WTN: Lots of French

Short notes from lunch with Jerome Philippon who specializes in importing French wines from less glamorous regions.

Corail Cotes de Provence Rose 2008 - Glowing light pink. Good fragrance. Bracing acidity. Good, refreshing rose.

Next we compared the 2008 vs 2007 Bandol Tempier Rose. The 2007 was a very pale salmon pink with some orange mixed in. Gentle, well-rounded wine with surprisingly deep flavor and good length. An excellent rose. The 2008 was pretty much the same except it was lighter, perhaps due to a bit less alcohol, and had more fruit.

On to the reds.

Clos Baquey 2005 - From Cotes du Marmandais. Made of Cabernets Franc and Sauvignon, Merlot and Abouriou which, I was informed, is the local name for Gamay. A rather odd combination of grapes but the flavor was great. Sweet fruit. Rich, deep and a little spicy. Ready to drink now. Very good.

Chateau Lagarette Cuvee Renaissance 2003 - From Premier Cotes de Bordeaux. Smoky, tannic and with high acidity. Seems to lack integration. It got a little better with some air and developed a good fragrance as well but the improvement in the palate was minor. Not my type.

Domaine Cheze Ro-Ree Saint Joseph 2006 - Good fruit. Dried herbs, smoke, coffee. Rich wine but very approachable. Good stuff.

Back to whites.

Cour Cheverny Cuvee Salamandre 2005 - I had never heard of this Apellation before. The grape is the little-known Romarantin. A dry white but with a very distinct honeyed character. I asked if there was botrytis in this but was informed there was none. Some floral character as well. Interesting and elegant. Very good.

Bott-Geyl Les Elements Gewurztraminer 2006 - I've enjoyed this wine quite a few times before. Lychee and roses. Quite sweet. Real easy to enjoy. Some people might be turned-off by the sweetness but I think this is excellent.

We ended with a pleasant Bourgogne Aligote which I neglected to take note of.

Jerome even offered to open a Chateauneuf du Pape and a Champagne but it was getting late and we felt we would not be able to give the additional wines the appropriate attention after everything that had gone before.

Short notes from lunch...Jerome even offered to open a Chateauneuf du Pape and a Champagne but it was getting late and we felt we would not be able to give the additional wines the appropriate attention...

And perhaps you also had to return to work?

Or was this the weekend..

It was a work day but I was able to take the afternoon off. One of the perks of being the boss.

Clos Baquey 2005 - From Cotes du Marmandais. Made of Cabernets Franc and Sauvignon, Merlot and Abouriou which, I was informed, is the local name for Gamay. A rather odd combination of grapes but the flavor was great. Sweet fruit. Rich, deep and a little spicy. Ready to drink now. Very good.

The wines of Elian da Ros, the maker of Clos Bacquey, punch well above the average weight of their rather obscure appellation. Indeed I remember Bacquey's stable mate, Chante Coucou, coming third as a ringer in a line-up of about 10 much more prestigious and expensive Saint-Emilions.

One of the perks of being the boss.

Indeed!

Jay,

I have a bottle of Clos Bacquey in my cellar 2001), but I was amazed that such a wine would find its way to the US (shows how little I know!).

The winemaker, Elian da Ros is a fanatic and has quite a following. His is reputed to be the best wine in the Lot-et-Garonne department, one over from the Gironde.
That is just the sort of wine to serve blind .

Also, Cour Cheverny is not such a commonplace wine!

It's good to see you experimenting left, right, and center.

All the best,
Alex

Jay,

I have a bottle of Clos Bacquey in my cellar 2001), but I was amazed that such a wine would find its way to the US (shows how little I know!).

The winemaker, Elian da Ros is a fanatic and has quite a following. His is reputed to be the best wine in the Lot-et-Garonne department, one over from the Gironde.
That is just the sort of wine to serve blind .

Also, Cour Cheverny is not such a commonplace wine!

It's good to see you experimenting left, right, and center.

All the best,
Alex

Hi Alex,

I'm from the Philippines, not the US, so I'm sure you're even more surprised we have Clos Bacquey and Cour Cheverney in Manila!

All credit goes to Mr. Philippon, the importer, who is zealous (some would say over-zealous) about promoting French wines outside Burgundy and Bordeaux.

Jay

Jay,

Sorry for not noticing that you are in the Philippines.

Your importer is truly one switced-on guy!

Sometime down the line, I think many of us would love to read about the fine wine scene in the Philippines (prices, storage issues, matching with local cuisine, etc.).

All the best,
Alex R.

Alex,

Thanks for your interest. If you would like to read about the goings-on in Manila, you might want to look at http://winesandspiritsclub-philippines.com/forum/ Some of the posts might be in Filipino but I think you'll get a good sense of what's going on here.

There's also a blog by a friend of mine at http://eyeonwine.blogspot.com/ which may be of interest.

Jay