#France

Oct 14, 2021

WINE OF THE WEEK: Roc Cuvée 2020, Bordeaux, France

£13.99/£12./59, Laithwaites A red Bordeaux in a Burgundy bottle without a capsule and label graphics showing a love-you hand squeezing a bunch of grapes was never going to be a conventional Bordeaux. Stand by, then, for generous, bright fruit (sweet plums, blackberries and blackcurrants), fleeting whiffs of parma violets and spicy tobacco and a gentle undertow of refreshing leafiness. Tannin? There's not an elbow or an angle in sight, just glossy curves and mouth-filling, ve

Sep 16, 2021

WINE OF THE WEEK: La Madone Gamay sur Volcan 2020, Côtes du Forez, France

£12.95–£16, The Wine Society, Haynes Hanson & Clark This is the kind of wine that gets pigeon-holed as a summer wine, usually as an alternative to Beaujolais, but it's absolutely delicious and deserves to be drunk all year, cool in winter, cooler still in summer. Like Beaujolais, it's made from Gamay, but in the small Côtes du Forez appellation in the Auvergne to the south west, near to the source of the river Loire. Gilles Bonnefoy, who started La Madone in the late 1990s a

Aug 18, 2021

Ten Pinots for International Pinot Noir Day

I hadn't planned to do a Pinot Noir post to coincide with International Pinot Noir Day today, but it's a good opportunity to spread the love, not least because I was bowled over by the two Akitu wines below, especially the A1 2018, and by the latest Craggy Range Aroha. There's also an amphora-fermented Pinot from Shropshire, which is a revelation and a triumph. Who knew England could do this? And there are two Burgundies I wanted to highlight, although the delightful, mature

Aug 11, 2021

Prime Time for Pink: Summer 2021 Rosé Roundup Part 2

As in part one, there's a cross-section of styles, grape varieties, origins and prices here and I'm going from high to low again, so that the more expensive rosés don't get overlooked (scroll down for the £8.25 Spanish rosado). There are some food suggestions along the way, but there isn't a wine here that couldn't be taken to the table, thanks largely to the more interesting textures we're seeing in so many rosés. Finally, a reminder that if you want a comprehensive review o

Jul 29, 2021

WINE OF THE WEEK: Famille Lafage Miraflors Rosé 2020, Côtes Catalanes, France

£12.99–£13.95, Urban Grapes, Alteus Wine, Gourmet Hunters, Simply Wines Direct, All About Wine I tasted this Roussillon rosé for the second part of my Summer Rosé Round Up (coming up soon, click for Part 1 in the meantime), but was so taken with it that I'm putting the spotlight on it here first. The very pale colour gives it the look of a typical Provence rosé (as does the chic bottle), but it's more aromatic than many of its Provence counterparts, with Mediterranean herbs,

Jul 15, 2021

Love Island: why Chanel bought Domaine de l'Ile on Porquerolles

Why would the luxury goods giant Chanel buy a wine estate in a remote part of the tiny (car-free) island of Porquerolles? The answer that immediately comes to mind is: because it's part of the Côtes de Provence appellation and wines don't come more trendy than Provence rosé. And if you've got the money to invest in an estate or simply a brand you can endorse with your celebrity status, they don't come much more money-spinning either. Just ask the celebs who've been buying the

Jul 7, 2021

Prime Time for Pink: Summer 2021 Rosé Roundup Part 1

Now that winemakers all around the world treat rosé with as much respect as red and white wines, there are so many good rosés in such a diversity of styles that I'm dividing this year's round-up into two posts, with a cross section of styles, grape varieties and origins in each. And in a break with the past, I'm going from high to low in price this year because I don't want the more expensive pink wines (the first five in particular) to be missed. Scroll to the bottom and go

Jun 24, 2021

WINE OF THE WEEK: Domaine Vendange Jacquère La Côte 2020, Savoie, France

£14.50, The Daily Drinker Bright, breezy and light as a feather, this is a delightful example of the Alpine purity and flavour of the Savoie region's Jacquère grape. It's as pale as snow with just a hint of green, smells of spring blossoms, jasmine and summer orchards and glides across the palate in ripples of pear and citrus fruit and mountain-stream stones. It's quietly insistent in flavour, soft textured and effortlessly fresh. You could drink it alongside simple salads an

Jun 14, 2021

The Beauty of Burgundy Vintages ending in '9': Famille Carabello-Baum 2019s

Cleverly branded corks – Château de Pommard is worked organically and biodynamically, as are many of the wines under the Famille Carabello-Baum label I wrote about the Carabello-Baum family and their purchase of Château de Pommard, here, together with tasting notes on seven of the 2018 whites and 2017 reds, so I'm confining myself in this post to four wines: three newly released 2019s that I recently tasted and talked about (on zoom) with winemaker Emmanuel Sala and owner Mic

Jun 10, 2021

WINE OF THE WEEK: Château du Hureau 'Tuffe' Saumur-Champigny 2018, France

£15.20, Tanners Wines In summer, drunk distinctly cool, red Saumur or Saumur-Champigny is vital. In winter it's an essential punctuation point between bigger reds. In spring you need it to lead you you into warmer sunnier days and come the autumn you need it to take you gently towards the darker, colder months. On my increasingly crowded desert island there has, therefore, to be one such red Loire and for some time to come it's going to be Château Hureau's Tuffe, a Saumur-Cha

May 20, 2021

WINE OF THE WEEK: Domaine J Boulon Beaujolais Vieilles Vignes 2019, France

£12, Haynes Hanson & Clark Vieilles Vignes are the key to the Boulon family's cracking Beaujolais, or certainly one of them. There's no variety of wine vine that seems to benefit more from age than Gamay. The vines that add depth and intensity to the quintessential exuberant charm and immediacy of this 2019 are all 60–100 years old. It starts with a lovely waft of strawberries and continues with a surge of soft summer-berries, stony, damp earth, a streak of currant leaf and s

May 13, 2021

WINE OF THE WEEK: Château Climens Asphodèle 2019, Bordeaux Blanc Sec, France

£26.50, Berry Bros & Rudd There is joy tinged with sadness in this week's wine. Let's start with the joy, which is that this is a beautiful wine. Elegant, precise, pure, textural and gently rippling with aromas and flavours of blossom, spicier flowers (marigolds), citrus and minerals, turning to red apple, lychee (just a whisper), orange zest and peach – and all emphasised by the silk-smooth texture and long, fresh, mineral spine. You may find other or completely different ar

Apr 29, 2021

WINE OF THE WEEK: Guigal Côtes du Rhône Blanc 2019, France

£11.50–£12, The Wine Society, Tesco Full-bodied, succulent, Viognier-based dry white from one of the big names in a region much better known for its red wines – and one that doesn't usually major on Viognier in its whites. But it's the 60% Viognier (supported by Roussanne and Marsanne) that leads the way with fleshiness and soft texture, blossomy aromas and lush peach, cream and patisserie flavours. There's a sprinkling of white-pepper spiciness and a squeeze of grapefruit, t

Apr 8, 2021

WINE OF THE WEEK: Rigal Original Vin Orange Gros Manseng 2019, Vin de France

£10, Morrisons There'a a lot of noise about orange wines – wines made from white grapes fermented with their skins like red wines, rather than without skins – but they're still very much a minority sport, even though it's how wine was originally made whatever the colour of the grapes. It's good, then, to see Rigal in southwest France venturing into the arena and making a success with a characterful local grape variety and the UK's Morrisons supermarkets taking the wine on. In

Mar 25, 2021

WINE OF THE WEEK: Justerini & Brooks Pomerol, France

£24.67, Justerini & Brooks If you're looking for something classic, crowd-pleasing and versatile for Easter, this is it: a red Bordeaux (aka claret) of beautiful proportions, soft-suede tannins, ripe fresh fruit, sandalwood, tobacco, Christmas cake and mocha flavours . It's also a wine of impeccable provenance: impeccable but not revealed, at least not by Justerini & Brooks who say that, such is the sensitivity, the buyers involved in the assemblage (blending) have had to si

Mar 11, 2021

Vigné-Lourac Braucol 2018, Côtes du Tarn, France

£10.75, The Daily Drinker This beguiling Braucol wine arrived just at the right time to assuage some of my south-west France withdrawal symptoms. I’m normally based in the region six or seven times a year, but it’s now more than six months since I was last there. Thank you for your concern, but no need for the violins. I had this characterful, red instead – generous, supple and medium-bodied with a floral perfume (reminiscent of irises), blackberry, raspberry and damson fruit

Feb 11, 2021

WINE OF THE WEEK: Domaine Jones Grenache Gris 2018/2019, Côtes Catalanes, France

£16.45 for 2018, Amps Wine Merchants; £18.99 for 2019, Yorkshire Vintners This wonderful dry white wine, with its compelling counterpoint of zing and richness, almost didn't come into being. When Katie Jones was about to sign on the dotted line for her first tiny vineyard in 2008, the one from which this wine comes, she suddenly noticed that the document said that half the 2.5 hectare vineyard was Grenache Gris, rather than all Grenache Noir. She didn't want white grapes. The

Jan 21, 2021

WINE OF THE WEEK: Bouchard Père et Fils Beaune du Château Premier Cru 2017, Beaune, France

£32.95, Waitrose In the absence of the assault course of Burgundy En Primeur tastings that I would have done by this point in a normal year (not that I'm complaining about them – I love Burgundy), I'm delighted to have a beauty of a red Beaune to recommend. It's Pinot Noir, but so much more than Pinot Noir, a wine for which the words perfume, silkiness, buoyancy, transparency and harmony could have been coined. Starting with delicate spice and sandalwood on the nose, it opens

Jan 14, 2021

WINE OF THE WEEK: Domaine de la Combe Vendange Nocturne Melon Blanc, Vin de France

£9–£11, The Daily Drinker, ND John, Noble Green Wines, Kwoff If you’re not doing dry January but want to make a gesture, this perky, dry white from the Loire is a modest 11% alcohol and doesn't lack anything in the flavour department. It’s light bodied with an inviting floral nose and a palate of green pear, talcum powder, citrus acidity and sea spray. Although the label states Vin de France and there's no vintage, Vendange Nocturne is to all intents and purposes a Muscadet.

Jan 7, 2021

WINE OF THE WEEK: Château Courac Côtes du Rhône 2016, France

£8.95, The Wine Society This is one of my house wines, one I turn to when I want the vinous equivalent of a comforting, warm hug. With more Syrah than Grenache in the blend, it's full and generous with a twist of fresh white pepper to season the plush raspberry fruit and deeper tapenade and game notes. 2016 was an exceptional vintage in the southern Rhône, but even in less favourable vintages such as 2013 Joséphine and Frédéric Arnaud make a success of their straight Côtes du