Wine Focus for October: SW France and Provence!

[Robin Garr]

Okay, here we go! Back at the end of July, Joy Lindholm suggested:

Excluding the major regions like Bordeaux and Rhone, but focusing on the south west, Languedoc, Roussillon, Provence, etc. There is lots of interesting stuff to be found in those parts that could make for interesting discussion.

At that time, suffering from the heat, I said naaaah, too hot for all those hefty reds.

But I promised Joy that I wouldn't forget, and now I haven't. It's already Oct 2, so let's do it!

Great idea, bring on La Clape .

Nice idea!

I'm glad there's lots of good stuff in those parts, but there is not much in these parts!

[David M. Bueker]

Bandol ok?

SW France on the one hand and Provence/Languedoc/Roussillon on the other have very little in common from a wine viewpoint other than both being in France. The SW are Atlantic wines with more higher acidity and freshness and the appellations within the area often have their own local grape varieties. Languedoc, Roussillon and Provence do have distinct differences but all enjoy a Mediterranean climate and use a cocktail of Med varieties such as Grenache, Mourvèdre, Syrah and Carignan, though some argue than Syrah is not really Mediterranean being an import from N.Rhône. IMO it would be much better to focus on one or the other.

[Robin Garr]

Bandol ok?

Absolutely! Provence, not Rhone.

[Robin Garr]

IMO it would be much better to focus on one or the other.

Noted, Tim, but the train has left the station.

Perhaps we can learn by compare-and-contrast? Certainly the cepages are similar.

Certainly the cepages are similar.

IMO there isn't a lot in common between the South West's varietal individuality with Tannat, Malbec, Négrette, Fer Servadou, etc. in their own places and the Mediterranean cocktail of Grenache, Mourvèdre, etc all over the place, with a spinkling of other varieties in IGP wines.

But so be it .

[Robin Garr]

Certainly the cepages are similar.

IMO there isn't a lot in common between the South West's varietal individuality with Tannat, Malbec, Négrette, Fer Servadou, etc. in their own places and the Mediterranean cocktail of Grenache, Mourvèdre, etc all over the place, with a spinkling of other varieties in IGP wines.

But so be it .

Tim, I think I see the trans-Atlantic confusion here. You're focusing on the SudOuest, I guess. From over here, when we look at a map of France, Roussillon looks like the southwestern corner. We really have in mind wines from the band from Roussillon and Languedoc through Provence, excepting the Rhone Valley only because we've already done that. If anyone wants to bring wines from SudOuest, that's okay, but you're right, that's really a different category.

Okay, here we go! Back at the end of July, Joy Lindholm suggested:

Excluding the major regions like Bordeaux and Rhone, but focusing on the south west, Languedoc, Roussillon, Provence, etc. There is lots of interesting stuff to be found in those parts that could make for interesting discussion.

At that time, suffering from the heat, I said naaaah, too hot for all those hefty reds.

But I promised Joy that I wouldn't forget, and now I haven't. It's already Oct 2, so let's do it!

Thanks, Robin! This is exciting to see! Sorry I didn't respond sooner - I haven't been on the board much lately as things have been crazy for me. I'm getting married in 8 days! Hoping once things calm down here in the second half of the month I can participate.

[Robin Garr]

I'm getting married in 8 days!

Whoa! Best wishes, Joy! May your new life reflect your name in joy for you both.

Tim, I think I see the trans-Atlantic confusion here. You're focusing on the SudOuest, I guess. From over here, when we look at a map of France, Roussillon looks like the southwestern corner. We really have in mind wines from the band from Roussillon and Languedoc through Provence, excepting the Rhone Valley only because we've already done that. If anyone wants to bring wines from SudOuest, that's okay, but you're right, that's really a different category.

Robin,

Paul Strang's authoritative book "South-West France - The wines and winemakers" excludes Languedoc and Roussillon without feeling the need for any explanation, so I conclude that there is no confusion for British English language readers. As a rule of thumb, I would say that any wine growing appellation where the local rivers eventually flow into the Atlantic are classified as South-West. Those where the rivers flow into the Mediterranean are not and would be broadly described as "Vins du Midi" in French. This explains why, say, Marcillac is included in the South-West although it is situated as far east as Carcassonne and much of Corbières.

BTW I posted notes on several Languedoc wines in last month's Rhône thread which I thought extended to any wines made with Rhône type grapes.

[Robin Garr]

BTW I posted notes on several Languedoc wines in last month's Rhône thread which I thought extended to any wines made with Rhône type grapes.

No harm in that, Tim! We came up with this one on the fly when I realized that October had crept up on us and that i had put off Joy's proposal two months ago, so it October is consistent with September only a little different, there's no harm in that.

I'm getting married in 8 days!

Whoa! Best wishes, Joy! May your new life reflect your name in joy for you both.

Thank you so much, Robin!

Certainly the cepages are similar.

IMO there isn't a lot in common between the South West's varietal individuality with Tannat, Malbec, Négrette, Fer Servadou, etc. in their own places and the Mediterranean cocktail of Grenache, Mourvèdre, etc all over the place, with a spinkling of other varieties in IGP wines.

But so be it .

I suggested this southern band of France, not to suggest that the Southwest has commonalities with the Meditaranean wines, but rather to highlight French regional wines that often get overshadowed by the major regions to the north. As some of these wines might be hard to come by in some areas of the U.S., broadening it to be more inclusive might encourage greater participation.

[Robin Garr]

I suggested this southern band of France, not to suggest that the Southwest has commonalities with the Meditaranean wines, but rather to highlight French regional wines that often get overshadowed by the major regions to the north. As some of these wines might be hard to come by in some areas of the U.S., broadening it to be more inclusive might encourage greater participation.

Makes sense to me! The whole point of Wine Focus is to pick an interesting topic that invites wide participation. We have Open Mike and regular TN posts for all the rest.

SW France on the one hand and Provence/Languedoc/Roussillon on the other have very little in common from a wine viewpoint other than both being in France. The SW are Atlantic wines with more higher acidity and freshness and the appellations within the area often have their own local grape varieties. Languedoc, Roussillon and Provence do have distinct differences but all enjoy a Mediterranean climate and use a cocktail of Med varieties such as Grenache, Mourvèdre, Syrah and Carignan, though some argue than Syrah is not really Mediterranean being an import from N.Rhône. IMO it would be much better to focus on one or the other.

Have to say I agree with Tims statement, this is a very broad focus and not sure how I can compare my Languedoc with my Madiran. Two completely different wines for goodness sake!
For those who have not read Paul Strang`s book, his chapters include Cahors, Aveyron, Gaillac, Fronton, Bergerac, Duras, Gascony, Madiran, Jurancon etc. Not aware there of any wine "a la Languedoc mode".

[Robin Garr]

Have to say I agree with Tims statement, this is a very broad focus and not sure how I can compare my Languedoc with my Madiran.

Don't do that, then.

not sure how I can compare my Languedoc with my Madiran

As a note of pedantry, it is pretty easy to compare Languedoc wines with Madiran wines. Just note the differences in flavor, acid, tannin, etc. Just like it is very easy to compare apples and oranges in terms of color, texture, etc.

Palette Les Terrasses d'Aurelia 2008 - Château Henri Bonnaud - Alc. 14% - (<€10) - made principally from Mourvèdre, Carignan and Grenache.

Palette is a tiny appellation of no more than 45 hectares situated in a north facing amphitheatre close to the superb city of Aix-en-Provence and to Montagne Ste.Victoire, much painted by Cézanne. Château Simone appears to have a virtual monopoly in the appellation and for at least a generation its white and rosé have been arguably the finest in the Midi, although there have been a growing number of credible rivals of late. I have been less impressed by its reds but there are reports of its now being close to equalling the other two colours. All three colours from Simone sell for >€30/bottle. IIRC this is the first bottle of Palette I have had from a producer other than Château Simone and the first obvious difference is its price (<one-third that of Simone).

Colour was a quite dense red. Nose was quite subdued at first but with some airing released aromas of damson style plum infused with wet leather and hints of spice. On the palate I would not attribute this, blind, to a region from so far south nor to its cocktail of grape varieties. It was medium/full bodied with a quite savoury and fresh character with more lively and tangy acidity and sharper focus than I expect from this latitude. Dense fruit with a damson character and wet leather was confirmed and there was a firm tannic structure leading to a decently long finish. I do not know how far this non-Mediterranean showing is attributable to the northern exposure and how much to the vintage, which in close-by southern Côtes du Rhône produced much slimmer and fresher wines than usual which, in the best examples, enjoyed much finer aromatics than in warmer years. I guess than there is more development potential here. Good with + potential.

Bravo Tim. Not often we see a TN from this appellation. Did you buy locally in Normandy?

Today for this Focus, I purchased a 2012 Mas Granier Les Marnes white. Looking forward to seeing how it shows up..Roussanne, Grenache, Viognier. Maybe RVF might have something, have emailed Rosemary George.

Oh, see if you can find some Regis Boucabeille? The Les Terrasses is really showing on day 2 here...as I type .

Bravo Tim. Not often we see a TN from this appellation. Did you buy locally in Normandy?

Believe it or not, Bob, this wine was on offer all over France in the Carrefour Planet hypermarkets during their Foire aux Vins, but no doubt in small quantities which quickly disappeared .

Another Provence micro-appellation worth seeking out is Bellet, which is partly situated within the town limits of Nice and produces original flavours using some grapes outside the normal Midi cocktail in their blends, e.g. Braquet, Folle noir (red) and Rolle (white - AKA Vermentino), though the last is found quite a lot elsewhere in Provence.

It may be of interest for people to see a wine map of Provence. Here it is http://www.vinsdeprovence.com/en/the-vineyard/geography .

The majority of Côtes de Provence, the regional generic appellation, is rosé. Because of the influx of tourists to this warm region, pinks make for easy money and lax standards, though quality is said to be improving. This tends to obscure the fact that there are some very fine reds and whites of strong character, many in smaller appellations like Palette and Bellet, which I mention above.

I list here a number of estate from such smaller appellations making very fine wine IMO.

Les Baux de Provence - Domaine Hauvette and Domaine Trévallon (which is an IGP des Alpilles because its varietal red mix CabSauv/Syrah alone is not allowed in the AOP - great wines though after some ageing). Otherwise some CabSauv seems to be allowed in multi-variety blends.

Palette - already discussed.

Côtes de Provence Ste.Victoire - Domaine Richeaume is in the area but mainly sells its very fine wines as IGP Méditerranée Columelle

Bandol - Mourvèdre dominated reds with many fine estates, including Tempier, Pibarnon....Some great bottles with a dignity and class rare so far south in France.

Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence - good reports of Ch. Revelette but I've never had any. Some CabSauv seems allowed. I much enjoyed the wines of Domaine les Bastides about a decade ago but the estate seems to have disappeared from radar screens.

Bellet - see above - leading estate Ch. de Bellet.

Cassis - characterful whites but AFAIK no outstanding estates.

Great map there Tim, does one take the TGV to Languedoc .