Again back at you with the best of wines news of France. By the way for the non Romans LXI is no 61, 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.
It is only at the end of the Middle Ages, around the 13C, that we saw the first glasses on foot appear at that time, glassware begins to be talked about, in particular thanks to the expertise of the glassmakers of Murano, in Italy there were other manufacturers in Europe, as in Bohemia for example [region of Central Europe which constitutes the western part of the Czech Republic), if this new transparent glass erected on a foot made so much sensation, it is that it allows the tasters, so far confined to the metal cup, to admire the wine dress from all its seams. Nowadays, we recognize this format a technical advantage: the foot, otherwise called rod or leg, allows us to easily ventilate the wine to collect its precious aromas. In addition, the latter prevents us from holding the glass by the chalice and risking heating the drink in our hands. We are in the 17C, in France and more exactly, in Versailles. A series of poison murders sows disorder at the Sun King’s Court and dangerously threatens his security. The glasses on foot would then have imposed itself as an effective parade to divert the criminals. Even if the glass on foot appeared from the 13C, it did not immediately supplant the cup. These two formats continue to coexist for a long time it was not until the 19C that it is really imposed on all tables Credit to Loïc Bienassis, food historian (European Institute of History and Food Cultures/University of Tours)
Mute wine, fortified wine, these rare wines from southwest Europe are surprised by their singular tastes a mutated wine, also called “fortified wine”, is a wine that has benefited from a joint alcohol for grapes during or after fermentation. Its final degree of alcohol is thus greater than a classic wine. A fortified wine can be sweet or dry, depending on the period of addition of brandy. During fermentation, non-farmented sugars will cause a sweet or sweet mutage wine. These are therefore natural sugars that do not come from an addition of liquor. In the case of an addition of brandy after fermentation, as is customary for example in the Sherry region (Spain) , the mutated wine expresses dry aromas. Where do we produce fortified wines? In the Sherry region, producer of dry fortified wines, raised under sail or oxidative, in
Porto (Portugal), with very fruity fortified wines for vintage, Ruby or Vintage Bottled styles for example. Oxidative portos are also produced there. In Madeira (Portugal) , producer of another large family of transferred wines. In Languedoc-Roussillon (Maury, Banyuls) , where magnificent natural mild wines are produced. We also develop Pineau des Charentes , based on fortified grape must with cognac brandy
. Mutages are also done with several types of alcohol. Porto, for example, strengthens his wines with grape-brandy at 77 °, while elsewhere, you mutate with pure 96 ° alcohol. We must thus add more brandy in Porto wines, which almost gives the impression of tasting a spirits since in the end, 20% of Porto wine is made up of spirits. In a large fortified or mutated wine, alcohol, even if it is very strong, must be well integrated not to unbalance the aromas. You can fully develop a fortified wine from red or white grapes. Some are carried by their grape varieties, especially those transferred young without oxidative farm. For example, a natural wine from Grenache will express the characteristics of its grape variety. In the case of an oxidative mutated wine, we will go on aromas of Rancio, on the hull fruits and the caramel side. Most transferred wines are timeless wines that are kept extremely very well, fortified wines are often bought to make sauces. France is the first market for mutated wines from Porto and Madeira, but it is essentially a customer of restaurants who use them to cook. The singular aromas of this type of wine offer a wide choice of agreements. On these wines, you can work on olive -based dishes, Iberian ham, or even sardine or mackerel. Oxidative, or soft, wines go well with chocolate and coffee.Oxidatives transferred young of red grape variety work very well on red fruits desserts. Finally, cigar lovers can live very good times with old Porto wines or natural natural wines. Et voilà we love portos !!!
The names of the southwest of France generate wines with very strong identities, linked to the characteristics of their indigenous grape varieties. Among the most qualitative areas referenced in the guide of the best wines of France 2024. Luckily, the Southwest Region remains at affordable prices! Around Toulouse and Montauban Domaine la Calmette : with Cahors Bois Grand 2020 red wine, Cahors red wine L’Espace Bleu entre les Nuages 2020, Domaine Plageoles en AOC Gaillac with white wine effervescent mauzac nature 2021, Vin blanc oxydatif Vin de Voile 2010 ,and Vin rouge Duras 2019, south of Périgueux with Domaine l’Ancienne Cure Vin blanc Bergerac Sec l’Abbaye 2020, VDF Pet Nat 2022 ,Vin rouge Bergerac l’Abbaye 2019, Vin rouge Pécharmant L’Abbaye 2019, Around Bayonne with Domaine Arretxaa, in AOC Irouléguy White Wine Grès 2021 and Red wine Burdin Harria 2020, around Auch with Château Montus en Aoc Madiran Red wine 2018.
The Saint-Pourçain is often called “thirst wines”. But what does this expression mean that is on the rise? To say that it is a wine that quenches like water does not flow. This is a bottle that you can open in pairs and that you are sure to finish in the evening! The flagship grape varieties of thirst wines: white Chenin blanc,or Cinsault or Gamay in red, even Pinot Noir if it is not wooded. And the favorite, the Pineau
d’Aunis, a variety of grapes cultivated in the Loire Valley, especially for the Coteaux-du-Vendômois,
(area of Vendôme) capable of creating dynamic wines, which dance in glass. In other words, grapes that give light wines in alcohol as in structure, not very tannic. In the past, the term “goulery” was used. Two clues make it possible to better grasp the concept. Whether red, white or more often rosé, thirsty wine is indicated for the aperitif. Unlike “gastronomy” wine, whose complexity, structure and elegance flourish better at the table. To accentuate its simple and fruity character, it is even served at a slightly cooler temperature. Indeed have them ready for Summer !!
From Puy de Dôme to Vendée, Loire wines are characterized by their diversity. This may appear too much complexity: 34 names of origin and an IGP, turns out to be a competitive advantage when the markets evolve quickly. By relying on a wide variety of styles, the offer adapts to the requirements of the markets and the results are there: in France, the Loire wines cut good market share, whatever the color, and export, The registered turnover increases by 23% in 5 years. For example, concerning whites there are real singularities between the terroirs and grape varieties of the Nantes, Touraine, the Loir or Haut-Poitou valley. If we only look at the Chenin, we can discover different expressions between Vouvray, Anjou-Saumur or even Chinon. The fine bubbles of the Loire represent the widest offer in AOP in traditional circuits. The diversity of Loire wines is an asset in the face of the evolution of restoration methods and lifestyles to note that the Loire is the 2nd AOP region most bought by young people for home consumption (Wine Intelligence 2023 – Study young consumers). Loire wines, life wines! As an indication, the Cabernet d’Anjou is the first volume AOP sold in large distribution (100,000 bottles/day). 43 million bottles of Cabernet d’Anjou are produced per year, 15 million Rosé from Anjou and 5 million Loire rosé. Right on it has become my second favorite region for wines of my belle France !
The Bordeaux rosés !! are coming, when there is a will there is a way ! I like the most the Château Castéra – Anthoinette Cap -Castéra Rosé 2023 , a safe value of Médoc nord, the Cru bourgeois supérior Château Castéra initiated a new modern range, called Anthoinette Cap Castéra, to highlight the personality of its terroirs in 3 colors. Launched in 2019, the White was joined this year by a red 100% Petit Verdot and a rosé, assembly at 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, born from a clay-limestone terroir. With its beautiful sustained salmon pink dress, this very aromatic wine literally worth superbe!, Château le Grand Verdus – La Petite Folie 2023 ; here is a pretty versatile wine, to enjoy the aperitif at the table, which checks all the boxes of the rosé that we love, with its very successful balance! A nose on floral aromas and nuclei fruits (white fishing, apricot), this assembly of Merlot (80%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (20%) perfectly combines a radiant aromatic on floral notes and exotic keys, and a material present, perfectly counterbalanced by an identity freshness of the terroirs of the domain, Dourthe – Dourthe n ° 1 2023
, this original 100% Cabernet Franc offers the conjugation of a delicate fruity aromatic (raspberry, grapefruit), and a tonic and fresh mouth at first, then deploying on a Suave roundness. With its notes of pomelos and English candy, the tasting is carried by the gluttony and a successful dosage between fat and acidity, up to a finish energized by pretty amers, leaving a pleasant feeling of freshness at the palace. An old stanby name coming strong still !
The French giant of wines and spirits Pernod-Ricard announced last Wednesday July 17 2024 to sell its Australian, New Zealand and Spanish wines to the Australian investor consortium Wine Holdco Limited (AWL). The sold wines, notably the Australian Jacob’s Creek, the New Zealander Stoneleigh or the Spanish Campo Viejo, represent an annual volume of 10 million boxes of 9 liters subject to the obtaining of regulatory authorizations, the finalization of the operation sales should take place in the second half of 2025, estimates the group. The company’s turnover remained at half mast in two key markets, the United States (-11% in organic) where resellers continue to adjust their stocks, and China (-12% in organic), ireason for a “difficult macro-economic context” which slows the request, said the group.
A traditional nostalgic wine for me and my family ,even spent time vacationing in its region,the Beaujolais !!! Of the 15000 hectares of Beaujolais, there are no less than 12 different appellations: 2 regional AOP – the Beaujolais and Beaujolais Villages which can exist in white as in red ,and 10 Crus of Beaujolais or municipal names all grouped to the north of the wine region, forming a vertical strip 20 km long by 5 km wide. From north to south, Juliénas ,Saint-Amour, Chénas, Moulin-à-Ven, Fleurie, Chiroubles, Morgon, Régnié, Côte-de-Brouilly and Brouilly. The difference between a vintage (crus) and a controlled designation of origin (AOC) is that the crus term indicates that the wine has been produced in an even more specific area. The combination of the type of soil, climate, altitude and grape variety is generally at the origin of the higher quality of the vintage, and its taste identity. The 10 Beaujolais vintages, exclusively produced from the Gamay grape variety, are distinguished by their diversity of soils, altitudes and exhibitions, which give each vintage a unique expression of the grape. Although varied, these wines can be classified into two main categories: fresh and fruity wines, ideal for young consumption, and more complex and structured wines, which often benefit from higher aging potential. The fresh and fruity wines are Fleurie, Chiroubles, Saint-Amour, Brouilly ,Régnié and Juliénas, The complex and structured wines are the Côte-de-Brouilly, Chénas , Morgon, and Moulin-à-Vent.
A grape variety is a variety of vines that will give a very special type of grape. Tannins, the thickness of the skin, maturity are all elements that vary depending on the variety of the vine. Thus, when the winemaker chooses to cultivate a grape, he chooses finally a typicity of grapes. Wines can be made from a single grape variety. It will be called a monocépage cuvée, like the Chardonnay or the Sauvignon that you order on the terrace for example. But they can also mix several. It is said that the wine comes from an assembly. Rather followers of assembly in France, the winegrowers of the new world have on the contrary created the trend around monocépage wines to facilitate the understanding of the consumer on the wine he consumes. There are more than 8,000 different grape varieties in the world. There are table grape varieties, those you can find in your market gardener, and cuvées grape varieties, those that will make the best vintages. Divide the grapes into two categories: “white” grapes and “black” grapes. “White” grapes will give white juices. The “black” grapes will give red juices … but not only! They can also give white juices! The coloring of the juice will depend on its maceration with the skins of the grapes, this is where the pigments are contained. For the most informed and the most observers, you can identify the variety of a vineyard at a glance, looking at its leaves, its size, the color of its clusters ; for the purposes of connoisseurs, the difference is made to the taste. Each grape variety has its own aromatic components in France, are mainly cultivated the Merlot, Grenache Noir , Carignan, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir, for red wines. For white wines, we mainly find Ugni Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. In total, there are more than 200 authorized grape varieties to produce wine in the French vineyard. However, the 8 grape varieties mentioned above represent more than 65% of the grape varieties. For red wines : Pinot Noir ,the flagship grape in the Burgundy region. Merlot ,when you think of the Merlot grape, you think Bordeaux! Malbec is a black grape from the southwest of France, it gives rich, powerful, spicy red wines. The Trousseau of Le Jura and its wines a very local grape that is found around the village of Montigny-lès-Arsures. The Gamay oh gamay my beautiful red gamay with white juice. We love it in the Loire, we like it in all the vineyards in France and around the world. For white wines Chardonnay from Burgundy, one of the most planted, appreciated and drunk grape varieties! The Sauvignon Blanc before conquering the world, the Sauvignon Blanc had found in France very conducive to its culture: Val de Loire, Sud-Ouest, Languedoc-Roussillon, Provence. The Grenache cousin of the Carignan, Grenache is one of our grape varieties imported in France during the Middle Ages period in Languedoc. It was born on Spanish lands. Today, it is distinguished in the regions of the south of France, but also worldwide, the Chenin flagbearer of the Val de Loire, the Chenin is a magnificent grape variety for lovers of dry white wine, the Savagnin , tis grape from Austrian Tyrol and very well known to Franche-Comté ,This grape is very rare in our vineyards of France since only 300 hectares are, mainly in the Jura. There you go the very best in the world indeed !!
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 