alone prunelart, ondenc and loin de l'œil ?

Not to worry.

These wine grapes represent just a smattering of more than 130 varieties scattered across the storied vineyards of South West France. The region's viticulture blossomed during the Roman era. In the Middle Ages, industrious monks produced wines to quench thirsty pilgrims traversing the region on the way to St. Jacques de Compostela in northwestern Spain.

Later, the tumultuous French Revolution, the devastating 19th-century phylloxera infestation and economically disruptive wars sorely challenged the region's wine culture. Through it all, generations of undaunted South West wine growers persevered and, somehow, preserved the region's unique traditions and wines. Today, a new, well-travelled and outward-looking generation of vignerons — and female vigneronnes — has emerged poised to share their diverse wines with a wider audience.

Faubourg 73, a charming, hip bistro in the town of Montauban, embodies the region's confident, vibrant spirit. With a musical backdrop ranging from the Doors' “Soul Kitchen” to Frank Sinatra's “Fly Me to the Moon,” engaging proprietor Pierre Cantagel efficiently serves “bistronomie” cuisine. The fun, laid-back approach incorporates fresh, local ingredients served in delicious small plates.

Thin slices of jambon noire de Bigorre — ham made from local black pigs — precede small cups of cream of pumpkin soup, mussels Basquaise with fresh chorizo sausage, Vietnamese venison eggrolls and braised duck pieces with caramelized shallot in a rich red wine sauce. Winegrower Frédéric Ribes matches each successive dish with whites and reds from Fronton, a 5,000-acre appellation making terrific wines seldom known in America.

Ribes, along with his brother Jean-Luc and the polyglot jack-of-all-trades Pierre Salama, specializes in négrette, a grape also known as folle noire (“crazy black”). The vines grow in Boulbènes, soils of silt and clay mixed with quartz and oxidized red stones called rougets .

Nearby Gaillac (pronounced guy-ack ) producers offer a glittering galaxy of dry sparklers, crisp, exotic whites, fruity rosés, earthy reds and luscious, sweet dessert wines. The Romans planted vineyards here as part of their Mediterranean Narbonne province. Monks at Abbey-Saint Michel solidified Gaillac's winemaking traditions and prosperity for centuries. English kings long preferred the wines.

Today, vibrant producers such as Domaine Plageoles, Domaine Causse Marines, and L'Enclos des Braves have embraced Gaillac's traditional varieties to export hand-crafted, attractively priced, terroir- driven wines.

Read more: http://triblive.com/lifestyles/davedesimone/7279732-74/wine-wines-black#ixzz3LbIsnlxf
Follow us: @triblive on Twitter | triblive on Facebook

Tour de Gendres Cuveé des Conti, Le Classique, Bergerac Rouge

Tour des Gendres, Le Classique, Bergerac Rouge, 2012 is a velvety, approachable Merlot from the appellation of Bergerac. It is ideal for drinking now.

Known as the “Prince of Bergerac”, Luc de Conti has gained a reputation as a leading French wine maker. Working with his brother Jean and his cousin Francis, they produce biodynamic wines that concentrate on fruit, balance, power and freshness.

Driven by passion as much as by perfectionism, de Conti has introduced organic and biodynamic farming practices to the family domain. He is pragmatic about working with the appellation’s historic grape varieties and doesn’t hesitate to sacrifice vines at the altar of ‘terroir’ and quality.
Certified fully organic in 2005, the estate’s approach was very much a family-orientated decision.

Tour des Gendres, Le Classique, Bergerac Rouge, 2012 is available online for $26.00
The wine is a Bordeaux blend with 60% Merlot and 40% Malbec.
Our tasting notes: Deep garnet colour with purplish tints. The wine
reveals slightly spicy notes of raspberry and cherry on the nose. This
wine is crunchy and chunky on the palate, sweet yet fresh and crisp.

DiscoverVin - looking for everything unmodern.

Luc de Conti, winemaker at Château Tour des Gendres in the Bergerac appellation in South West France is emphatic about the natural evolution of his biodynamic wines. “We’re looking for everything unmodern” ("On cherche l'anti vin moderne par excellence"), he says. When asked to describe his wines in one phrase de Conti said “Wines that follow the heart more and more, and Parker less and less”.

DiscoverVin has released of two Château Tour des Gendres wines. Known as the “Prince of Bergerac”, De Conti has gained a reputation as a leading French wine maker. Working with his brother Jean and his cousin Francis, they produce biodynamic wines that concentrate on fruit, balance, power and freshness.

The wines are an ideal fit with DiscoverVin’s wine portfolio. Our portfolio places emphasis on independent wine makers and grape growers that typically adhere to the practice of meticulous hand nurturing from vineyard to bottle.

Driven by passion as much as by perfectionism, de Conti has introduced organic and biodynamic farming practices to the family domain. He is pragmatic about working with the appellation’s historic grape varieties and doesn’t hesitate to sacrifice vines at the altar of ‘terroir’ and quality.

Certified fully organic in 2005, the estate’s approach was very much a family-orientated decision. Authenticity and excellence are the buzzwords that he lives by and produces in his wines.

And according to Jancis Robinson MW: “A handful of producers such a Luc de Conti at Château Tours des Gendres ...are now producing ambitious wines to rival some of Bordeaux’s smartest offerings.”

The white wine, Cuvée des Conti, Bergerac Blanc 2013, is a fresh Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc/Muscadelle blend made using biodynamic principles. It is an excellent expression of ripe Semillon that offers a superb aromatic complexity, combining roundness and vivacity in the mouth. 

And the red wine Tour des Gendres, Le Classique, Bergerac Rouge, 2012 is a velvety, approachable Merlot, ideal for drinking now.

Chateau Haut-Peyrous, Rouge. 2009 Vintage now available

Hard work in the vineyard at Chateau Haut Peyrous in 2014 now leads to work in the cellar.

While vintage 2014 is almost complete at Chateau-Haut Peyrous in Graves, DiscoverVin are excited about the arrival of the 2009 vintage on Australian shores.

The 2009 Chateau Haut-Peyrous rouge, Retours de Palombières is available on line for $39.90.

 

2009 was a great year in Bordeaux and the red wine, Retours de Palombières from Chateau Haut-Peyrous is a great example of this vintage.

Chateau Haut-Peyrous is a biodynamic and organic producer, with all work since 2008 carried out in accordance with organic production criteria.  The soil is worked mechanically with grass left to grow between rows to encourage microbial activity.

Retours de Palombières is Merlot based (65%)  with Cabernet Sauvignon (20%), Cabernet Franc (20%) and small amounts of Petit Verdot and Malbec.

DiscoverVin have sold out of

2008 but now have 2009 in stock

On opening,  immediate complexity on the nose is evident with red fruits and violets. Great mouth feel.  It is round, complex and gorgeous. The tannins are restrained, but add structure. It has lovely minerals and the spice typical of good Graves red wine.

Rich and soft now we think the wine will continue to improve with cellaring for the next two to five years.

Wine Enthusiast Reviewer, Roger Voss, described the 2009 wine as "A powerful yet youthful wine.  It balances blackberry fruit character with smoky tannins and delicious , bright and juicy acidity."

From the Daily Telegraph

Lesser-known Bordeaux wines you'd be mad not to try

The Bordeaux region has a wine for every taste – and every budget – if you know where to look

Big sky drinking: the Bordeaux region’s famed  hillsides  Photo: Alamy

By Victoria Moore

7:00AM GMT 31 Oct 2014

Driving to Clos Manou at Saint Christoly Médoc always reminds me of that bit in C S Lewis’s Voyage of the Dawn Treader where they sail to the edge of the earth. Leaving the city of Bordeaux behind, you pass the commune of Margaux, then St Estèphe, the estuary of the Gironde widening on your right. The elegant buildings grow more sparse, the sky seems to get bigger and you feel closer to it: the place feels forgotten, in a “here be dragons” kind of way.

Last week I promised to tour a few of the less-known parts of Bordeaux, the ones in which you might hunt out well-priced wines (not cheap wines, there is a big difference); and the northern Médoc is one of them. I think of it as one of Bordeaux’s newer areas because of Robert Parker’s recent anointing of Ch Sociando-Mallet, and because of Ch Cos d’Estournel’s great enthusiasm for their new Goulée vineyard (first vintage, 2004), on a gravel hill once surrounded by water. But that’s not the whole story.

At Clos Manou, they might only have made their first wine in 1998, but they have the oldest cabernet sauvignon vineyard in Bordeaux – great, gnarled vines thought to have been planted in the 1850s.

There is a particular flavour to the wines up here. They are broader and less edgy than reds from farther south. I often find what my mind logs as black coal-dust and black (as opposed to red) berries, but with a more open, new-worldy feel. If I were looking for a bordeaux to unite both left (Médoc) and right (St Émilion et al) bank fans, this is where I’d come.

Another part of the region which has seen a big hike in investment over the past decade or two is Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux.

Viewed on a map, this appears as one of many satellites of St Émilion, with which it shares a border. The others – Montagne St É, Puisseguin St É; Lussac St É; St Georges St É – all bask in the reflected glory of the St Émilion name.

Castillon goes without, so has never been able to command such lofty prices, for land or wine; but what it does have is a share of the same limestone ridge.  It also has Stephan von Neipperg, an Errol Flynn lookalike (right down to the pencil moustache). He has owned Château d’Aiguilhe, the flagship estate of the Côtes de Castillon, since 1998. Its reds represent all that is special about this area: merlot gives them soft curves, cabernet franc a joyful, red berry and redcurrant leaf fragrance. In fact, the wines as a whole have a sumptuous, happy-go-lucky quality more often found in Pomerol than in St Emilion – and at far more affordable prices. Look out for the second wine of Château d’Aiguilhe, Seigneurs d’Aiguilhe.

Excellent value can be found in the other neighbouring Côtes de Bordeaux – in particular Francs (mainly from Ch Puygueraud, whose second wine, Chateau Lauriol, I mentioned last week).

There’s another area on this side of the estuary I sometimes like to look at and that’s Fronsac (and the superior Canon Fronsac). Unlike the other wines I’ve mentioned so far though, these do need a bit of explaining. Notable for their tannic undertow (they can be quite bitter on a bad day), these wines might be on the right bank but they appeal more to the more masochistic palate of the left-bank lover. I like them on a table – you know those times when you have a savoury dish that demands a wine with some mettle.

 

Chateau Rollan de By - Modern Wine Making Levels the Field

John Foy, a New Jersey writer on nj.com posted this article on the New Jersey drinks and cocktails website describing a recent New York wine tasting featuring Chateau Rollan de By 2006. Rollan de By is one of our favourite Médoc producers.

In an blind tasting, 2 vintages of Rollan de By out scored wines usually selling for far more in price including the famous Chateau Margaux and Chateau Chevel Blanc.

Enjoy reading the article below and follow his concluding advice:
"So, at your next dinner pour the Chateaux Rollan de By or Haut Condissas and keep the change." 

DiscoverVin has limited stock remaining of Chateaux Rollan de By 2006. We have the Chateau Rollan de By 2008 which has recently arrived and is drinking well. We think its a steal as well! 

Blind tasting of 2004 Bordeaux wines (courtsey of Bethany Scherline)

"A recent comparative tasting of two wines from Chateau Rollan de By was a stroll down memory lane.
Domaines Rollan de By is a collection of eight Bordeaux chateaux in the broad Medoc appellation owned by Jean Guyon.
In September, Guyon’s son Matthieu orchestrated a blind tasting of their Chateaux Rollan de By and Haut Condissas, with the First Growth Bordeaux Chateau Margaux; Chateaux Cheval Blanc and Canon (both Saint-Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classe), and the distinguished Chateau Lagrange.

We began with three 2006 wines: Guyon’s two chateaux and what I discovered was Chateau Canon. I, and the participating wine writers, voted Chateau Rollan de By first; followed by Chateaux Haut Condissas and Canon.

The second flight had five 2004 wines: Guyon’s two chateaux and Chateaux Margaux, Cheval Blanc and Lagrange. We voted Cheval Blanc first, followed by Rollan de By, Haut Condissas, Lagrange and Margaux.
Whether Guyon realized it, he took a page from Robert Mondavi, one of the greatest wine marketers. In the 1970s and 1980s, Mondavi regularly toured America and foreign venues hosting blind tastings for wine writers, retailers and restaurateurs that pitted Mondavi’s cabernet sauvignon reserve against the wines of Chateaux Margaux, Lafite-Rothschild, Mouton-Rothschild and other classified Bordeaux estates. Every tasting I attended resulted in Mondavi’s cabernet sauvignon reserve garnering more votes than one or more of the world-renowned Bordeaux wines.
Did that mean that Mondavi’s cabernet sauvignon reserve was better? Did the September tasting prove that Rollan de By and Haut Condissas, at less than $50 each, are qualitatively above the $1,000 Chateau Margaux?
I think these comparative tastings tell a different story.

The wine world has experienced a transformative age since the 1970s.

In the September tasting, all the wines were properly made; that would not have been the case prior to 1980. Back then, despite the great chateaux’s better vineyards, wine-making equipment and talented winemakers, poorly made wines were common.
Today, the great chateaux and Domaines Rollan de By employ scientific analysis of their wine and vineyards, temperature-controlled fermentation tanks, new barrels, and educated winemakers and wine consultants. In short, the playing field is much more level.
Consumers can buy wines with a quality assurance that our ancestors never had. Yes, differences remain, but they are matters of taste and style, as well as ego. This change has obliterated the sanctified and archaic 1855 Bordeaux classification that is the pillar of Bordeaux pricing.
So, at your next dinner pour the Chateaux Rollan de By or Haut Condissas and keep the change."

The Wine Gang Focus on Gaillac

The Wine Gang, five UK wine critics experienced the diversity of wines from South West of France.  This is their description of visiting Gaillac, an wine producing area near Toulouse.

Gaillac

The Wine Gang have graciously let us reproduce their blog on the DiscoverVin blog.

Diversity is the name of the game in South West France: from a vinous perspective, there really is something for everyone if you put together all the appellations in this beautiful corner of Europe. If there was a single area that expressed this versatility in microcosm, however, it would have to be an historic appellation that straddles the Tarn River: Gaillac.

"The diversity starts, of course, in the vineyard, or, rather, beneath the vineyards: Gaillac has three distinctive terroirs, each offering a different character to the wines, from the power and structure offered by the stone, sand and gravel terraces on the left bank of the Tarn to the elegance and succulence brought by the chalky clay of the right bank and the poise and vibrant fruit of the limestone Plateau Cordais.

Harvest in Cotes de Tarn

But that’s really just the beginning. On those soils, Gaillac producers work with nine different grape varieties to produce seven distinct wine styles. The permutations are, therefore, as fascinating as they are delicious. In Gaillac you can find vividly berry-fruited, explosively juicy youthful reds made from Gamay and bottled shortly after harvest, alongside intense, structured but elegant reds made from the local favourites Braucol and Duras as well as Syrah, offering fine tannins and freshening acidity to go with their spicy flavours.

Whites, from Mauzac, Loin de L’Oeil, Ondenc and Muscadelle, can be oak-aged, dry and savoury, with concentrated juicy apple offset by minerals and rippling acidity. Or they can be lusciously sweet and honeyed, like a liquid tarte-tatin, enlivened by a line of fine citrus."

DiscoverVin import two wines from Chateau de Saurs in Gaillac.
This chateau has been in the hands of the same family since the 16th century. It is now in the process of conversion to organic production (from the  2012 vintage the wines will be labelled as certified organic).
The vineyard extends for 42 ha, growing selcted grape varities to produce wines of the Gaillac appelation (white, rosé and red).

Chateau de Saurs AOC Gaillac Blanc Doux is made from a selected parcel of Loin de l'Oeil of more than 40 years old. The grapes are late-picked at the peak of ripeness during October. Loin de l'Oeil ('Lew-an-de-le-oh-eye") translates as eye of the lion. This gorgeous dessert wine has a sweet honey flavour on the palate.

Chateau de Saurs Tradition Rouge has been one of our most popular wines.
 "This is easily the best Gaillac wine that I have tried" Sean Mitchell, Grape Observer, June 2014.  
From an ancient vineyard that has been producing quality grapes for many centuries, premium grapes are now being made into modern, organic and clean wines while retaining characteristics typical of the terroir. 
Great value for money! The Tradition Rouge is from the great vintage of 2010.

Luc de Conti - Organic Wine Maker

Luc de Conti is deeply committed to organic and bio-dynamic methods. His wines are among the finest and most exciting wines of Southwest France. 

Chateau Tour des Gendres wines are produced on layers of calcareous soil south of the Dordogne river in the appellation of Bergerac.
 Built on a hilltop Gallo-Roman site, the property has been famous for its wines since the 12th century! 
Luc and Martine de Conti bought the property in 1981. The vineyard is fifty hectares in size and offers three very different “terroirs”: Les Gendres, Les Grand Cailloux and St. Julien d’Eymet. At Les Gendres the soil is very calcareous and gives colorful, full-bodied wines with round and ripe tannins; At Les Grand Cailloux the soil is clayey and calcareous and gives fruitier wines and at St. Julien d’Eymet, the sandy, clayey-calcareous mixture brings suppleness and fruit. 


Known since the 12th century as the winery of “Chateau de Bridoire”, Chateau “Tour des Gendres” (literally “Tower of the sons in law”) is located on the site of an old Gallo-Roman villa. Owned and run for the past 3 generations by the “De Conti” family, Chateau “Tour des Gendres” is the flagship of the Bergerac appellation.
 
The De Conti’s have 52 hectares, all in Bergerac, all organically farmed since 1994, AGROCERT certified since 2005. Yeilds are managed based on grape varieties, soil, vintages, the style and balance of the wines and their agricultural plots. average yield: 5-6 bunches per vine. Vinification techniques are customized to reflect the true vintage expression.

DiscoverVin is proud to offer both red and white  wines from Tour de Gendres.

Chateau Moulin des Dames Rouge is a  complex beautifully balanced and satisfying red wine.
Grapes: 60% Merlot, 40 % Cabernet Sauvignon
The wine is a deep red colour, with a very ripe, intense nose.
Aromas of liquorice, mint and blackberries mingle with discreet oaky notes.
The palate is supple, elegant with delicate tannins and perfectly balanced.
Wine Enthusiast, Roger Voss, Dec 2010: By softening the extract and reducing the use of wood, Luc de Conti has succeeded in making a smooth, elegant wine in a difficult year.  89/100

Lesser Known Grape Varieties- The Daily Telegraph Discover the Next Big Thing -

In the article below,  from the UK's Daily Telegraph of Tuesday 14 October, 2014,  Producteurs Plaimont from Gascony in South West of France are referred to as producers of excellent wine from unusual grape varieties.

 DiscoverVin imports and distributes wines from authentic producers such as  Domaine du Crampilh annd Producteurs Plaimont, made from the unusual grape variety Tannat.   The Chateau St Go Rouge  has been one of best selling wines, particularly at the City Wine Shop in Spring Street Melbourne.



 In February 2013 Sean Mitchell from The Grape Observer wrote "Aromatically, the Chateau Saint-Go 2007 has pronounced notes of blackberries, supplemented by the scent of sweet cloves, dark plum skins and dark cherries, and is generally rather opulent in expression.  On the palate, the wine is dry, with medium acid, fine grained tannins and medium to long length.  Blackberries abound, and the finish is balanced.  I found myself drinking this wine rather effortlessly, enjoying its nuances of length, grip and blackberry flavours.  I would suggest that it is fully developed and provides excellent drinking right now.  Good"

"Nero d’avola. Tannat.  Picpoul. Manseng Teroldego.  Furmin,  Carmenère. Cortese. Arrufiac.  These are the names of just some of the lesser-known grapes you can find on our supermarket shelves. As I wrote earlier this summer, big retailers have been growing increasingly adventurous over the past few years, supplementing the usual mass-produced brands with interesting grapes, partly to satisfy curious appetites, and partly because supermarket wine buyers love wine, too, and want to share the fun.

It was a chat with Olivier Bourdet-Pees, managing director of the excellent Plaimont Producteurs cooperative in deepest Gascony, that made me realise how extreme the effects of the globalisation – or Starbucksisation, as I sometimes think of it – of the wine market since the end of the Second World War have been. 

“In 1950 in France,” said Bourdet-Pees, “the most popular 20 grapes – merlot, cabernet, syrah, chardonnay and so on – made up only 50 per cent of the vineyard. Now those same 20 varieties account for 93 per cent. It’s a motorway of taste. It’s difficult to explain, and difficult to show.”

Data from the Wine Economics Research Centre in Adelaide demonstrates that this is not just a post-war phenomenon: grape diversity is still in decline in the 21st century, not just in France but globally: in 2010 significantly more of the world vineyard was accounted for by the same grapes as in 2000. Or, to look at it another way, 12 of the 44 countries studied had more than one-third of their vineyards covered with just one – very popular – grape variety. 

Plaimont Producteurs runs a conservation project to rescue forgotten local grapes from obscurity, searching for and propagating the vines and carrying out experimental micro-vinifications on its fruit. Its nursery includes 12 varieties whose identities are completely unknown. It also works with non-mainstream varieties, and does it well.
Plaimont Producteurs is far from being the only growers labouring to maintain a ranger network of winding lanes and overgrown byways as an alternative to the international merlot superhighway.
Across Europe other small and dedicated resistance fighters, like Walter Massa in Piemonte, are engaged in the campaign to restore grape diversity.

The distinctiveness that different grape varieties – and geography, too – can offer is not just important in Europe, with its richness of indigenous grape varieties, but in the New World, too. It is thrilling to see Australians making fiano, Uruguayans growing albariño and New Zealanders vinifying gamay. One of my favourite eccentric vineyards in Marlborough belongs to the Swiss Hans Herzog, who is borderline-obsessed with cultivating varieties not usually found in this land of sauvignon blanc. He has arneis, zweigelt, nebbiolo, barbera… the rows of unexpected vines stretch on. 

But why, even as there is an increase of choice on our shelves, do the popular grapes grow ever more popular? Sales of the top white grape, sauvignon blanc, have increased by 13 per cent in the last year even as overall sales of wine remained flat. It might simply be a consequence of being bewildered by choice. Studies have shown that the more options people are given, the more likely they are to make a conservative selection. Perhaps it’s the same with grapes: offer drinkers three possible glasses (or bottles) of white and maybe they will curiously pick the verdicchio. Over-face them with a menu of 20 and – oh goodness, sauvignon blanc please. 

Of course, this is why local grapes were more popular when they were local grapes, available in certain patches of the country, before globalisation took a hold and simultaneously made everything more available and everything less. It’s a classic Catch-22 situation. Happily, we can solve it with a glass of wine. The right glass of wine."

The Wine Gang Visit Producteurs Plaimont

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.

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.

Saint Mont is a world-famous site for grape variety and vine research, and international amphelographic (grape and vine) experts come here to study the region’s unique heritage.

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!

Saint Mont terroirs

Eric shows us around the Saint Mont classified plot

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

Plaimont Producteurs have played a key role in preserving andidentifying Saint Mont’s grape variety heritag

We then drove to the Maison des Vins in the tiny village of Madiran, where Paul Dabadie (President of Madiran wines trade body) was expecting us. Paul had prepared a special blind tasting of 20 Madiran and Pacherenc du Vic Bilh wines to introduce us to the denominations.

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.

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.com

Discovervin is pleased to sell the wines of Producteurs Plaimont in Australia, including this mixed pack of 6 bottles of their wines.

International Cabernet Day 2014 is upon us

The last Thursday of August each year is Cabernet Day...a global celebration of The King of Grapes.

Tomorrow Australian boutique French wine importer, DiscoverVin, will celebrate the 5^th Annual Cabernet Day with Château Haut Vigneau, 2009, a captivating, great value Pessac-Leognan cabernet from Bordeaux, the home of cabernet sauvignon.

International Cabernet Day (28 August) will focus on tasting and talking about cabernet with social media as the platform to connect the global conversation. Most of the action will take place on Twitter using the hashtag #CabernetDay to link the conversation.

DiscoverVin’s Craig Underhill is urging cabernet fanciers to be part of the day and to follow DiscoverVin’s cabernet tweets on @discovervin where 2009  Château Haut Vigneau in particular will be sniffing, swirling and sipping its way across the Twittersphere.

‘This wine was one of Gourmet Traveller Wine’s  “Bordeaux Beauties” in the current August/September edition and has scored 89/100 from Wine Spectator‘, so it is something to tweet about – and tasting it is an even better reason. So tweet up and tipple,” he says. 

“The 2009 Château Haut Vigneau is complex and rich with sweet fruit, mocha and beef-stock flavours, yet finely structured with good length. “Power and flesh on the mid-palate,” said panelist Forrestal.  It’s ready now but will age well for several years.”

Château Haut Vigneau, 2009 Online RRP $38.00 www.discovervin.com.au

The Producer

Situated in the commune of Martillac, this 20-hectare property once belonged to Baron de Montesquieu. Today, Mr. Eric Perrin owns the estate.  He set up a vast land clearing and plantation programme in the 1980s, rejuvenating the vineyard from the ground up.

The Appellation

The appellation of Pessac-Leognan was created in 1987 from the section of the Graves district south of Bordeaux city. Some of the vineyards are surrounded by the development of the Bordeaux suburbs. Pessac and Leognan, the key towns in the appellation, form part of the suburban sprawl, with vineyards next to houses and industrial estates.

Graves means gravel and Bordeaux’s reputation as a great wine region for Cabernet has been built on the gravel.

The red wines of Pessac-Leognan have a rich and flamboyant style, developing deep and spicy flavours with age. 

The Wine

Cabernet Sauvignon (70%), Merlot (30%)

Cellaring Potential

Can be enjoyed now but will keep for many years (2014-2025)

Our Tasting notes

A wine with very pleasing aromas of black fruits (blackberries, black currant), red fruits (raspberries) and with subtle roasted notes (grilled and smoky). Good fruit weight and fine gravel tannins giving it a lovely mouth feel. Hints of minerals and chocolate.

Its style typifies the silky tannins, minerals and structure of the cabernet wines of Pessac-Leognan.

Tour de France and the wines of Madiran

The Tour de France is turning north to Paris. Today it   passes through a beautiful region in the foothills of the Pyrenees. A region crossed for centuries by pilgrams heading to Campostella de Santiago on the coast of Spain. They feel in love with the wines of the region and were said to carry them onwards on their journeys. (Some say this was the origin of alter wine- must have mighty fine alter wine if you ask us!)  We included an excellent red wine from the Madiran region in our Taste the Tour 6 pack. Although the Tour is nearly over, these 6 wines will give you a great introduction to the wines of the region, to enjoy at your leisure.

Stage 19: Madiran Friday 25 July - Maubourguet Pays du Val D’Adour : Bergerac 208 km

The tour leaves the mountains of the Pyrenees.   Today’s departure is from Maubourguet Pays du Val D’Adour in the foothills of the Pyrenees. An area of plains and hills, the Pays du Val D'Adour is at the crossroads of the Béarn, Bigorre and Gascogne cultures.  Maubourguet, the name of the common was chosen by its inhabitants to inspire fear to possible invaders. But the “Bad Village” will certainly be far more hospitable to the riders.  This 208 km stage is completely devoid of any real difficulties and, on paper at least, should smile upon the sprinters.  There could be a surprise breakaway.



Wine 5 Domaine du Crampilh, Vignes Vieilles, Madiran Rouge, 2009

This is a powerful multi-award winning wine from a well-regarded producer in the Madiran region. This domaine aims to produce a wine “in a style that brings out the heart and soul of south-west France”. The wines of this region date back to Roman times but were made famous by pilgrims passing through the region.  Made from 70% Tannat and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. A beautiful deep purple colour. An intense and savoury nose with black fruits, vanilla and leather. A concentrated palate with rich black fruit and peppery spices balanced with great structure, fine chalky tannins and acid. Intense, powerful but great length and balance.

Suggestion: Perfect with lamb shanks or duck breasts. We found this excellent recipe on the SBS Food website for beef checks braised in Madiran- we used some chuck steak instead and a bouquet garni from the garden. Delicious!