Wine Tasting, Vineyards, in France

Wine News (2)

Shot at two different wine tastings...

Well, I know some of you are young parents, have babies and thus think they can't anymore go to wine tastings, to wine fairs and so on ... Not only they can, but they MUST bring their little ones in these festive wine events . Babies not only need to hear ( today they hear, tomorrow they'll listen ) Mozart, Bach and Sibelius to get the proper brain structure in the future . But their sensibilities grow also from the energy, the delicate emanations and the laughs they experience indirectly when their parents go taste wines with them.

This was at the vernissage of Gil Quemoun's photo exposition at the Leonard Café, on boulevard Voltaire in Paris . His pictures are scenes and portraits set in asia . Beautiful portraits, color and b&w . 5 of us were enjoying our time with a bottle of Bourgueuil . Julie went outside to answer a call and I took her picture through the window . That's all .

This is a discovery I made at the Salon des Vignerons Independants , a bi-annual wine fair in Paris : Benedicte de Rycke owns a small ( 5 hectares ) vineyard on Jasnières Appellation in the Loire valley .
Benedicte de Rycke ( this is also the estate's name ) settled there in 1989, buying 70 to 95 year old vineyards . Her wines are fresh, mineral and surprising . I tasted a red Pineau d'Aunis "Respect" 2003 (picture) and 3 white Chenin Blanc . All very different from each other . The Jasnières Tradition 2001, surprising, fresh, and so mineral . A steal at 5 Euro . The Jasnières Cuvée Louise 2003, successive pickings, a little of noble rot . After a minute or two in the glass, beautiful nose . 21 g residual sugar, but not really felt because of the acidity . 8 Euro . Last, "Respect" 2004 . Beautiful Chenin . What a nose . Delicate floral aromas . Will be bottled april 22 and priced 6 or 7 Euro . benedicte.de-rycke@tiscali.fr

Domaine de La Coste (Coteaux du Languedoc)

Keep off !! Wine watchdog...

The Domaine is located near Saint Christol, in Languedoc . The owners, Luc and Elysabeth Moynier, have several generations of vignerons behind them . We had just parked the car and were waiting outside until they finished with customers . I don't know if it had to do with the fact that boxes of wine were being loaded at the back of the van , but this dog was kind of touchy . He looked at us approaching, standing on the driver's seat, and was on his guard . I was tempted to gently put my hand on his head but preferred to abstain from this risky move, from the stare I caught in his eyes . I'm quite sure this is a retriever , this is a hunting region . We walked a few meters to the vineyard , I had noticed old vines rows in the back , wich I learned later are old Carignan vines . A second dog followed us . I am not an expert in dog breeds but this one was frighteningly looking like a pitbull and I was careful to move slowly so as he would not misinterpret my approach . I took this pic of him near the old Carignan vines ( on the left ) . Also looks at me a strange way , as if wondering why I come around here . Do you know that when these dogs bite, they don't let it go ?...

Luc Moynier, posing with the two dogs, Grenache in the back
Luc Moynier and his wife come at our rescue and show us the chai and tasting room . They settled there 30 years ago . Most of the vineyard was labelled as VDQS then ( the label just under the AOC ). The wine was then sold in bulk to wine merchants . But as they were improving the quality and working a lot on it, they had to begin to sell in bottles to have a rewarding price level . This is what they did in 1981, with a first 500 hectoliters . They had a silver medal in Macon with this first bottled wine . The following years brought more recognition, locally and nationally . They worked at the beginning in Elisabeth's father's chai, 2 km from here , until they built the present facility . Their wines began to be really well-known in 1985, thanks to the "Festival de Théatre" in Montpellier, also known as "Le Printemps des Comediens", where it made a sensation among the actors and guests . Until now, they have made only red and rosé wines . 2005 will be the 1st year they make white wine ( 2004 harvest ), with Viognier and Roussanne that they planted 4 years ago . The land where the Domaine's vineyards are located is mostly arid villafranchian soil, with big pebblestones on the surface . As strange as it seems, there were torrents and glaciers around here . Whatever, this type of soil, plus the sunny and hot summers make for potential great wines . They work with 6 emplyees, on about 30 hectares . Yields here are 30-40 hectoliter/hectare for AOC, and 50-60 for Vin de Pays . Ground is plowed between the rows .

La Rectorie ( Banyuls )

As soon as we arrived in Banyuls late in the afternoon that saturday, we went straight to La Rectorie, an estate famous for its Banyuls and Collioure wines . Appellation zone for Collioure and Banyuls is the same . The type of vinification decides if the wine is labelled as Banyuls or Collioure . La Rectorie makes more dry wines than the traditional fortified wines typical of Banyuls . We had an appointment to talk to one of the owners . When we reach La Rectorie, a "maison bourgeoise" in the middle of Banyuls, Pierre Parcé opens the door . The ground floor is the tasting room, with black & white pictures on the walls . Pierre Parcé was formerly a photographer ( the link _click on 1 under the video screen_will allow you to see a video with an interview of him, along with some of his photographic work ) . He is waiting for us with his daughter Zelie, herself a student in lyric chant . A group of students, friends of Zelie, plus 2-3 other people, join for the tasting . Pierre Parcé manages the Domaine with 2 of his brothers . He explains how his grand-grandmother was central in the history of the estate . Her name was Therèse Parcé ( born Reig ), 1870-1969 . Lived until the age of 99 , drinking wine every day, yes sir... She was a fervent catholic and managed the domaine with the help of Joseph, a spanish employee, himself a turbulent anticlerical refugee from the spanish civil war .Explaining before the real thing... They both, with their very opposite personalities, had a role in the fact that when the Parcé brothers gradually came back to La Rectorie ( from the mid 70's ), they found vineyards that had been very seriously worked . Very well tended . The elder brother, Marc, came here in 1976 while Pierre began his career in Paris as a photographer . Younger Thierry came in 1981 . Already then they had this philosophy of working with mules between the rows and maintaining the small walls along the terraces . And many voices in the region, including that of knowledgeable specialists, predicted they would'nt last long with this style of work . But they not only lasted, but they are now among the few references in Banyuls and Collioure wines . At that time, Mr André Brugirard, an oenologist who met Marc, had an important role in helping the estate stay on the right tracks for quality, until he felt the brothers handled their own destiny just fine . First vinification in 1984, " à la Banyuls" . Banyuls wines then were all fortified wines on juice . Here, they made fortified wine on grapes, wich can be sold very young, with fruit aroma extraction . The short term goal was to restart the activity without having to wait the 7 years needed for the correct maturation of the wine . This was a novelty success story . View on La Rectorie vineyards Another of their good moves : Vignerons around here did not think valuable things could be done with Grenache Gris . That's where they created a surprise with the Cuvée Argile : Early ripening Grenache Gris, with possible 14° , 14,5° on the third week of august . Other opportunities allowed the creation of other cuvées, after they met 3 vignerons in 2000 who were previously bringing their grapes to the Maury coop winery . After realizing they had common goals, the Parcé brothers bought a chai and cellar in Maury to vinify the grapes of these vignerons . This was the creation of "La Preceptorie", their second estate, sort of . Surface is 38 hectares for La Preceptorie, and 24 hectares for La Rectorie .