An evening out at a wine tasting. France's annual national September wine sale had begun. Just the thing for a dull Tuesday evening. I got dolled up, well, I showered and put on a frilly scarf and headed to the local supermarche ATAC, for the show. We arrived as the clouds loomed, Lord of The Rings style, above the empty car park whilst flocks of birds started attacking a nearby crane. Odd but true. We quickly ambed on in.
A red(ish) carpet had been layed and we were invited to sample the buffet, a emmental cheese puffs to start. There should have had a choking warning on the side, and with nowhere to spit, I took one for the team and swallowed it back. Why do the French get it so wrong sometimes? I always thought "les nibbles" were their thing? Well I hoped the wine would improve things.
ATAC- Salon des vins (similar to Co-op)
Saint-Veran, vielle vignes 2008, Vignerons des Grands Vignes 5E95
A lovely start to the evening, not balshy on the nose but relatively restrained. Lemon, quince and a dollop of butter croissant, the palate was more floral than toffee-central and the wine retained a lovely freshness typifying the vintage. A decent finish but nothing to write home about. Good value St Veran for everyday drinking.
Pouilly-Vinzelles 2007, Poulet Pere et Fils, 5E95
Incredibly subtle on the nose, Ma didn't even get a thing, much to her annoyance. I however, got plenty of soft spring floral notes and soft peach and lemon. The palate was fresh and had only a small hint of oak. It was refined and delicate, but this was not enough for Ma who was obviously looking for a bit of Aussie oak chip that night. Even better the day after, not a bockbuster but at this price you shouldn't expect it to be.
Beaune 1er cru "Les Sizies", 2002, Pinot Noir, A. Guillemard-Ponthier, 9E99
Sort of Pinot-like on the nose, no deep ferral quality and no bounding raspberry or strawberry fruit. Not wowed so far. The palate was overly woody for the fruit, it may have been an age thing but at only 8 years old and for a premier cru vineyard in a lush vintage I would have expected better. The French like 'em young so I doubt this will be flying off the shelves. Shame.
Coteaux du Ginnois, Sauvignon Blanc, 2008, Domaine de Villegeai, 4E99
From an appelation just on the outskirts of Sancerre and Pouilly Fume this wine style usually straddles between taut minerality and lush green fruit. On the nose the Sauvignon hallmark of green apple, lemon and a hint of fresh pea jumped straight out. The palate was long and fresh, not New Zealand flashy with tropical fruit but like a fruit salad of granny smith apples, grapes and a hint of kiwi. Fresh and long. With the 09 white Loire vintage not getting great reviews, time to stock up.
Cotes du Rhone, Domaine Mazurd, 2004, 4E90
Not fruity, not lush and just average. Very surprised that this was on tasting, it certainly did not convince me. And another point, a good food match was not an emmental cheese puff. As previously stated sometimes I wonder about the French........
Riesling, Alsace, Stephane Berg, 2008, 3E60
I was duped. The massive print of BERG on the front label alerted me to one of my favourite grand cru vineyards in Alsace and so we snapped some up without question. It was only when we got home that I realised it was the producer. Sneaky. The wine did however perform, not to Grand cru heights but good all the same. Varietal and spritzy, fresh and limey, not complex but incredible value. Still on the hunt for better quality and more interest.
Gewurtztraminer, Michel Frantz, 2007, 4E45
Big, blousy and flowery. Everything you'd expect. I am not usually a massive fan of standard gewutz. but this did it's job, not overly cloying and just edged on fresh. But I still couldn't get the bath salt flavour out of my mouth. If Gewutz. is your thing then it was a good example but for me, pass the Riesling.......
Alsace Grand Cru, Ollwiller, Riesling, Chateau Ollwiller, 2007, 6E90
Now this was more like it. Immediately varietal on the nose, cream, lime and soft lemon meringue pie. Warm peach on the palate and slightly sweeter than I was expecting. Long length and delicate yet full of flavour with wax, honey and floral notes throughout. Yum yum yum.
Coteaux du Languedoc, Pic Saint Loup Reserve, 2007, Les Coteaux du Pic, 3E80
Must be the bargain of the flight? Oaky, juicy and brambletastic. Plenty of softened tannin to support the full dark fruit. Medium length. Relatively one dimensional, but what a dimension, powerful and crisp. A good Autumn glugger for a Southern Rhone lover.
Cotes du Roussillon, Chateau Mosse "Le tradition", 2005, 5E50
Soft plum, damson and raspberry overlayed with layers of vanilla, toast and air cured ham. Soft and ripe, almost like an aged Australian Syrah with an Argentinian Malbec chocolate thwack. Long and great value to boot.Pa's favourite.
So.........not bad, as expected the Languedoc is winning on the red front and unuaslly, the Loire Sauvignon would be my top tip......
Next time, best of Intermarche (similar to Tesco)
Bon aperitif
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