Notes on Southwest France

When thinking about the wines of Southwest France, you are considering all the non-contiguous tiny sub-regions throughout the southwestern part of the country in Gascogne. There is not a regional AOC that covers the area, there are only specific communal appellations.
Starting in the Dordogne/Bergerac sub-region, you find that many of the wines are very similar to Bordeaux which it borders. For this review, I am looking at Monbazillac which produces liquoreux white wines. A liquoreux wine is a sweet wine that is produced from late-harvest botrytized grapes. Monbazillac uses Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle, the same grapes used in Bordeaux's sweet wines.
1996 Chateau Belingard Monbazillac $40
Clear medium gold color in the glass with pronounced developed aromas of marmalade, honey, peach, citrus flowers and a bit of sulfur. Sweet with medium+ body, acidity and alcohol with sweet peach and almond flavors and a medium length honeyed finish. Very good/ drink now or hold.

Southwestern France's most famous wine is Cahors, a dark inky wine with plum and tobacco notes. It must contain a minimum of 70% Malbec, which is locally known as Cot, and up to 30% Merlot or Tannat. It is also the most easy to find locally.

2008 Chateau Labrande Cahors $10

(90% Malbec/ 10% Merlot) Clear, medium purple color in the glass with developing, light aromas of blueberry, prune, cedar, sawdust and mint. Dry, full body, medium acidity, alcohol and tannins with flavors of blueberry, black cherry, toast and vanilla in a medium length finish. Good/drink now.
2009 Chateau Labrande Cahors $10
(90% Malbec/ 10% Merlot) Clear, deep purple in the glass with medium intense developing aromas of black & blueberries with a slightly earthy hint of beets. Dry, medium+ body, alcohol, acidity and tannins with flavors mirroring the aromas in a medium+ length finish. Very good/drink now or hold.

2009 Gouleyant Cahors Malbec $12
In the glass, the wine was a clear, deep purple with medium- intense youthful aromas of black and blueberries with wildflowers. Dry, Medium+ body, alcohol, tannins and acidity with dark berry flavors in a medium+ length finish. Good, drink now or hold.

2008 Clos La Coutale Cahors $16
Clear, medium purple in the glass with medium, developing aromas of ripe black & blueberries, plum, cassis with hints of tobacco. Dry, medium body, acidity and alcohol with medium+ tannins: the flavors mirror the aromas with a bit of vanilla added in the medium length finish. Very good/ drink now or hold.
All of these Cahor wines would work well with lightly seasoned roasted beef or leg of lamb.

In the Pyrenees sub-region, I am going to look at two distinctly different wines. First, the wines of Juracon in the foothills of the mountains where they produce both dry and sweet white wines primarily from Petit Manseng with Gros Manseng and Courbu. The sweet wines are late-harvested and may have botrytis characteristics.

2010 Cuvee du Bapteme Jurancon
Clear pale gold color in the glass with medium- youthful aromas of pear, apricot and citrus. Medium dry with medium body, acidity and alcohol with light flavors of citrus, honey and a bit of nuttiness with a medium length finish. Good/ drink now or hold.

Finally, I am looking at Madiran where they produce red wines from Tannat (40-60% of blend) with the addition of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and/or Fer Servadou to complete the blend. The best wines should have a pronounced black fruit character with high amounts of soft, ripe tannins. While young, it can be very closed but should open up after 5 or 6 years.

2007 Chateau Montus * $31

Clear, deep ruby in the glass with medium-intense developing aromas of tobacco, vanilla, charcoal and blackberry. Dry, full body, medium+ acidity and alcohol with high tannins with a long finish.
Very good/ drink now or hold.

Overall, there seems to be both good wine and good value coming from southwestern France.

*side note- I was part of the Tannat blind judging panel for the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo where the Chateau Montus received a silver medal.

Lust Zinfandel 2007

My husband loves this wine so he purchased quite a few bottles at a recent Michael~David dinner that we had attended. Last night, I decided to open a bottle to serve with dinner. I was making a roasted southwestern pork tenderloin, sweet potato fries (w/ chipolte ketchup) and a salad consisting of baby lettuce (fresh from my garden) with strawberries, red bell peppers, red onions and walnuts tossed with a white balsamic-raspberry vinaigrette. This turned out to be a great pairing. It is a bold wine that really stood up to the strong chipolte seasoning while complementing the fruit flavors. I opened the bottle a 1/2 hour before I served it as I have found this wine to be more enjoyable when I do so. The Lust Zinfandel by Michael~David 2007 was a dark purple color with a ruby rim. It has intense aromas of very ripe mixed berries and baking spices-both allspice and ginger with hints of cedar. It has flavors of creme de cassis, milk chocolate and also more of the baking

Nocera - A Native Grape from Sicily

Nocera is a native grape from Sicily. It comes from the Messina province which is located in the northeast. Nocera is a quality red wine grape that is most known as a blender in the red wines of the Faro DOC. I had the opportunity to taste some pure versions (which according to Wine Searcher are rare) this week at a trade tasting held at Roma Restaurant in Houston. Wine production in the region dates back to the 14th Century BC, however, phylloxera decimated the vineyard area in 1881 leaving it at a fraction of its original size. The area boasts a Mediterranean climate with sunny days and coastal breezes, moderate rainfall, and mild winters, all ideal for grape growing. The Nocera grape is a bluish/black color and has a thick skin which allows for the production of structured wines with prominent tannins which are balanced by good acidity. High alcohol is common. Red wines produced from the grapes are an intense ruby color with purple highlights and aromas and flavors of dark fruits a

The Salta Tour 2012

Vine Connections and Pioneer Wine Company hosted a seminar and tasting event for Houston's wine trade and media at Backstreet Cafe yesterday. All but two of the wines were from the Salta Province of Argentina. Salta is the most northern wine region in Argentina lying close to the Bolivian border. The climate is very extreme due to the high altitude. Plantings start at 5,000 feet above sea level and climb to 9,000 feet, making these vineyards the highest in the world. The intense sunlight the area receives helps to create grapes with more anthocyanins, these are the color pigments which result in softer tannins, lower astringency and more intense flavor. The wines produced are extremely pure, concentrated and terroir specific. Torrontes Riojano which is considered the best of the three Torrontes clones is the most widely planted grape with plantings of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Tannat increasing. The seminar started with a tasting of four Torrontes wines, three from diff

Wine Life - Houston

Search This Blog