Montpellier / Béziers area restaurants & wine bars

(Read on for listings at the bottom)

1. Les Caves de Trinque Fougasse
Trinque Fougasse is a lively Montpellier wine bar and restaurant institution, and I finally  went there not so long ago having tried at least once in the past but couldn't find it! Montpellier isn't the easiest of cities to navigate your way around, for the uninitiated non-local (well, I did live nearby for six months going back a few years) - especially with yet more serious roadworks currently underway thanks to the latest ambitious tram-line extensions (a good thing of course, when all completed...) - and Trinque Fougasse is found a bit of a way north of the centre lurking among university buildings etc. Anyway, it's worth the trek for its usually buzzing atmosphere, fairly huge wine selection from the Languedoc & Roussillon and no-nonsense hearty Med food.

Click to view YouTube video of new summer platter

They describe their cuisine as "ni gastronomique ni cantine" meaning it's somewhere inbetween: not trying to be fancy or pretentious but certainly not school dinners and still good quality. Set menu options include: at lunchtime, the day's special for 12€ or for 14€  combine it with a starter or dessert; or go the whole hog and have 3 dishes for 16€. The kind of thing they're good at is tasty charcuterie - cured hams and sausage - mussels, tapenade and brandade (olive paste, very garlicky mashed salt cod and spud), sizzling squid on a hotplate, beef tartare and steaks, "Emincé de magret," a kind of cottage pie but with duck, cheeses from the south etc. They do a large combo-platter including some of these dishes plus homemade orange gâteau for 20 euros at lunchtime and 25 euros for dinner.
As you go in, you pass through their wine shop so can browse the wine list on the shelf (not actually a huge difference in price between drinking it in or carry out, from memory), and they have a bigger range available for sale on-line. TF also organizes regular tasting events with winegrowers showing and talking about their own wines, run a mini wine school and hold jazz evenings etc.

1581 route de Mende, 34090 Montpellier. Tel: 04 99 23 27 00, and lots more info @ trinquefougasse.com.

More restaurants & wine bars reviewed or mentioned on this blog:

2. Folia restaurant @ Ch de Flaugergues - Montpellier
3. chez Paul[e] - Montpellier
4. Chez Boris - Montpellier

5. La Raffinerie - Béziers

6. Le Chameau Ivre - Béziers

7. La Distillerie - Saint Marcel sur Aude

8. Marie-Jean - Sète

9. Le Plaisance - Bourg, Bordeaux.

Australia: Grenache

In keeping with my self-confessed ‘Mediterranean’ theme, and confronted with an enormous amount of Australian wines up for tasting at the London International Wine Fair last month, I decided to seek out that seductive favourite, Grenache. I tend to disagree, by the way, with those who insist on calling Grenache and associated grapes “Rhone varieties.” Okay, Syrah, yes; and there is a lot of Grenache planted in the southern Rhone Valley. But let’s not forget it’s a Spanish variety, Garnacha, and very Med in origin. Ditto Mourvèdre / Monastrell / Mataro, which definitely isn’t a Rhone variety although did, of course, also migrate further north in Europe and overseas.

Back to Australia and Grenache, there’s some history here with a handful of producers who can boast plantings of some really old vines. As you’ll see from the first wine below, Barossa-based Yalumba uses a labelling charter to classify that rather vague term ‘old-vine,’ which is being adopted by other wineries in the region. So, “Old Vine” = 35+ years of age, “Survivor Vine” = 70+ years, “Centurion Vine” = 100+ and “Ancestor Vine” = over 125 years old! All of the Grenache and Grenache blends I found on show come from Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale in South Australia, which is probably part history and part climate/soils.

It’s believed the first vines were planted in or near Barossa in 1842 and, fittingly for my theme here, the word comes from the Barrosa Ridge in Andalusia, Spain; although these winegrowing settlers weren’t Spanish but German (from Silesia) and English. This area is still phylloxera-free hence how plots have survived as knotted old bush vines on their own roots. However, there’s only about 700 hectares (1750 acres) of Grenache in Barossa vs almost 6000 Shiraz, which has accelerated dramatically in the last 20 years. And there's about 400 ha of Grenache in McLaren, which was established around the same time and is a smaller region than Barossa. Grenache champions such as Chester Osborn (pictured top) of the d’Arenberg family winery have been restoring abandoned vineyards and have some 100+ year-old Grenache.

I say blends as, in general, the best/most successful wines (and the majority) I tried were in fact Grenache with Syrah/Shiraz and/or Mourvèdre or sometimes other combos such as Tempranillo, Carignan, Cinsault. Which reflects the French, Spanish or Californian experience, except for the occasional sensational 100% Grenache you discover here and there; but that’s not usually the norm. It’s a tidy balancing act to create something that’s rich, full of sunshine, rounded yet chunky without being too big, heady or ‘jammy’. Either way, straight or blended, in the right spot and the right hands, Grenache certainly can be transformed into exciting red wines. Here’s a couple of dozen from Australia… and there’s one rosé too...

2009 Yalumba Bush Vine Grenache, Barossa “certified old vine” (14.5% alc.) – not much nose, lightly peppery and sweet fruit, almost a bit ‘dusty’ (?); punchy mouth-feel vs soft tannins; lacks a bit of depth though vs alcohol. 1

2006 Yalumba Single Site Grenache; Moppa, Barossa (14%) – touch of vanilla oak vs maturing spicy liquorice notes, more savoury on the finish; powerful vs soft and mature texture, a tad more elegant although stills lacks a bit of concentration. 1

2006 Yalumba Single Site Grenache; Vine Vale, Barossa (14%) – a touch richer and chunkier with firmer structure vs nice ‘sweet/savoury’ fruit, again it’s maturing and soft with better integrated alcohol. 2

2009 Chapel Hill Bush Vine Grenache, McLaren Vale (15%) – perfumed and spicy, soft-ish with meaty edges and liquorice / coffee notes, touch of firm structure and punch to finish. 1

2009 Chapel Hill Mourvèdre, McLaren Vale (15%) – aromatic dark cherry and black olive, spicy and punchy with grippier palate; still quite tight and fresh/firm on the finish vs attractive sweet blackberry fruit. 2

2008 Paxton AAA Shiraz/Grenache, McLaren (14.5%) – 70% of the former: herbal minty dark cherry with sweeter lusher liquorice side, powerful yet has nice soft texture vs a touch of grip. 1-2 (£14)

2009 McGuigan The Shortlist Grenache/Shiraz/Mourvèdre (GSM); Lyndoch, Barossa (14%) – rich and spicy black-fruit cocktail with liquorice and dark olive tones, nice grip vs ‘sweet/savoury’ fruit; well-made blend. 2 (£15 Majestic)

2009 Willunga 100 The Tithing Grenache, McLaren (14.5%) – has more Grenache character with sweet and juicy fruit vs chunkier firmer side, liquorice vs peppery with subtle oak backdrop, rich soft finish vs dry coating. 2 (Liberty Wines)

2010 Willunga 100 Grenache, McLaren (14.5%) – shows more oak adding chocolate and blackberry, nice fruit vs grip with lively finish. 1-2 (Liberty Wines)

2009 Peter Lehmann Shiraz/Grenache, Barossa (14.5%) – rich dark berry and pepper, savoury side too vs minty and wilder tones, attractive tannins vs sweet black fruit. 2

2009 Peter Lehmann Layers (Grenache, Mourvèdre, Carignan, Tempranillo), Barossa (14.5%) – more herbal berry on the nose, firmer mouth-feel vs enticing ‘sweet/savoury’ fruit and peppery punchy side; maturing vs spicy finish, quite long and powerful. 2

2008 Peter Lehmann Barossa Brunette (75% Grenache, 25 Shiraz; 14.5% alc.) – attractive sweet fruit with savoury edges, punchy and fairly firm vs lush fruit and tannins; showing a nice touch of age and interesting style. 2-3

2009 d’Arenberg The Stump Jump (GSM), McLaren (14%) – nice sweet berry and spice on the nose, quite soft vs a hint of grip, lacks a bit of depth though. 1 (slurp.com)

2008 d’Arenberg The Custodian Grenache, McLaren (14.5%) – fuller style, nice savoury edges and sweet maturing berry with liquorice and raisin notes, oomph to finish. 1-2 (Majestic)

2008 d’Arenberg The Cadenzia (Grenache, Shiraz, Mourvèdre, Tempranillo, Cinsault), McLaren (14.5%) – livelier berry fruit, peppery too and quite subtle actually with appealing grip vs sweet tannins, enticing savoury coffee notes on the finish that wears the 14.5 well. 2 (slurp.com)

2007 d’Arenberg The Ironstone Pressings (GSM), McLaren (15%) – more obvious oak to start but it’s set on a sweet black fruit and ‘tar’ background; concentrated and peppery, still youthful actually with tight vs tasty maturing finish, again that 15% is well-integrated. 2-3 (Waitrose)

2009 Rosemount Grenache/Shiraz, SE Australia (13.5%) – nice juicy fruity blackberry style with touches of olive and savoury meaty too, soft vs dry finish; attractive easy going wine. 1

2009 Jacob’s Creek Grenache/Shiraz, SE Australia (14%) – appealing sweet liquorice fruit style, soft tannins, attractive and tasty now. £7.59

2009 S.C. Pannell Grenache, McLaren (14.5%) – rich spicy nose with meaty leather tones, concentrated and ‘oxidative’ style, still firm vs developing ‘sweet/savoury’ fruit. 2-3 (Liberty Wines)

2010 Charles Melton Rose of Virginia, Barossa (50% Grenache + Cab Sauv and others, 13% alc.) – deep colour and chunky fruit, vibrant and juicy vs creamy cherry; crisper finish, nice Med style rosé. 1+ (Liberty Wines)

2008 John Duval Wines Plexus (SGM), Barossa (14.5%) – hint of sweet oak vs vibrant black cherry, wilder spicier side too with liquorice and ‘tar’ vs savoury maturing fruit, punchy structured finish still. 2-3 (Liberty Wines)

2009 Torbreck Cuvée Juveniles GSM, Barossa (14.5%) – lovely maturing and pure sweet berry nose with hints of ‘tar’ and meaty edges, spicy berries vs ‘sweet/savoury’ profile then a touch of grip and bite to finish. 2

2008 Torbreck The Steading GSM, Barossa (15%) – again has that attractive ripe sweet side vs more structured palate, the alcohol’s a bit punchy vs maturing fruit finish. 1

Lots more Australia in the archive (top Chardy, Riesling & Shiraz etc.) and click here to view several hot Oz winemaker profiles: Yabby, Wakefield, St Hallett, Pirie, Mitchelton, Knappstein, Greenstone, Clonakilla, Paxton, Petaluma, Lehmann and more...

Montpellier: Château de Flaugergues & Folia restaurant

Château de Flaugergues was no doubt once set among rolling fields basking in splendid isolation; now, it nestles somewhat incongruously in the Quartier du Millénaire just on the outskirts of the sprawling Montpellier metropolis, next door to the firestation, chain hotels and office buildings. But, as soon as you turn into their palm-tree lined driveway alongside the first plot of vines you see, it feels a bit like “let’s do the time warp again…” Ironically perhaps, this area’s name (= the millennium district) is quite fitting for a noble estate that’s notched up a few hundred years of history. Descendant Etienne de Flaugergues acquired it in 1696 and the family has occupied the place ever since. Current incumbents Brigitte and Henri de Colbert are, I understand, also relatives of Louis XIV's Finance Minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert, and their son Pierre is now in charge of vineyards and winery. They've restored/maintained the château, rooms and gardens keeping a period feel although they do actually live here too. They do tours around this lovely old property, including a wine tasting of course, for a small fee; and can host private receptions as well: see flaugergues.com for more info.

The de Colberts have also opened an on-site eatery called Folia, serving “market cuisine”, where I tasted most of Flaugergues’ range with Pierre and a group of other scoffing wine journos back in late March (see my notes below). The chef’s certainly making an effort to grab your attention, although personally found they were perhaps trying a little too hard to be kinda trendy fusion blah, e.g. beef stir-fry in a very lemony sauce (refreshing but what wine with that?) or ling (‘julienne’ in French, a fish I’ve never heard of in English but have come across it before in Med France) with sort-of red fruit crumble! And, call me old-fashioned, I quite like seeing and enjoying the texture of vegetables rather than everything in a puree. But certain combinations and dishes were good, especially the desserts. Set daily menu: €16 for two courses, €19.50 for three. The restaurant’s open Monday to Friday lunchtimes and for group bookings only evenings and weekends: phone (+33) (0)4 99 526 635.

Château de Flaugergues ‘Foliae’ 2010, La Méjanelle (Grenache blanc, Rolle, 12.5% alc.) – aromatic pear with quite exotic peach and pineapple flavours vs zesty/chalky texture, attractive, quite light and easy style. 1 €7

Château de Flaugergues ‘Cuvée Sommelière’ white 2010, Languedoc (Grenache blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne, Viognier, Rolle) – a bit closed up to start, fatter mouth-feel and quite exotic fruit with lees-edged roundness; lacks a touch of acidity, it might open up and blossom. 1 €9

‘Le Vin de l’Oncle Charles’ 2007 (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot) – “as it says on the label,” from his uncle’s vineyard: a bit overly chocolate oaky, nice enough sweet fruit underneath and a bargain at €3.50.

Château de Flaugergues red 2008 (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre) – a tad lean maybe vs some simple berry fruit.

Château de Flaugergues ‘Les Comtes’ red 2008 (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre) – quite subtle I guess, again not showing much. €6

Château de Flaugergues ‘Cuvée Sommelière’ red 2007, Grés de Montpellier (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre; 13.5%) – this one was a little closed up on the nose too – most of these wines were screw-capped, from memory, by the way – but it gets richer and spicier with tight tannins, quite classy in the end. 1-2 €9

‘Cuvée Colbert’ 2006, Grés de Montpellier (Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache) – oaky although has fairly lush texture with black cherry and liquorice notes, grainy texture and again quite tightly structured vs bit of oomph. 1 €12

‘Natural wine’

The first ‘natural’ wine fair (NWF) was held in London last month, and I’m certainly not the first person to go on about it or ask the inevitable question: what exactly is ‘natural’ wine? And do we need to define and label it anyway, when there already are systems and rules in place for those winegrowers/makers who want to go that extra kilometre (or ten) and get themselves certified as an organic or biodynamic producer. The NWF catalogue included a ‘Charter of Quality’ giving a few definitions:

“All grapes are, at a minimum, organic. All grapes are hand-harvested. No added yeasts. No added sugar. No rectified acidity. Basically none of the dozens of additives often found in wine, except perhaps a little sulphite (a preservative among other uses) added during fermentation or at bottling*. Some of the wines won’t have anything added at all.”

So, all sounds perfectly fair enough and commendable but nothing more than what many/most organic and all biodynamic producers already adhere to. That * clause about sulphites is perhaps one of the key things here, certainly in terms of ‘controlling’ winemaking (there’s a subtle difference between keeping the upper hand on the process and swamping a wine with technology). “A little” isn’t very specific or scientific for sure; they quantify this by adding: “For us, low sulphite levels means that the grower is ultimately aiming to add little or no SO2 (sulphur dioxide) at all… dependant (sic.) on the year.”

Tom Lubbe of Domaine Matassa in the Roussillon sets a more technical level for this at “less than 20 milligrams per litre total SO2 in bottle,” which is readily measurable in a lab and about one-fifth to one-tenth of what might be in a ‘normal’ wine (and permitted). It's worth adding that all wine contains some sulphites, even if no SO2 is added, as a natural by-product of fermentation etc. Tom also talked about copper based treatments, the traditional ‘natural’ choice for combating e.g. a particular type of mildew, as copper (present in the human organism in minute quantities but toxic at higher levels) can hang around and pollute rivers. “In a well-run organic or biodynamic vineyard (i.e. not using synthetic fertilizers or pesticides, working the soil in the old-fashioned way etc.), you don’t see a build up of copper… or a desert effect…” as a living soil manages to diffuse these solutions. And something else missing from the NWF’s manifesto is sulphur itself, which is also a mainstay of organic viticulture in a ‘natural’ form.

At the end of the day, there were many exciting wines and wineries on tasting at the show, which was obviously the point. Due to lack of time, I stuck to sampling producers from the Languedoc & Roussillon, some I knew and some I didn’t, and wasn’t disappointed. But I also overheard several people who attended comment on certain wines, which were just plain ‘bad’ in the sense of very faulty, which, as Isabelle Legeron MW said - one of the event organisers along with importers Caves de Pyrene, Dynamic Vines, Aubert & Mascoli and Yapp Brothers - is always the danger. “Producing natural wine is like walking on a tight rope without a safety net. Great natural wine producers are brave men and women who dare to go against the grain of the modern wine world…”

Totally ‘natural’ wines, e.g. SO2 free, can easily include all the undesirable stuff too, the stuff that makes wine behave, look, smell or taste odd, unstable or ‘off’; such as wild spoilage yeasts, uninhibited oxidation or excessive acetic bacteria. You could argue whether it really matters if a natural product contains these things that come with nature; but, if left unchecked, it’s about the difference between a wine tasting good, complex, wholesome or even quirky and teetering over the edge into not nice. A common character I’ve noticed on ‘natural’ white wines is a kind of ‘real-cider’ aroma/flavour, which can be attractive if not over the top (i.e. verging on cider vinegar). But I don’t think it suits a red wine. Like balancing those sometimes complex, wild, smoky or almost leather/‘animal’ notes vs a red that smells of farm compost.

Profiles and notes on these sampled estates to follow on my other blog (where you'll find this same post, as it applies to all wines and winemakers of course) over the coming weeks: Matassa, Enfants Sauvages, Vinci, Ferrer-Ribiere, Clos Perdus, Ledogar, Clos Fantine, Les Eminades, Clos Gravillas, d’Aupilhac, Sénat, Alain Chabanon, Daumas Gassac, Mas Bruguiere.

 

‘Natural wine’

The first ‘natural’ wine fair (NWF) was held in London last month, and I’m certainly not the first person to go on about it or ask the inevitable question: what exactly is ‘natural’ wine? And do we need to define and label it anyway, when there already are systems and rules in place for those winegrowers/makers who want to go that extra kilometre (or ten) and get themselves certified as an organic or biodynamic producer. The NWF catalogue included a ‘Charter of Quality’ giving a few definitions:

“All grapes are, at a minimum, organic. All grapes are hand-harvested. No added yeasts. No added sugar. No rectified acidity. Basically none of the dozens of additives often found in wine, except perhaps a little sulphite (a preservative among other uses) added during fermentation or at bottling*. Some of the wines won’t have anything added at all.”

All sounds perfectly fair enough and commendable but nothing more than what many/most organic and all biodynamic producers already adhere to. That * clause about sulphites is perhaps one of the key things here, certainly in terms of ‘controlling’ winemaking (there’s a subtle difference between keeping the upper hand on the process and swamping a wine with technology). “A little” isn’t very specific or scientific for sure; they quantify this by adding: “For us, low sulphite levels means that the grower is ultimately aiming to add little or no SO2 (sulphur dioxide) at all… dependant (sic.) on the year.”

Tom Lubbe of Domaine Matassa in the Roussillon sets a more technical level for this at “less than 20 milligrams per litre total SO2 in bottle,” which is readily measurable in a lab and about one-fifth to one-tenth of what might be in a ‘normal’ wine (and permitted). It's worth adding that all wine contains some sulphites, even if no SO2 is added, as a natural by-product of fermentation etc. Tom also talked about copper based treatments, the traditional ‘natural’ choice for combating e.g. a particular type of mildew, as copper (present in the human organism in minute quantities but toxic at higher levels) can hang around and pollute rivers. “In a well-run organic or biodynamic vineyard (i.e. not using synthetic fertilizers or pesticides, working the soil in the old-fashioned way etc.), you don’t see a build up of copper… or a desert effect…” as a living soil manages to diffuse these solutions. And something else missing from the NWF’s manifesto is sulphur itself, which is also a mainstay of organic viticulture in a ‘natural’ form.

At the end of the day, there were many exciting wines and wineries on tasting at the show, which was obviously the point. Due to lack of time, I stuck to sampling producers from the Languedoc & Roussillon, some I knew and some I didn’t, and wasn’t disappointed. But I also overheard several people who attended comment on certain wines, which were just plain ‘bad’ in the sense of very faulty, which, as Isabelle Legeron MW said - one of the event organisers along with importers Caves de Pyrene, Dynamic Vines, Aubert & Mascoli and Yapp Brothers - is always the danger. “Producing natural wine is like walking on a tight rope without a safety net. Great natural wine producers are brave men and women who dare to go against the grain of the modern wine world…”

Totally ‘natural’ wines, e.g. SO2 free, can easily include all the undesirable stuff too, the stuff that makes wine behave, look, smell or taste odd, unstable or ‘off’; such as wild spoilage yeasts, uninhibited oxidation or excessive acetic bacteria. You could argue whether it really matters if a natural product contains these things that come with nature; but, if left unchecked, it’s about the difference between a wine tasting good, complex, wholesome or even quirky and teetering over the edge into not nice. A common character I’ve noticed on ‘natural’ white wines is a kind of ‘real-cider’ aroma/flavour, which can be attractive if not over the top (i.e. verging on cider vinegar). But I don’t think it suits a red wine. Like balancing those sometimes complex, wild, smoky or almost leather/‘animal’ notes vs a red that smells of farm compost.

See winery A to Z for profiles and notes on these Languedoc & Roussillon estates sampled at the fair: Matassa, Enfants Sauvages, Vinci, Ferrer-Ribiere, Clos Perdus, Ledogar, Clos Fantine, Les Eminades, Clos Gravillas, d’Aupilhac, Sénat, Alain Chabanon, Daumas Gassac, Mas Bruguiere.