Sparkling wines from Chardonnay and Pinot: Italy, Australia, South Africa, France

A tad lengthy and random perhaps for a post title, especially since there's no Champagne included here; but this does feature an eclectic pick of contemporary 'traditional method' fizz (as in made the same way) based on those celebrity varieties. Just goes to show, in the unlikely event that you hadn't noticed, how well these grapes and the necessary know-how have exported in the right place and hands. It's also no surprise then to discover that some of the big Champagne brands invested in other places some time ago in fact - for instance, Moët et Chandon established sparkling production wineries in Argentina back in, unbelievably, 1959, Australia in 1986 and, the most recent India in 2014 among other countries (California, Brazil, China).

Chardonnay: France, Australia, South Africa

Continuing the varietal 'wines of the moment' theme (last time it was Riesling), Chardonnay is having a minor resurrection or holding its own at least - once so fashionable then eclipsed by Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio - which is a good thing as it's much more versatile style-wise than either of those two grape varieties (peachy, citrus, tropical, oaky, oatmeal, buttery, mineral, something for everyone...). According to Wine Australia: "Chardonnay is Australia's number one selling variety in the UK off-premise market," although admittedly "the best growth" is for "other whites," such as PG and SB... Here are three pairs of recommended Chardys from three countries in different styles and stores...

France: Beaujolais Blanc

At a recent Soirée Beaujolais in Marseille (as you do), where there were mostly older vintages of red Cru Beaujolais wines (Fleurie, Moulin-à-Vent, Juliénas etc.) on tasting, it was white Beaujolais that stole the show for me (all made from Chardonnay). Some of the aged reds were interesting and tasty in a mature Burgundy kind of way, but there were too many over-oaked, over-extracted and charmless wines for my liking. Certain of the older white wines were outstanding in fact (e.g. 2010 vintage), showing how easily the best ones can age sublimely like good Chablis. Here are a few highlights...

Dominique Cornin
www.cornin.net

Domaine Dominique Cornin

Biodynamic estate based in Chaintré in the far south of Burgundy (pic. opposite).

Three vintages of their Beaujolais blanc: the 2010 was lovely and buttery, well balanced and classy; the 2008 (also a great vintage I believe) had similar buttery flavours, nuttier too and mature now; and their 2012 showing very nice 'Chablis styling' balancing creamy fruit and freshness.

Château de Lavernette

Lying to the west of Cornin in the little village of Leynes, this estate is owned by the De Boissieu family and is also certified organic and biodynamic.
Beaujolais blanc 1998 - very tasty white: buttery and oaty and still alive.
Beaujolais rouge 2001 (not sure which one, they make three reds from Gamay) - attractive mature Burgundy style.

Domaine Chasselay
Organic winery located in Châtillon d'Azergues, 25 km north-west of Lyon, run by Jean-Gilles, Christiane, Claire and Fabien Chasselay.
Beaujolais blanc 2012 - oakier style but tasty with nice oaty creamy notes vs fresh bite.

White grape varieties 'of the moment'

Updated 03.09.16 - see two wines added at the bottom (Oz Viognier and Chile Chardy)...

Workhorse Chenin Blanc 2015 Stellenbosch South Africa (13.5% abv): Made by Chenin maestro Ken Forrester for Marks & Spencer, this dry white shows a bit of class and character with honeyed melon vs yeasty tones, fairly rich yet has fresh finish too. £8.50

Posh Chardonnay: California, South Africa, Australia

Kendall Jackson Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay 2014, California (13.5% abv) - This classy wholesome Chardy is "a winemaker’s blend of mountain, ridge, hillside and benchland (a long narrow valley without a river apparently) hand select grapes grown along California’s cool coastal appellations." (The Banke-Jackson family owns vineyards in Santa Barbara, Monterey, Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino counties in fact). Each 'lot' is then fermented separately and barrel-aged. Enticing mix of buttery oatmeal aromas and flavours, and not too toasty with it, and sunny citrus/peach fruit, nice full mouth-feel yet reasonably subtle and fresh. Quite dear, although on a level with good white Burgundy especially if you're splashing out for you-know-what day tomorrow: £15.95 Slurp.co.uk.

Grier Family Villiera Brut Natural Chardonnay 2010 'Methode Cap Classique'; Stellenbosch, South Africa (12% abv) - This stylish Champagne-esque fizz was treated to no less than 34 months yeast-lees ageing in the bottle and unusually has no added sugar (unlike typical so-called 'Brut' styles) or sulphur dioxide. Still surprisingly youthful at first with frothy, fresh and structured palate; then revealing delicate 'brioche', oatcake and roast hazelnut flavours vs crisp and dry finish. Marks & Spencer £12.

Robert Oatley Vineyards '6285' Chardonnay 2014; Margaret River, Western Australia (13% abv) - Tasty example of that little extra touch of style you can find in Western Oz, this showed a deft mix of ripe juicy fruit, creamy texture and subtle oak spice in the background. Marks & Spencer: again fairly dear at £13 (I bought it on offer though) but you should be reasonably impressed.

International Chardonnay Day: Rully

Despite one website (in Australia I think) saying it's this Saturday, most seem to agree that International Chardonnay Day is indeed today. Here's my tasty Chardonnay tip for the day then, from towards the southern end of Burgundy, in celebration of the many-faced Chardy grape. Once ultra-hip, now relegated to the shelves below piles of Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio, if the average UK supermarket is anything to go by. But still more interesting and versatile than either of those two arguably...

2013 Domaine Marguerite Dupasquier Rully AOC blanc (100% Chardonnay, 13% abv) - quite classy wine actually showing a skilful mix of background toasty oak vs tasty buttery oaty characters with yeast-lees and nutty undertones (probably a bit of barrel-stirring on the winemaking front, as is the custom in much of Burgundy) vs a tighter crisper finish balancing the whole out nicely. Try with trout, smoked salmon, cured ham, certain cheeses even. £10.50 at Adsa, although I got half-a-dozen bottles on sale for a few quid less making it a fair bargain.

Australia & New Zealand: "wines of the mo"

Tried and tested recently at an Aus and NZ themed tasting I held in Belfast, here are my favourite half-dozen worth highlighting that are all widely available as long as you look on these supermarkets' usually a little dustier top shelves... But all good value in their own different ways, especially as a couple of them were on "third-off" type offers too.

Jacob's Creek 2011 Reserve Riesling, Barossa, South Australia (11.5% abv) – you've probably spotted this huge brand's "Reserve" range before (from specific subregions, there's also e.g. a Chardy, Pinot and Shiraz), which generally really are worth a go like this delicate mature yet fairly intense Riesling. It has lots of those characteristic intriguing maturing oily aromas/flavours and some lingering ripe lime zest still. Drinking well now with seafood in a winey/creamy sauce? £9.99 Tesco
More Oz Riesling HERE and HERE.

Villa Maria 2013 Pinot Grigio, East Coast, New Zealand (13.5%) - from memory, this was labelled as Pinot Gris until recently, pointing to a more French Alsace style perhaps (but sensible marketing obviously got the better of them). It's definitely got more character and mouth-weight than your average Italian PG, with nice juicy honey and melon flavours and refreshing vs full finish. Good with not too spicy Indian, Chinese or Thai I reckon. £10 Asda

Yering Station 2011 'Wild Ferment' Chardonnay, Yarra Valley, Victoria, Aus (12%) - one of Sainsbury's superior "Taste the Difference" labels, this was a good result since I wanted to show a more elegant less oaky style of Chardy. Attractive nutty lightly creamy and oatmeal edges, a touch of zing still although again drinking well now, well-balanced with very subtle oak ageing. Value @ £9 considering the price of say Chablis nowadays. 

McWilliam's 2005 Mount Pleasant 'Elizabeth' Semillon, Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Aus (12%) - a great example of one of those weird and wonderful bottle-aged Semillon styles, and again value @ £8.99 at Tesco, this has almost toasted characters, despite it being kept away from barrels, with lingering complex savoury vs green/stone fruit mix.
Oz Semillon tasting HERE.

Matua 2012 Pinot Noir, Marlborough, New Zealand (13%) - Matua seems quite big now, but they still turn out a fairly classy Pinot with perfumed cherry/berry fruit, a more savoury side too and just a hint of oak thankfully. With duck? £10.98 Asda
More NZ Pinot HERE.

Xanadu 2011 'Next of Kin' Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River, Western Aus (14%) - towards delicious Cab with plenty of ripe blackcurrant/cherry'damson, chunky mouth-feel yet with rounded texture, again subdued oak vs quite concentrated fruit, powerful yet balanced. Value @ £8.50 Sainsbury's.

Chablis: special focus report now available

You can now get a handy PDF supplement mini-mag featuring all three parts of my (updated December 2014) Chablis wine touring series (goes to intro to part 3), plus bonus pieces on a Chablis Grand Cru tasting and spotlight on M&S Chablis penned last year. The full-works twenty-page+ Chabbers special in lovely PDF format emailed to you just £3 (about $4.50 or €4.15). Snap it up quick with PayPal - use a card or your own PP account, although you don't need one to do so...

As soon as Paypal confirms receipt of payment, I'll email the PDF file to you pronto! General T&C referring to Paypal payments by bank/credit card, your privacy etc. can be found here.
More on Chablis here.

Chablis part 3: Geoffroy, Moreau, Séguinot-Bordet and more

Stop press: Chablis: special focus report now available
"You can now get a handy PDF supplement featuring all three parts of my recent Chablis wine touring mini-series, plus bonus pieces on a Chablis Grand Cru tasting and spotlight on M&S Chablis penned last year (and any of my other recent in-depth features). The full-works twenty-page Chabbers report in lovely PDF format emailed to you when you subscribe for just £10 (about $16 or €12) a year. OR BUY IT FOR £2.50 (about €3 or $4) - snap it up quick with PayPal!" Click on title above to find the PP buttons...

"On-foot" has been regrettably dropped from 'Chablis: final destination 3...', as predictably more efficient transport was required this time to spread the net a little wider. See "Chablis on foot" part 1: Chablis Wine Awards and "Chablis on foot" part 2: Droin, Chablisienne, Long-Depaquit, Fèvre for previous ramblings around Chablis and catching the drift. This last instalment explores the neighbouring villages of Beines and Maligny a tad, taking in Domaines Alain Geoffroy, Louis Moreau and Séguinot-Bordet. It also tries to simulate an elevated view of one particular snapshot of the area's vineyards ("you had to be there" type-thing, a vantage-point in the Côte de Léchet 1er Cru site) - accompanied by Eric Szablowski (goes to his website) who worked for many years as winemaker at a few wineries in the region and elsewhere, and now runs wine classes and tours in Burgundy - to get a sharper picture of and some insight on all these complicated Premier and Grand Cru names, where/what exactly 'Petit Chablis' is and other burning issues like that...

The vista is quite revealing standing on a slope (that old cliche about 'the high ground' has some worth after all) between vine rows in Côte de Léchet and Petit Chablis; the latter, strangely perhaps, are actually higher and chalkier looking than its 'superior' neighbour. "Chablis lies on Kimmeridgian slopes, and some on Portlandian, facing south-west-east," Eric (pic. right) started to explain. Amazingly, I've managed to avoid the 'K' word up until now - further insight can be found HERE (read down through the 'Grand Cru Chablis London 2012 tasting report'), as I can't be bothered going on about that again... Advanced warning: there's already going to be plenty of soil talk here!
In a marvellous 'here's one I made earlier' style moment, Eric picked up and showed us a lovely large lump of those classic stones/rocks that make up this type of soil: chalk, marl, clay and tiny little fossils...

GET THE FULL PDF REPORT NOW TO READ THE REST OF IT!

Jean-Francois Bordet took over Domaine Séguinot-Bordet from his grandfather (pic. together above, taken from their site) - who he's obviously very fond of and still comes to see him twice a week in cellar and vineyard then they go for lunch - 15 years ago, since his mother didn't want to carry on the family business...
Ditto the link above to buy it!

Lots more Chablis HERE by the way.

"Chablis on foot" part 2: Droin, Chablisienne, Long-Depaquit, Fèvre

Stop press: Chablis: special focus report now available
"You can now get a handy PDF supplement featuring all three parts of my recent Chablis wine touring mini-series (see below), plus bonus pieces on a Chablis Grand Cru tasting and spotlight on M&S Chablis penned last year (and any of my other recent in-depth features). The full-works twenty-page Chabbers report in lovely PDF format emailed to you when you subscribe for just £10 (about $16 or €12) a year. OR BUY IT FOR £2.50 (about €3 or $4) - snap it up quick with PayPal!" Click on title above to find the PP buttons...

The first instalment of this mouthwatering Chablis mini-series can be found here: "Chablis on foot" part 1: Chablis Wine Awards; and there's a link at the end of this to Part 3. This time, join me on a little walking and tasting tour around Chablis town itself taking in four nearby wineries (there are several more of course), which can easily be squeezed into a leisurely day-out with a spot of lunch sandwiched inbetween (when in Rome...): no car required, and a good way to burn off those calories from eating too much cheese, as you do in France (tour could also be done by bike, as long as you 'spit out', man...).

Jean-Paul and Benoit Droin

Across the not-entirely square (place Lafayette) from the elegant and ever-so-French town hall (Mairie or Hotel de Ville) near the War Memorial, there's a discreet buzzer on a dark green metal gate for Domaine Jean-Paul & Benoit Droin (8 boulevard de Ferrières, phone 03 86 42 16 78, www.jeanpaul-droin.fr: there's a comprehensive list of their importers worldwide on this site by the way), which grants access to their hidden old ageing cellar (they have a modern winery too built near their Grand Cru vineyards). Old being the operative word, as this family estate goes back to 1620 no less, which is something French winemakers get very proud about, especially when you're the fourteenth generation "non-stop handed down from father to son," as Benoit Droin put it. Not many could say that I'd imagine. In any case, the main thing is that Benoit is now running the show, who explained they own 26 hectares (64 acres) in 15 appellations - Chablis, Petit Chablis, eight Premier Crus and five Grand Crus - "on both sides of the valley, so they're quite spread out making it difficult to manage ripening, picking dates etc"...

GET THE FULL PDF REPORT NOW TO READ THE REST OF IT!

Chateau Long-Depaquit
from their flickr.com photo gallery

And a good place for lunch: La Feuillette Restaurant 132, 8 Rue des Moulins, 03 86 18 91 67, chablis.net/lafeuillette132. They offer three set menu options...
A good place for dinner: Le Bistrot des Grands Crus, 8 Rue Jules-Rathier, 03 86 42 19 41, www.bistrotdesgrandscrus.com. Run by the same people behind the more famous Hostellerie des Clos (more on that in Part 3...)...
Ditto the link above - get the full-works report by subscribing to find out much more!

Click here then for Part 3 - Alain Geoffroy, Louis Moreau, Séguinot-Bordet and an elevated view of Chablis' vineyards with Eric Szablowski, to get a better picture and some insight on all these different complicated Premier and Grand Cru sites, where/what is Petit Chablis etc...
Lots more Chablis HERE by the way.

"Chablis on foot" part 1: Chablis Wine Awards

Stop press: Chablis: special focus report now available
"You can now get a handy PDF supplement featuring all three parts of my recent Chablis wine touring mini-series (see below), plus bonus pieces on a Chablis Grand Cru tasting and spotlight on M&S Chablis penned last year (and any of my other recent in-depth features). The full-works twenty-page Chabbers report in lovely PDF format emailed to you when you subscribe for just £10 (about $16 or €12) a year. OR BUY IT FOR £2.50 (about €3 or $4) - snap it up quick with PayPal!" Click on title above to find the PP buttons...

As a gentle warm-up to more in-depth reflections and my pick of wines and wineries from a recent tour in and around Chablis land (including a day's cellar hopping on foot, as is easy to do in Chablis town), we'll whet our appetite for the region's distinctive, possibly unique even, take on the Chardonnay grape by featuring all 22 medal-winners from this year's Chablis Wine Awards, which we sampled at a tutored tasted on 4th March. So, for what it's worth (as the fanfare has already been heralded), this is what I thought of them, mostly 2011 vintage wines plus a trio of Grands Crus from the excellent 2010. More info @ chablis.fr. And many more words on the Chablis area (including hotel and restaurant tips), vineyards, vintages and some of the podium-topping producers cited below (Fèvre, Moreau, Chablisienne, Geoffroy, Droin, Long-Depaquit, Bordet...) have now been cunningly packaged into another two enticing instalments: Part 2 and Part 3...

GET THE FULL PDF REPORT BY SUBSCRIBING NOW TO READ THE REST OF IT!

From chablisgrandcru.com

Hectares more on Chablis HERE (goes to archive Burgundy page inc. Grand Cru tasting and links to the rest of my "Chablis on foot" series).

Languedoc: Château de Gaure part 2

The second installment of my profile on Pierre Fabre and his dual location vineyards and wines takes us to Château de Gaure itself in the Languedoc, resting peacefully and slightly loftily between Limoux and Carcassonne, which Pierre snapped up in 2004. As I said in my report on his exciting Roussillon reds (posted below), all their vineyards are now farmed organically with minimal intervention on the winemaking front I'm told. The Limoux vine-scape in Rouffiac d'Aude is planted with mostly Chardonnay plus Chenin blanc and local variety Mauzac, traditionally used for sparkling wines but increasingly being fashioned into the occasional interesting barrel-fermented dry white by certain producers (Rives-Blanques is another). Apparently Pierre and his team have been uprooting any red varieties in this relatively cooler spot, because "they couldn't give us the kind of wines we're looking for." Château de Gaure, the building (pic. below), has also been refitted for holiday accommodation: more info www.chateaudegaure.com.

2010 Campagne (Chardonnay, Chenin blanc) - quite toasty and buttery vs crisp and steely underbelly, attractive citrus vs richer more exotic fruit; nice balance and style in the end. Good to very good.

2010 Oppidum (Chardonnay, Chenin blanc, Mauzac) - richer and more buttery than above but not too toasty-oaky, lovely underlying freshness and long finish. Very good.

2010 Mauzac - quite toasted to start yet aromatic and honeyed with nutty tones too, again has attractive fresh bite on the finish. Good+

Languedoc: Limoux sparkling wines

It wouldn't be the first time I've knocked together a few enthusiastic words about Limoux fizz on this blog and what great value for money these wines often are. This increasingly dynamic region, and relatively cool-climate for the Languedoc - lying mostly on rolling hilly land stretching out to the south of Carcassonne around the eponymous market town - boasts hundreds of years of history of making quality sparkling wines. Not that I usually give a damn about how long somebody's been doing something per se - if what they're doing is good anyway - but a little 'tradition' probably helps in this case.
The first two Limoux styles featured below are essentially created in the same way using the so-called traditional method (same as Champagne with a second fermentation in bottle), although different grape varieties, or proportions of, make up the base blends for each style; and the 'rules' on ageing differ slightly too. Crémant is made from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir (especially for rosé), Chenin blanc and/or Mauzac with at least 12 months bottle-ageing on its yeast-lees sediment. Blanquette is built mostly, or sometimes entirely, from Mauzac supplemented by Chenin and/or Chardonnay. There is another 'older' style called Blanquette Méthode Ancestrale, which is 100% Mauzac and the result of a bottle-fermentation that stops leaving some residual sugar and lower alcohol of 6-7%. I tried these tempting bottles on a tasting trip to the Languedoc last month.

Crémant de Limoux

White

2008 Château Rives Blanques Blanc de Blancs - delicately toasty and honeyed with almond and yeasty edges, crisp and stylish with attractive nutty and bready flavours, long refreshing finish. Very good.

2008 Taudou - less expressive nose, quite yeasty vs honeyed although crisp and steely too; a touch too much of that toasted yeast character although it has substance and is still nice!

2008 Alain Cavailles/Le Moulin d'Alon 'Résilience' - subtle nutty bready flavours with 'straw' and honey undertones, crisp mineral bite vs 'sweeter' toasty creamy side, good length and style.

2008 Domaine Delmas Cuvée Audace - richer nose with more 'fino'/nutty character too, lovely crisp steely bite vs yeasty and toasty. Very good.

2009 Georges et Roger Antech Cuvée Héritage - fairly fine with elegant nutty yeasty intensity, a tad closed up although has intricate flavours and crisp length.

2010 Domaine J Laurens Clos des Demoiselles - 'winier' and fuller with toasted oat notes, crisp and fresh finish. Lovely.

2006 Domaine de Martinolles - toasty complex nose, enticing rich developed character showing oaty nutty flavours vs steely and fine mouth-feel. Tasty stuff.
2007 Toques et Clochers Sieur d'Arques - delicious sparkling wine offering toasty complex full-bodied flavours vs tight fine and crisp on its long finish. Who needs expensive Champagne? This limited edition fizz is €15 cellar door, making it one of Limoux's dearest although among the best too.

Rosé

2009 Antech Cuvée Emotion - elegant red fruits and rose petal vs bready and nutty, tight and crisp finish. Good stuff.

2009 Alain Cavailles/Le Moulin d'Alon 'Micromégas' - rich and 'winey', not very pink but who cares; honeyed and fairly toasty cakey vs fresher finish and bite. More good stuff.

Domaine de Martinolles - delicate vs oily red fruits with nutty yeasty and crisp palate, again lovely fine steely finish vs gently toasty character. These guys know what they're doing.
Profile on Martinolles with older vintages HERE.

Domaine J Laurens La Rose No. 7 - sounds like a lipstick maybe, but this quite delicate tight and steely fizz also has subtle rose water and red fruit tones; mouth-watering refreshing style with nice lingering flavours. Very good.
Sieur d'Arques Première Bulle rosé - delightfully refreshing light and delicate pink fizz. Quite expensive though at €12.

Blanquette de Limoux

2009 Joseph Salasar Carte Blanche - toasty earthy winey with attractive honeyed straw character, richer yeasty palate vs crisp bite and length. Very good.

2009 Château Rives Blanques - aromatic grapey winey nose, rounded vs steely palate, nicely crisp and long; a bit different too.
2009 Alain Cavailles Etincelle Originelle - earthy vs appley nose, yeasty and lightly toasty flavours, crisp vs honeyed, quite intense and refined.
2009 Alain Cavailles Résilience - similar style, finer and nuttier perhaps, again crisp refreshing vs honeyed mouth-feel, elegant length.
2009 Domaine Robert Carte Noire - floral and almond aromas, light crisp and refreshing palate vs yeastier biscuit flavours, long and fresh. Good stuff.
2010 Nicolas Therez Instant d'Arome Peche - fruitier and grappier vs apple and pear notes, crisp and steely with light refreshing finish.
2010 Sieur d'Arques Première Bulle - clean crisp and appley with yeasty undertones, quite delicate and tart, nice palate cleanser with crisp length. Good. €10
2010 Robert Carte Ivoire - juicy honeyed hints vs appley and crisp backdrop, nice lightly toasty yeasty richness vs dry and steely, fresh and long. Fair class.
Profile on Robert / Domaine de Fourn with older vintages HERE.
2010 Taudou - more honeyed and fuller style, oat cakey flavours vs appley crisp and clean bite, delicious fizz actually.
Domaine Delmas Tradition NV - subtle honeyed grapey tones vs appley bite, attractive yeasty depth and oat biscuit flavours, crisp long vs richer finish. More good stuff.
Antech Brut Nature - appley and lightly yeasty, intense crisp and dry vs rounder honeyed biscuity side, long and refreshing; needs food as it's pretty dry on its own. Very good though if you like 'nature' styles (no added dosage = sweetening).

Blanquette Ancestrale

Sieur d'Arques Coeur de Bulle (6% alc., 80 g/l residual sugar) - refreshing and light although quite sweet: best with a fruit dessert actually. €7.60
Antech Ancestrale - grapey and earthy, sweet vs crisper side, pleasant Moscato d'Asti alternative.

Lots more Limoux fizz here (report from last year's 'Millésimes en Languedoc' April 2011). See also Limoux winery profiles in the Languedoc A to Z on the right...

Roussillon: Château de l'Ou update

Click on this highlighted link to view my earlier profile of Château de l'Ou (2008) plus a few previous vintages tasting-noted.

The Bourrier family's vineyards have happily expanded taking in a couple of plots up near Caudiès and St. Paul in the Fenouillèdes zone, which is found northwest of their Montescot base in the central Roussillon, as Séverine B updated me at this year's Millésime Bio wine fair held in Montpellier. This brings their total surface area to 32 organically farmed hectares (= 80 acres no less); organic since the late 90s in fact. They've launched the 2010s of some top new varietal wines and now have a website too, where I copied the rocky photo from: www.chateau-de-lou.fr.

2011 Côtes du Roussillon white (mostly Grenache blanc + Roussanne) – yeast-lees notes add a little intensity vs roundness to its attractive profile, has nice crisp finish too. €8.50 cellar door.

2010 Infiniment white (Chardonnay) – toasty edges with lees notes vs juicy fruity, quite rich mouth-feel vs refreshing bite too. Good but dear at €16.50.

2009 Côtes du Roussillon red (Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre) – fruity and spicy with black cherry, liquorice and pepper vs hints of background oak and light grip on the palate; attractive mix of nice and easy vs a bit more serious as well. €8.50

2010 Infiniment red (Syrah, 14.5% alc) – lush and chocolatey although not too much oak, structured concentrated and powerful vs lovely ripe fruit and balance. Very good. €16.50

Languedoc: Clos des Augustins, Pic Saint Loup

While browsing through my long-lost 'little red book' (it is, velvety too) recently containing a fair chunk of last year's tasting notes scribbled on the hoof, I was surprised to rediscover these wines from leading Pic Saint Loup estate Clos des Augustins, which never saw the digital light of day. Until now, that is. Augustins is owned and run by the Mézy family with son Frédéric (hence "le gamin" below meaning kid) now in charge, whose efforts have led to the vineyards becoming officially certified organic this year. He’s also been implementing some biodynamic measures to soil and vines, which have almost reached 30 ha (75 acres) in undulating surface area spreading around the wee village of Saint Mathieu de Tréviers. There are some nice pics @ closdesaugustins.com in one of those Flash slideshows that you can't copy from!

2010 Les Bambins white (Marsanne, Roussanne) - nice creamy lees-edged style vs tighter crisper palate and closing up on the finish (should be drinking well now though). Good.

2010 Joseph white (Chardonnay, Marsanne, Roussanne) - was still quite toasty when I tried it, although rich and juicy too vs more structured finish; very promising, needing 6+ months in bottle to open up.

2010 Les Bambins rosé (Cinsault, Grenache) - attractive zesty ‘Provence’ style rosé, has fair extract vs zing with long perfumed finish. Delicious quaffer.

All these reds are appellation Pic Saint Loup:

2010 Les Bambins (Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre) - bright cherry and spicy liquorice with subtle wild herby side, good fruit vs light grip, fairly tight finish showing nice concentration too. Good stuff.

2009 Le Gamin (Syrah, Grenache) - spicy and rustic hints with ripe dark fruit and minty edges, more savoury and firmer mouth-feel with big/long finish; wow, very good.

2006 Sourire d’Odile (Syrah, Grenache) - maturing meaty leather tones, solid concentrated palate with again minty flavours then turning more ‘sweet/savoury’, still quite tight with attractive acidity/tannins vs maturing fruit. Lovely.

2006 L’Ainé (mostly Syrah) - a touch more oak suffused with savoury notes, pretty dense and extracted yet has a lot of substance, still seems young really with those big grainy rounded tannins vs lovely depth of fruit underneath. Towards excellent.

Clos des Augustins wines featured previously on this blog: 2004 and 2003(“Languedoc & Roussillon top wines over €10 tasting” posted 2007), 2008(“Languedoc vintage report” posted 2009). Which confirm this winery has been "delivering" (to use marketing babble) high quality over the years and continues to do so!

Black cats and black grapes

Black grapes refers to a lively little Italian rosé - sorry, Sicilian (oops, there go the kneecaps...): 2010 Nero d'Avola made by Cantine Settesoli. Weighing in at 12.5% alc. and £4.99 a bottle at Tesco, this zingy vs creamy fruity rosé delivers plenty of redcurrant and raspberry with crisp finish; and is fairly versatile as a foodie wine (venison & red onion burgers from M&S, fish & chips, prawn Balti...).

From http://snickrt.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/gato-negro1.jpg

As for black cats, the Gato Negro range from Vina San Pedro in Chile's Central Valley is an all-round crowd-pleaser with attractive, well-made and easy-drinking wines; especially at  Wine Mark / Russell's Cellars in Belfast where you get a '2 for £9' deal. On the red front, try the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon (13.5%) or the quirkier purple-black 2010 Carmenere (13.5%); and for whites, there's a zesty dry grapefruity 2010 Sauvignon Blanc (12%) or peachy citrus-edged 2010 Chardy. And not forgetting their almost delicious creamy red fruity vs crisp 2010 Cab Sauv rosé. Mini-feature on Chilean rosés / rosados here.
More @ gatonegro.cl

Roussillon: Château de l'Ou, Montescot

Château de l'Ou

Philippe Bourrier has 24 organically farmed (for ten years) hectares (60 acres) of vines with two more close to being officially certified. L'Ou's wines, which I think means egg in Catalan (which does feature on some of their labels so could be a good guess), are sold about 50-50 in France and abroad - email them for more details if you're interested in trying them in your neck of the woods. Yet another Roussillon estate I haven't got around to visiting, but I've tried their wines and met the people on a few occasions (wines below gleaned from two Millésime Bio events: click here for more on the 2006 edition) and find them pretty good overall. You'll find the Bourriers in-situ just out of the quiet village (like most of them around here) of Montescot, off the main road heading for Elne or Argeles.

This first one was gleaned from this year's Millésime Bio wine fair (Perpignan Jan. 2008):

2006 Côtes du Roussillon rouge (mostly Syrah Grenache) - nice tart black cherry fruit with spicy liquorice edges; grippy coating of tannins with powerful finish, closes up a little but shows promise. 88-90

And in 2006:

2002 L'Harmonie (Syrah, Grenache & Carignan) - soft and forward, mature fruit set against more structured finish; good for 2002. 85+
2005 Côtes du Roussillon (from barrique) (Syrah & Grenache) - shows lovely depth of black fruits and spices, long elegant finish; promising. 87-90

LATEST L'OU HERE (updated May 2012)


Domaine du Lac, 66200 Montescot.
Tel: 04 68 54 68 67, chateaudelou66@orange.fr.