A tour of France

Rough notes

Published: June 10, 2012

The Tour de France cycling race is coming up soon, so here are some notes of wines from around the country, which I made for about 150 peoplea at a wine tasting in Paris, France in 2012. The aim was to give them just a rough idea of the wines on show and the broad characteristics to look for. I didn't put the years in my notes because the guests could see them on the bottle, a mistake from the point of view of this post: however, most of the wines were 2009 and more recent, except for a wine from 2004. The best wine of the night was...

...the Rully, and the Chateauneuf de pape; the 2004 Collioure and the Calvi were the worst. And I mean, worst! I have had excellent Collioure wines, jammy and rich, but this wasn't one of them. The wines were provided by a fromagerie in Paris, and as so often happens, cost control over maximum impact seemed to decide their selection. Dommage !

WHITE/BLANC

Cassis Excellence Domaine de la Ferme Blanche (Blanc)

PROVENCE, Marsanne/Clairette grapes; dry, honey

Riesling Rosacker Grand Cru Lorentz (Blanc)

ALSACE, riesling, Grand cru: more body/corps; dry-fruity,

Saint Aubin « La Pucelle » Roux Père et Fils (Blanc)

BURGUNDY/BOURGOGNE, Cotes de Beanes, typically Chardonnay, dry/sec

Saumur « Domaine Guiberteau » (Blanc)

LOIRE, Chenin, dry/sec

RED/ROUGE

Morgon Côte du Py Dupond (Rouge)

BEAUJOLAIS (South of Macon), Gamay grape; Fruit, acid, midday, summer, well priced, young

Rully 1^er Cru Les Cloux Jacqueson (Rouge)

BURGUNDY/BOURGOGNE red, Cotes Chalonnaise (south of Beaune, north of Macon), Pinot Noir grape; Fruit when young, more wood/earth when aged, soft

Chinon Clos de l’Echo Couly Dutheil (Rouge)

LOIRE, Cabernet franc; Young, quite tannic and spicey, but « grassy » flavours, great springtime wine

Calvi Domaine Maestracci E Prove (Rouge)

CORSICA (Corse), Syrah/Grenache/Nellucio/Sciacarello grapes (latter two typical local); Dense, tannic, Italian style: strong on attack

Collioure Cuvée Serral Somaine Madeloc 2004 (Rouge)

ROUSSILLON REGION, Mouvedre/Grenache, often used in Banyuls fortified wine; Strong, tannic, attack

Médoc La Chapelle de Potensac (Rouge)

BORDEAUX, Merlot (40-50%)/Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc, tannin, hard, oak

Pauillac Baron Nathaniel (Rouge)

BORDEAUX, Cabernet Sauvignon (80%)/Cabernet franc/Merlot…; powerful, tannin,velvet, long

Châteauneuf du Pape Les Cèdres Jaboulet (Rouge)

CÔTES DU RHÔNE, south Rhône/du sud, Avignon; Grenache (70%)/Cinsault/Syrah/Mourvedre grapes, spicey tannins, jammy

There are plenty of pretty good maps of French wine regions on the Internet; this is one.

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