Roussillon: Château Valmy, Argelès-sur-Mer

The road up to Martine and Bernard Carbonnell's remarkable Bavarian/Disney-esque castle cum winery & hotel is well signposted off the Argelès bypass, but you absolutely could not miss it (even if it was dark and you were wearing sunglasses...). Perched up on a hill and surrounded by neatly terraced cascading vineyards, the Carbonnells have spent a fortune restoring this old family estate. Bernard started by replanting all the vineyards in the 1990s, building a show-piece glass-inner-walled cellar with tasting bar and finally had the peeling château itself renovated. They now offer five sumptuous and well-equipped guest rooms that retain a certain timeless Old World charm; priced from €150 to €350 depending on time of year, size and meal options (it's not open in the winter by the way).
As for the wines, I found them attractive and well-made although a bit over-glossy and lacking substance given the quite high prices they charge (€8 to €16); then again, most of the vines are still young so the wines should gain more depth in time. They currently produce about 70,000 bottles and "need to get to 100K to really be profitable, in terms of the investments made," taking a long-term view like so many who believe in the Roussillon's quality future and have gambled a lot of money on it. The whole set-up is clearly geared to getting numbers of wine tourists to come to them, and why not when you have an extraordinary estate like this in a superb location? And it appears to be paying off: Martine said they now sell around 60% of production on-site, way above the average; and it's a great place for them to entertain their trade customers too.

These wines tasted in March 2007:
2005 Valmy rosé (Syrah Grenache Mourvèdre) – fruity chunky and rounded with quite fresh length; good but looking a little old, look forward to trying the 06. 85
2005 Les Roses Blanches de Valmy (Viognier Marsanne Grenache blanc) – pretty toasty (fermented in oak) but does has nice aromatic apricot notes and creamy full palate too. 85
2004 Côtes du Roussillon rouge (Syrah Grenache Mourvèdre) – attractive creamy blackcurrant and raspberry fruit, soft and ripe with dry bite and subtle finish. 83-85
2004 Le Premier de Valmy, Côtes du Roussillon (Syrah Grenache Mourvèdre) - coconut spice dominates the nose (14 months in oak), quite lush with elegant fruit texture, dry v rounded then tighter finish. Quite good but €16? 87
2004 Valmya Rivesaltes Grenat VDN (Grenache) – enticing blackberry/cherry nose moves on to savoury v dark chocolate and wild fruit flavours; nice balance of tannin texture, sweetness and alcohol. 89
2005 L'Or de Valmy, Muscat de Rivesaltes (Muscat petits grains) – delicious floral honeyed nose, fruity and rich palate with lively finish showing roundness and freshness. 87

Chemin de Valmy, 66700 Argelès-sur-Mer. Tel: 04 68 81 25 70 / 04 68 95 95 25, contact@chateau-valmy.com/ chateau.valmy@tiscali.fr, www.chateau-valmy.com

Déjà-Vu Wine Oscars across the Andes

The Argentinean wine establishment has mirrored their Chilean counterparts over the other side of the Andes with their first vinous awards ceremony held in Mendoza a couple of weeks ago. And as sure as night follows day, Wines of Chile had their fourth annual bash in Santiago a month before that. What was a first for Santiago this year, was the all American judging team - in the past mostly Brits - including Bob Paulinski MW, Mary Ewing-Mulligan MW, Joshua Greene (Wine & Spirits mag), critic Jay Miller and the Wine Enthusiast's Michael Schachner. Over in Mendoza, the tasters included many established names from the UK - in fact the same 'old' ones who've previously done the judging thing in Chile (ooh, jealousy and bitching will get you nowhere!) - such as Oz Clarke, Robert Joseph, Peter Richards, Jancis Robinson MW and Beverley Blanning MW, as well as winemakers from Argentina Roberto de la Mota (Bodegas Mendel) and Daniel Pi (Trapiche) among others.
Anyway, enough of the banter; let's move on to the decorated wines. As for Argentina, "interestingly eight out of the nine Trophy winners will retail in the UK for under £10" commented James Forbes, UK Director of Wines of Argentina. They are as follows:
Sparkling wine - Familia Zuccardi, Alma 4 Chardonnay Roble 2003
Red blend - Bodega Norton, Norton Privada 2003
Tempranillo - Tittarelli, Finca El Retiro Reserva Especial 2004
Cabernet Sauvignon - Bodegas Santa Ana, La Mascota 2005
Malbec - Fabre Montmayou, Fabre Montmayou Gran Reserva 2005
Sauvignon Blanc - Pulenta Estate, La Flor de Pulenta Estate 2006
Torrontés - Bodega Felix Lavaque, Quara 2006
White blend - Bodega Luigi Bosca, Gala 3 Viognier 2006
Syrah - Don Domenico, Finca Don Domenico de Huanacache 2006.
You might be surprised to see a top sparkling wine from Argentina, although Domaine Chandon, for example, has also been making good fizz there since the 60s. I haven't tried the Zuccardi wine (but hope to at some point), yet that producer doesn't usually disappoint. Apart from them, there are a few other old favourite names here such as Norton, Fabre Montmayou and Luigi Bosca. All the medal results are available on www.winesofargentina.org.
Back to Chile, best screenplay and director go to:
Sauvignon Blanc & 'best in show' - Viña Casas del Bosque Reserve 2006
Cabernet Sauvignon - Viña Hacienda Araucano, Reserva 2005
Carmenère - Viña Odfjell, Orzada 2004
Syrah - Viña Porta, Winemaker Reserve 2005
Merlot - Viña Concha y Toro, Marques de Casa Concha 2005
Chardonnay - Viña Nuevo Mundo, Tacón Alto 2006
Other red variety - Viña Millaman, barrel aged Zinfandel 2005
Red blend - Viña Estampa, Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon/Carmenère/Petit Verdot 2005
Best value white (this is beginning to sound like the International Wine Challenge) - Viña Miguel Torres, Santa Digna Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2006
Best value red - Viña MontGras, Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
Rosé - Viña Chocalan 2006.
Similarly, see www.winesofchile.org for full listing. I'm pleased to see Casas del Bosque up there, as I've always thought they make one of Chile's best Sauvignons. Also worthy of comment is the mix of familiar names, who are obviously now showing their experience and pedigree, and new estates (to me at least). I look forward to tasting these wines in the near future. My feature on the 2006 winners is included on a mega Chile page (see "more wine words" on the right).