Belfast Restaurant Week

Sounds like a good idea...
Belfast City Council Belfast Restaurant Week 6 - 13 October 2012

Roussillon: Domaine Boucabeille, Corneilla de la Rivière / Força Réal

Jean Boucabeille

Domaine Boucabeille

Named after affable owner Jean Boucabeille, who I met, interrogated and tasted with at Millésime Bio organic wine show earlier this year in Montpellier. Which means he has taken the organic wine-growing plunge, as is increasingly the fashion (fashion can be a good thing), with 2011 being his first fully 'certified' vintage. Jean's original vineyard plots hang on to eleven distinct staggered terraces facing southeast up on the Força Réal hill overlooking Millas, Corneilla and surrounding villages. These contoured vines were replanted in the 70s at between 200 to 350 metres altitude, following the lie of the land; and the “black mount” itself (see Jean's last red noted below, whose name evokes the locals' nickname for it) peaks at over 500m, or about 1550 feet, impaled by a giant TV mast. And Jean's been hard at it over the course of 2012 planting another six hectares of white and red Grenache, Mourvèdre and Roussanne in backbreaking stony schist soils, bringing the total to 28 (70 acres). They've deliberately kept the surrounding woodland in its 'natural' state with wild scrub and flowers, olive and fruit trees, honey production and even the odd grazing goat and ewe.
Good range overall, especially their Orris white wine and a rather sexy Rivesaltes Hors d'Agethat sees at least five years barrel ageing. More info @ www.boucabeille.com, and you'll find the winery off the D614 road before you reach Corneilla de la Rivière (coming from Estagel or Millas). Phone no. 04 68 34 75 71. Sold in London by Philglas & Swiggot (see £ prices below)and Firth and Co.(N. Yorks); and also in Germany, Denmark, Japan, Belgium, Norway, Luxembourg, Poland and the US (in civilized Virginia at least).

2011 Le Blanc de Régis Boucabeille(50/50 Grenache blanc / Maccabeu, 13% alc.) – quite rich milky and honeyed nose/palate tinged with spicy floral notes, crisp 'mineral' vs weighty mouth-feel, attractive style and good with it.

2011 Le Rosé de Régis Boucabeille (Grenache gris / noir & Syrah, 13.5%) – juicy and quite delicate start with nice bite and texture, finishing with a bit of oomph and fruity roundness too. Serious rosé.

2011 Les Terrasses de Régis Boucabeille red (Grenache, Carignan, Syrah; 14%) – lovely rich spicy warm and dark fruit with peppery liquorice undertones, nice solid fruity style. £12.50

2010 Les Orris white (70 Maccabeu, Grenache blanc; 13%) – honeyed and toasty edged with floral white peach aromas/flavours, crisp vs weighty palate with developing oily tones on the finish. Very good.

2009Les Orris red (75 Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre; 14%) – hints of coconut oak and grain too vs firm and lush mouth-feel, balancing soft dark fruit with dry grip. Good. £24

2009 Monte Nero Côtes du Roussillon Villages (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Carignan; 14%)– more savoury meaty and developed, grainy texture with attractive tannins, quite subtle and accomplished for the dry and hot vintage 2009. £15

Vins Doux Naturels

2007 Rivesaltes ambré (70 Maccabeu, Grenache blanc; residual sugar 98 g/l and 15.5% alc) – nutty Fino vs Madeira type quirky nose, sweet palate with tangy orange peel edges, delicious walnut flavours too and almost a bit of grip of the finish! Very good.

Rivesaltes Hors d'Age (mostly Maccabeu, 15.5% alc, RS 117 g/l) – more complex and 'volatile' aromas with rich vs tangy palate and tasty very long finish. Towards excellent, should slowly get even better with bottle age...

New wine tasting evenings in Belfast and Bangor - updated

In addition to the 5-week courses and Saturday wine workshops already scheduled in the RMJ / Wine Education Service program, I'm planning on running these informal tutored tastings in Belfast city centre over the next few months:

Thursday 11th October "Classic Grape Varieties" - £25

"A mini world tour tasting and talking about popular favourites such as Chardonnay and Merlot, but also looking at wines made from perhaps lesser-known varieties such as Grenache, Viognier or Sangiovese."

Wednesday 14th November "Classic Wines of Southern France" - £30

"An exciting tasting taking in a swathe of 'the Big South', ranging from classics from Bordeaux to more obscure deep southwestern France, down to the Spanish border on the Mediterranean, through the Languedoc and eastwards to Provence..."

Wednesday 5th December "Champagne and Sparkling Wines" - £35

"A fizzy world tour starting in France with Champagne and other fine sparklers, then comparing with the ever popular Cava (a premium example), Italian 'new kid on the block' Prosecco, passing through the southern hemisphere (e.g. Australia, New Zealand) and ending up in England!"
Tastings run from about 7pm to 9pm and eight different wines will usually be sampled and talked about at each event. Full details of all courses and tastings and how to book on this page:

www.wine-education-service.co.uk/wine-tasting-belfast.html

Or send me an email or book with Paypal (see below). Previous info and dates posted on my other blog:
www.winewriting.com/2012/07/wine-education-service-courses-tastings.html

UPDATED 30 AUGUST

I've also penciled in two wine tasting & supper evenings at the Ava in Bangor (Co. Down):
Thursday 25 October 7pm - Mediterranean wine tasting with tapas £30

"We'll taste and talk about six wines from Spain, Italy, southern France and a couple of surprises too, followed by a tasty selection of Mediterranean style tapas accompanied by a glass (or two) picked from the tasting wines."
Thursday 29 November 7pm - Christmas Champagne and sparkling wine tasting & supper £40

"A mini world tour tasting of six fine sparkling wines including classic Champagne and other French sparklers, Spain, Italy, the New World and perhaps an English surprise too! Followed by a supper selection of tasty nibble dishes and a nice glass of fizz from the tasting."
Please email me for more info and booking or click on the Wine Education Service Belfast link as above or book now using PayPal.co.uk! This button takes you to my Paypal secure payment page (click here for more about card payments etc.):

Select tasting:

11 Oct "Classic Grape Varieties" £25.00 GBP 14 Nov "Wines of Southern France" £30.00 GBP 5 Dec "Champagne and Sparkling Wines" £35.00 GBP 25 Oct "Mediterranean wines + tapas" £30.00 GBP 29 Nov "Christmas Champagne fizz + supper" £40.00 GBP

New wine tasting evenings in Belfast and Bangor - updated

In addition to the 5-week courses and Saturday wine workshops already scheduled in the RMJ / Wine Education Service program, I'm planning on running these informal tutored tastings in Belfast city centre and Bangor over the next few months:

Thursday 11th October "Classic Grape Varieties" - £25

"A mini world tour tasting and talking about popular favourites such as Chardonnay and Merlot, but also looking at wines made from perhaps lesser-known varieties such as Grenache, Viognier or Sangiovese."

Wednesday 14th November "Classic Wines of Southern France" - £30

"An exciting tasting taking in a swathe of 'the Big South', ranging from classics from Bordeaux to more obscure deep southwestern France, down to the Spanish border on the Mediterranean, through the Languedoc and eastwards to Provence..."

Wednesday 5th December "Champagne and Sparkling Wines" - £35

"A fizzy world tour starting in France with Champagne and other fine sparklers, then comparing with the ever popular Cava (a premium example), Italian 'new kid on the block' Prosecco, passing through the southern hemisphere (e.g. Australia, New Zealand) and ending up in England!"

Tastings run from about 7pm to 9pm and eight different wines will usually be sampled and talked about at each event. Full details of all courses and tastings and how to book on this page: www.wine-education-service.co.uk/wine-tasting-belfast.html
Or send me an email or book with Paypal (see below). Previous info and dates posted on this blog: www.winewriting.com/2012/07/wine-education-service-courses-tastings.html

UPDATED 30 AUGUST

I've also penciled in two wine tasting & supper evenings at the Ava in Bangor (Co. Down not Wales):
Thursday 25 October 7pm - Mediterranean wine tasting with tapas £30
"We'll taste and talk about six wines from Spain, Italy, southern France and a couple of surprises too, followed by a tasty selection of Mediterranean style tapas accompanied by a glass (or two) picked from the tasting wines."
Thursday 29 November 7pm - Christmas Champagne and sparkling wine tasting & supper £40
"A mini world tour tasting of six fine sparkling wines including classic Champagne and other French sparklers, Spain, Italy, the New World and perhaps an English surprise too! Followed by a supper selection of tasty nibble dishes and a nice glass of fizz from the tasting."

Please email me for more info and booking or click on the Wine Education Service Belfast link as above or book now using PayPal.co.uk! This button takes you to my Paypal secure payment page (click here for more about card payments etc.):

Select tasting:

11 Oct "Classic Grape Varieties" £25.00 GBP 14 Nov "Wines of Southern France" £30.00 GBP 5 Dec "Champagne and Sparkling Wines" £35.00 GBP 25 Oct "Mediterranean wines + tapas" £30.00 GBP 29 Nov "Christmas Champagne fizz + supper" £40.00 GBP

Roussillon: Domaine Jean Louis Tribouley, Latour de France

Jean Louis Tribouley
From Weygandt Wines site

I've bumped into Jean Louis a few times over the years at various tastings and goings-on in the area, but most recently in Montpellier at the 2012 edition of Millésime Bio wine show and the Real Wine Fair in London. These charming encounters reminded me what tireless enthusiasm he has for his wines, what he does to create them and this way of life. Smiley easy-going JL started up his own estate about ten years ago, after a stint working for Gauby as seems to be the fashion as some kind of almost mandatory 'real-wine' apprenticeship for several of the region's best growers, or best-known at least.
Jean Louis decided to farm his vines and grapes organically from the word go – how could you not having spent time with Gérard Gauby, who wouldn't tolerate anything else! - and is also keen on applying biodynamic methods, as well as a 'low-or-no' sulphite rationale. His 14 ha (35 acres) of vineyards are spread out between fairly remote spots in Latour, Maury and Calce. The most recent acquisition was a few mixed plots of elderly Grenache gris and Macabeu used for his white wines; and most of the reds are based on a healthy dollop of sexy old-vine Grenache and/or Carignan. US distributor is Weygandt Wines (Washington DC) or K&D Wines (NYC), and Indigo Wine in London. There's no website/blog, but you could try emailing on jean-louis.tribouley@orange.fr. Or if you want to call in: 9 Place Marcel Vie, 66720 Latour de France; tel. 04 68 29 03 86.

2011 white (Grenache gris, Macabeu; unfinished sample) – a touch of toasted oak underlined by exotic banana and pineapple fruit, yeast lees edges bring out its attractive quite rich vs crisp and tight features. Good stuff.

2010 Marceau white Côtes Catalanes (mostly Macabeu grown on schist soil) – similar profile to above but creamier/buttery and layered with unusual flowery notes, minty even; rich vs crisp palate, very good actually.

2010 Les Copines Côtes du Roussillon (Grenache, Carignan) – intense and 'inky'/rustic nose with rich vs crunchy fruit profile, turning to enticing leather vs liquorice notes, concentrated spicy finish with a touch of dry grip. Good.

2009 L'Alba Côtes du Roussillon (Carignan, Grenache, Syrah) – reduced/awkward nose, moves on to roasted red pepper hints vs very dark fruit and lightly toasty chocolate tones; quite wild and powerful with underlying lush intense finish, again shows a quirky mix of rustic-edged, peppery and charred almost (but it's not the oak)! Exciting though. US $20.

2009 Les 3 Lunes Côtes du Roussillon Villages – a touch 'finer' with the same kind of attractive ripe dark vs spicy and earthy mix, again concentrated and intense on its long finish. Very good+.

2009 Cuvée 1901 – quite rustic, wild and/or 'bretty' but has lovely intense roasted 'garrigue' characters too; not so sure this one's for me but...

Tribouley tasted and talked about previously on this blog:

Roussillon trip 2005 (including his 2003 Alba).

Probably more to follow...