Again back at you with the best of wines news of France. By the way for the non Romans LX is no 60, The wines of France are just super simply awesome and a great tradition. Often imitated, some time equaled ,but never surpass! Therefore, let me tell you some news shall we. Hope you enjoy it as I.
What could be better to discover Paris on the Seine than with a cut of champagne in hand? The Compagnie des Bateaux Mouches is associated with Champagne EPC in an exclusive partnership. The Compagnie des Bateaux Mouches has chosen the young EPC Champagne house to delight the taste buds of its visitors. The company offers services like the Champagne cruise in Paris which includes a ticket for a promenade cruise and half a bottle for 2 people from 29€
Webpage Champagne EPC : https://epc-champagne.com/
Webpage Bateaux Mouches : https://www.bateaux-mouches.fr/en
Are we going to snatch 100,000 ha of vines in France? Of the 750,000 in our country? In view of the almost general crisis that the sector is going through, this figure has been advanced by the public authorities in recent weeks. And to refine these projections, the Ministry of Agriculture has just launched a call. All winegrowers have until June 12 2024 to declare themselves interested, or not; A survey conducted online, which is not worth filing a official file. Two devices are announced: temporary uprooting (subsidized up to 2,500 euros/ha, replanting within four years) or final (4,000 euros). The implementation of the system being announced for October 2024. From AOC Bordeaux and Bordeaux superior, the most important in the Gironde department, already started in 2023, a subsidized uprooting plan (57 million euros engaged) is indeed unfolding in Gironde: by June 30, 2024 8,000 ha must disappear, against the payment of a premium of 6,000 euros/ Ha. A second phase of this plan must be launched after the next harvest. Yes prices too high production costs too high and not enough in investment in climate control will do this unfortunately,
Is Burgundy finally getting it, expensive wines are not the future, In the role of the man who puts the cards on the table: Frédéric Drouhin, at the head of the Beaune family home. In early April, he released this surprise announcement: “We lower our prices by 15 % on the entire range of the 2022 vintage”. According to him, the context has changed. “Our loyal customers can no longer follow. Interest rates are high, there are stocks everywhere on the planet and amateurs who had fun pay more attention, “he said. Maybe the price revolution downward has begun! In November, the auction of the Beaune hospices fell by around 15 %, nevertheless achieving the second best turnover in its history. More worrying, in March, the auctions of the Nuits Hospices fell 30 % after an already gloomy 2023 edition while, from the very admission of all professionals, wines have never been so good. We talk about cellars and full warehouses, importers who have stopped working with certain Burgundian suppliers or even withdrawal allowances from beautiful areas of Côte de Nuits or Côte de Beaune. Statistically, the Burgundy wines market, carried by its whites (more than 60 % of production) and a qualitative 2022 vintage, still touches the summits. For how long ? The arrival on the market from the end of the year of the 2023, voluminous and more heterogeneous harvest, will constitute a crash test. With the prospect of more substantial price reductions …Indeed,
Between ocean air and the wind, the Buzet vineyard, in the Southwest, long linked to Bordeaux, continues to build its identity. It is sometimes called the Bordeaux high-country. They are on the left bank of the Garonne, just before its confluence with the Lot, a hundred kilometers upstream of Bordeaux. The Buzet vineyard is historically linked to Bordeaux: before 1911, the geographic area belonged to the large Bordeaux vineyard. Today, after a period of post-phylloxeric decline and then a vineyard rebirth from the 1950s, the Buzet winegrowers seek to highlight the specifics of their terroir. The Les Vignerons de Buzet cooperative, the Gueyze vineyard, the most extensive of the appellation (80 hectares). The AOC vineyard represents 2,000 hectares within 15,000 hectares per name Buzet in figures : 2 .000 hectares planted, 15,000 classified. Cooperative cellar: 1953. AOC Côtes de Buzet: 1973. Production: 72% red wine, 25% rosé, 3% white Given its history, it is logically the Bordeaux grape varieties and in particular the Merlot which are origin of Buzet wines. But the fate of the AOC deviating from that of its large Bordeaux cousin, grape varieties from the Southwest like the Abouriou or the petit and gros mansengs were authorized in 2011. The grape varieties managed by the cellar (94% of the AOC area) includes 51% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc, 22% Cabernet-Sauvignon and 2% of Malbec, planted recently. Official Les Vignerons de Buzet: https://www.nouslesvigneronsdebuzet.fr/?lang=en
The 28th edition of the Monbazillac tastings competition, 32 Cuvées of the vintage 2022 participated in the competition and were tasted by 45 sommeliers trainers. Coming from all over France and welcomed over two days by the interprofession during the congress of their association in the Bergerac vineyard, the Monbazillac competition was a highlight of their vineyard discovery program. The winning cuvée is that of the Château Monbazillac Monbazillac 2022. It comes from the vines that surround the Château de Monbazillac and belong to the cellar since the acquisition of the castle, a standard carrier of the appellation, by the latter in 1960. Here nostalgic as the wine was my dear Martine’s favorite, Webpage: https://chateau-monbazillac.com/en/activities/explore-savour/
An area we follow for several years now and great price/quality ratios here, we get them shipped, in tastings salons and visited the properties !! The reds of Loire: an authenticity pegged to the body, from Nantes to Saint-Pourçain extends a skewer of remarkable, personalized wines, in total osmosis with their terroir, their region. Pimpering Gamays of the country of Nantes, dashing Anjou, Saumur-Champigny complex, proud Bourgueil from the same Cabernet Franc, Gamays, Cabernets and Côts de Touraine, Sancerre Rouge de Pinot Noir and Saint-Pourçain with rocky accent: a succession of nuggets! Worth seeking out in your neck of the woods,,,Official wines of the Loire: https://www.vinsvaldeloire.fr/en/rechercher-un-vin
More of the Loire which we have visited tasted and purchased, At the top of his piton, Sancerre watches over his land with the serenity of the big names. This emblematic vineyard of the Centre-Loire, known for its Sauvignon grape, embodies a fascinating duality: that of the simplicity of an AOC in white recognized internationally, counterbalanced by a wealth of terroirs often underestimated. However, on the hills of the Centre-Loire, the Sauvignon Blanc which made the celebrity of the wines of Sancerre cohabits harmoniously with the Pinot Noir. With its 3,025 hectares spread over 14 towns, Sancerre is not only an appellation; It is a mosaic of terroirs, where white lands rub shoulders with clots and clay-silice lands, sculpting wines of incredible diversity. In AOC since 1936 for its whites, then in 1959 for the reds and rosés, One property we like is the Domaine Philippe Raimbault The vineyard, divided between the prestigious names of Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé, and hillsides of the Giennois, extends over terroirs of a single geological wealth, offering each grape the opportunity to express singular profiles. A cellar has been rebuilt and now allows it to create terroir vintages in order to produce wines capable of expressing their differences , It has a dozen hectares dedicated to the production of Sancerre wines, including 90% white and the rest in Red and in rosé, the Domaine Philippe Raimbault estate achieves 65% of its export sales, especially in the USA and England. Webpage : https://www.philipperaimbault.fr/en/
Webpage Sancerre tourism on its wines: https://www.tourisme-sancerre.com/mon-sejour/ou-deguster/vins-de-sancerre/
These are some bottles from the Bordeaux 2023 vintage that I have tried and like, Superb wines of unknown appellations discreetly produced by large winegrowers, from 12 euros, The satellites on the right bank, like Castillon, Fronsac or Lalande de Pomerol, have also delighted, with fresh wines , and juicy, but also deep and airy. These are bottles of excellent value for money, And they are : Château les Perrières 2023: both linear and winding” burgundy of stony and peppery notes, as well as notes of flowers (iris, violet) and tobacco leaf enchant the nose. Both linear and winding, the mouth is dynamic, on stony notes and slightly spicy, with a touch of juniper bay, and a very rich finish.
Roc de Cambes 2023: A pure and raw material which touches you deep in the soul” Côtes de Bourg of juicy, simple and natural fruits, energize the nose. The mouth is delicious, with a pure and raw material that touches you deep in the soul. We want to follow the evolution of this young foal and come back to it every year to see what it will become. Château Canon Pécresse 2023: The tangy frame well in place, Canon-Fronsac very nice fresh fruit, full and roundness which is found in an intense material, with a tangy frame well in place. The texture is velvety before a salivating final, slightly grainy.
Château Hostens Picant 2023: A beautiful slightly grainy texture, from Sainte-Foy-Côtes de Bordeaux intensely peppery nose which evolves on powerful floral perfumes (pink, violet) and a fresh and delicious red fruit. Velvety and creamy, the mouth offers a beautiful slightly grainy texture, generous in fruit. Very salivating raspberry finish. Château Pavilion Beauregard 2023: Flexible, fresh and lifted Lalande de Pomerol with fresh aromas, pure, floral invites you to take a first sip, which turns out to be flexible, fresh and lifted, structured by creamy tannins.
And not talk about Champagne in a while, well something we do not drink every day but only on special occasions and for those you need the very best, These are some of the best if not the best in my opinion ! Just grab a bottle and you will why la vie en rose is true !! I start with Bollinger , The Grande Année with its aging only in ancient oak barrels and its grapes from large and first vintages, LGA as we call it is an ode to Pinot Noir (between 60 and 70% of the assembly), the symbol of the artisanal face, Of the house, which agrees to give birth only during exceptional vintages. Champagne Ayala or the expertise of Chardonnay founded in 1860 in Aÿ, in the heart of Champagne, the Ayala house is an independent family home which cultivates an infallible passion for Chardonnay. The Brut Majeur, composed of 55 % of Chardonnay and 42 % reserve wines (2016, 2017, 2017, 2018 and 2019) The Rosé Majeur, meanwhile, charmed the taste buds by its fruity gluttony, evoking the currant and the red fruits , perfect for a sunny summer. Le Blanc de Blancs A/18 2018 offered a captivating aromatic complexity. Brioche and toasted, it reveals a mouth on blood orange, leaving an unforgettable taste memory. The Blanc de Blancs 2008, a vintage of remarkable purity and freshness. The tasting revealed a champagne of great finesse, with crunchy fresh lemon notes and a persistent criminal finish. I go on with Laurent-Perrier freshness, elegance and rarity. Founded in 1812, Maison Laurent-Perrier has become a reference in the world of Champagne and is distinguished by its unique style: freshness, finesse and elegance Blanc de blancs Brut Nature. This champagne, the fruit of an aging of 8 years (well beyond the 13 months required by the specifications), reveals an admirable structure, a captivating tension and a invigorating acidity. Composed of 60 % wine from 2014 and 40 % in 2012, it offers lemony freshness that seduces the taste buds of amateurs the Brut Vintage 2012, a harmonious assembly of 50 % of Chardonnay and 50 % of Pinot Noir, the cuvée Grand siècle Itération n°26, described as a real “fireworks” this exceptional cuvée, fruit of a rigorous selection of the best wines, embodies the quest for perfection dear at home. It is an assembly of 58 % of Chardonnay from Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Oger, Cramant, Avize, and 42 % of Pinot Noir from Tours-sur-Marne, Ambonnay, Bouzy, and Verzy, This exquisite combination highlights the best qualities of the two grape varieties. Deep, intense and endowed with an exceptional childcare potential, it embodies the essence of exceptional champagne, Ah my fav Imperial collection by Moët & Chandon Le Moët Imperial considered as the “business card” of the house, it is a concentrate of the diversity of Champagne terroirs, with its 150 Grand Vintage 2013 wines, a remarkable year if it is since The last called “cold”, with harvest in October! The new Cuvée Imperial Collection. Stamped “high oenology”, this multimillésimé represents twenty years of development to find its balance. A complex assembly of seven vintages ,La Cuvée Belle Époque 1988 of the Maison Perrier-Jouët. 1988 is an iconic vintage, the extreme expression of florality. A champagne with beautiful tension, still young despite his 35 years. The Maison Charles Heidsieck with the Crayères 1989 collection, served in Jeroboam. It is a magical, solar and mature year with nevertheless a well -placed freshness This champagne is a combination of freshness on aromas of grilled brioche, hazelnuts, citrus and kumquat on notes of saffron spices. Like a Christmas atmosphere! Maison Billecart-Salmon closed in with its Nicolas François 1988 cuvée created for the first time in 1964, It comes from an assembly of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from the Grand and Première vineyard of the Côte des Blancs and the mountain of Reims, The nose evokes the candied citrus fruits, the mushrooms, the undergrowth. On the palate, there is power, firmness, cedar aromas, candied, very autumn orange notes We are in the stage of “complexity” but with still freshness. Totally sublime !!!
There you go folks, another wine episode of my belle France! The wines news from France that is, superbe, sublime, wonderful, gorgeous, enjoy without moderation but accompanying a meal, family table just perfect. See you in the vineyards of my belle France, Again, hope you enjoy the post as I,
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 