I am back

Ok - I tried Instagram and Twitter, but found them too limiting for what I want to blog. I will start using Blogger again and use it primarily for wine and coffee related thoughts...

Wine of the Day 12/29/12 2009 Guigal Cotes du Rhone Red

This is a relatively expensive Cotes du Rhone (on par with many CdR Villages), yet it is one of the most insipid CdR's that I have tasted in a long while. Not to say there is no flavor - the classic dark fruit, tobacco, and herbs are all there, they are just lifeless and dull. Last year I had a few bottles of the 2007 vintage, and it was also one of the weakest of all the 2007's I have had. Save your money as there are an abundance of other CdR's at 2/3 the price of this wine that are heads and shoulders above.

Wine of the Day August 13 - Aftertaste

The day we had all been dreading - August 13 - our last day in France and a 27 hour ordeal involving kids falling into the pool, lost train tickets, and three aircraft delays.  It was only fitting that on a day like this I drank the worst wine since we arrived in France.  It was a 2010 Burgundy in a screwtop on the flight from Paris to Toronto.  Blech.  Thanks Air Canada!

 

Anyway, that concludes my Wine of the Day blog series.  Sorry for the long delays between posts.  Hope you enjoyed reading my blog, and I will try to update it periodically with topics about wine, coffee, and my other interests. 

Wine of the Day - August 12, 2011 - Unexpected Greatness

There is a LOT of great wine produced in the Cotes du Rhone area where we stayed.  Chateauneuf du Pape is the most well known wine, but there are many others including Gigondas, Vacqueyras (my personal favourite right now), Tavel, and Vinsobres that are incredible.

However - even in France there is "plonk" - you know - the cheap wine that you use to marinade your flank steak, add to grocery store spaghetti sauce, or serve to house guests you are trying to get rid of.  In France, plonk is known as "Vins de Pays" or "Vin de Table".  Now, some plonk is simply bulk wine produced by large wineries using grapes that were not up to standard.  However, there are also hundreds if not thousands of small independent vineyards that choose not to be regulated by the the strict Cotes du Rhone AOC regulations.  One such wine caught my eye during our visit to the village of Seguret a few days ago.  While walking around this picturesque village, we happened upon a very small shop that sold miniature figurines and houses.  Wendy had to go in as she collects small houses, and as we were paying for the most recent addition to the collection, I noticed that the shopkeeper had an assortment of wine for sale.  It turns out that this shop keeper owned a very small vineyard that had been in his family for generations.  Ten years ago, his friends and family told him his wine was so good that he should try selling it instead of just giving it away, so he decided to sell it at his little shop.  After chatting with him about his wine production methods (and of course sampling several of his wines) for about 20 minutes, I walked out with a bottle - which brings us to today's Wine of the Day.

Today was actually a very sad day, being the last full day of our vacation.  As I was packing up our things and deciding which wines we were going to bring back to Canada, I realized that we had one too many bottles.  So in the name of keeping Canada Customs happy, I had to make a sacrifice.  The bottles I had purchased from Chateauneuf and Gigondas were  excellent wines and would only get better with age, so they had to make the trip.  The only bottle left was this bottle from the miniature figurine store -  2007 Grenache "Cuvee du Coup de Mistral" produced by....well, actually I can't tell you because I didn't save the label and the resolution on my picture isn't high enough to decipher the name.

So, on this very sad (but beautifully sunny) day, while packing up our bags, we popped open this bottle to enjoy with lunch.  We shared it with our neighbours who were renting the villa next to ours, and this wine was absolutely incredible.  Normally, Grenache is blended with other varietals to balance out the often overpowering fruit flavours of this grape.  Whatever this miniature figurine store owner / winemaker did to produce this wine was fantastic - it was very fruit-forward, but it had a savoury oak taste that balanced it out beautifully.  Believe it or not, this was one of the three best tasting wines I had tried on this trip.  Yes, you read that right - one of the best wines I bought was from a miniature figurine store.  Oh, and did I mention it was 8 Euros?  

Wine of the Day August 11, 2011 - Trophy Hunting

Only two days before our wonderful vacation is over, and I started to get that feeling of dread that always comes when I start to think about packing up and returning home.  This time, that feeling was much more pronounced because I knew that I was leaving France - the country where even the cheapo table wine is outstanding.  I know that I can find great wine in Canada, but I wanted to bring back some wine that might not be available at our local wine or liquor stores.

You may recall from a few posts ago that one of the most impressive wines I tried was from Domaine de la Janasse.  Most, if not all the producers in France open their doors to the public for tastings and sales, so we decided to visit this Domaine earlier in the week.  We took a full tour of their winery and saw their concrete fermentation tanks,

their old oak barrels,

and of course sampled a lot of their wines.

What is really incredible is that the producers actually encourage you to taste any and all of the wines that they have for sale.  Domaine de la Janasse is a large scale producer, and they have everything from cheap table wine to their cornerstone Chateauneuf du Pape (that our hosts shared with us a few days ago), and even some "premier cru" wines which are made using the best grapes from their vineyards.  Here you can see their full range of wine ranging from their "Vin du Pays" for 7 Euros to their Chateauneuf du Pape "Vielle Vignes" (grapes grown on 80+ year old vines) for 61 Euros.  

Since I had already enjoyed their "regular" CNdP (28 Euros) a few days ago, I was eager to try their premiere offerings, which are called "Chaupin" (45 Euros) and "Vielle Vignes" (61 Euros!).  I was amazed that I was standing there sipping on a wine that would likely sell for $200+ per bottle in Canada.  Have I mentioned that I love France?  Their 2007 CNdP Vielle Vignes actually scored 100 points on the Wine Spectator rating system a few years ago, and according to the locals, 2009 was a very similar year, so I really had no choice but to buy one!  We actually ended up buying several bottles from them, most of which are resting in my cellar as we speak.

Today's Wine of the Day is one of the unlucky bottles that didn't make the trip home to BC.  This wine was a Cotes du Rhone white wine that we enjoyed after we returned from our beach day in Cassis (A beautiful Mediterranean village who's tag line is "we are like St. Tropez without the attitude".   As I mentioned above, even though Janasse is a producer of Chateauneuf du Pape, their cheaper wines that do not meet the stringent CNdP regulations are produced as "Cotes du Rhone", which is also a regulated appellation that encompasses the entire Rhone valley.  

I really like Cotes du Rhone white wines, as they have a medium body like a Chardonnay, but without that oaky flavour.  This wine was a very nice, fruity wine that we enjoyed with some cheese and fruits by the pool.


Here is a pic of my "trophies" before I packed them in my suitcase.  Boy did I ever sweat when I opened that suitcase when we retreived our bags in Vancouver - luckily no wines were harmed by the nefarious baggage smashers at Charles du Gaule, Mirabel, or YVR.

The white Chateaneuf du Pape on the left will be enjoyed sometime in the next year, as whites are usually best when they are young.  2009 is supposed to be a banner year for Rhone wines, so I am going to do my best to keep these in the cellar as long as I can stand it.  The "Vielle Vignes" is definitely going to be 10+ years old before I pop that cork.

Wine of the Day August 10, 2011 - A Valuable Lesson Learned (And what exactly is a MOF?)

Being the gastronomic centre of the universe, France has a lot to offer in the way of food experiences.  However, travelling with young children means that some of these experiences take a back seat to cheeseburgers and chicken strips...  

Since we only had a few days left before we had to return home to reality, we made arrangements with the family that owned the villa to look after the girls while Wendy and I headed off for a meal at one of the top rated restaurants in the Avignon area.  "Entre Vignes et Garrigues" is about 10 minutes north of the city, and is situated on a beautiful property that used to be an old church.  Our hosts recommended the restaurant, as it is one of the few Michelin rated restaurants in the area, and the chef, Serge Chenet is a MOF!, So you might be wondering - what is a MOF?  MOF is a very coveted national award, which stands for Meilleur Ouvrier de France ("Ouvrier" is a term similar to craftsman), and chef Chenet won his award for his culinary skills.

Click here to see the web site for Entre Vignes et Garrigue

It turned out to be an absolutely perfect evening - not a cloud in the sky, and still warm (about 25 C) when we arrived at 8pm.  On evenings such as these, the restaurant seating is actually out on the "Terrasse" where you can look out over the garden and vineyards near the property.  We didn't bring our camera, so I recommend looking at the "photo library" on the restaurant's web site.  If you scroll along the pictures of the restaurant, there are a few shots of the terrasse.  

I know this is a blog post about wine, but I really have to touch on the food.  We enjoyed a nine course meal including about three different hors d'oeuvres.  The "amuse bouche" was one of the most incredible things I have ever eaten - a candied cherry tomato - yes - kind of like a candy apple, but with a tomato.  Sounds weird, but it really was a taste sensation.  For the Entree, we chose the Cote de veau fermier rotie, which turned out to be the best veal I have ever eaten.  It was served with "pommes dauphines" which is a very gourmet version of french fries.  These "fries" were so good, I kind of cried a little when I put the first one in my mouth.

When we ordered, the Sommelier asked us about our choice of wine.  The wine list was extensive, and of course it featured several wines from Chateauneuf du Pape, as well as other great wines from the area.  As you can probably tell, I am partial to CNdP wines, and I asked the sommelier which one would go best with our meal.  He politely referred me away form CNdP's and advised that although it was red meat, the veal was very delicate, and that a lighter wine might go better with it.  Now in France, the Chef and the "Saucier" (the person in charge of the sauces - no kidding), are the top two positions in any great establishment.  Running a close third is the Sommelier, who is a consultant that wants to ensure that you enjoy a wine that compliments your meal.   So, of course I didn't listen to him and ordered a CNdP.  It was a 2004 Chateau La Nerthe (sorry for the stock photo, but this wasn't the kind of place that you can whip out your camera and take a photo of your wine bottle)

The wine was very, very good.  Chateau La Nerthe is one of the most prestigious and well known chateaus in the CNdP appelation, and I was eager to try one of their wines.  Unfortunately, the wine's spicy and robust flavors simply overpowered the veal, and although the meal was incredibly delicious, it was not as good as it could have been if I had chosen a more delicate wine.

So, the valuable lesson I learned from this experience - Always listen to the Sommelier!

 

Wine of the Day August 9, 2011 - Seguret

By August 9, we only had a few days left to see some places that were on our wish list to visit.  Several locals told us that one of the best kept secrets in Provence was a small village called Seguret.  We had actually seen the village from the highway on one of our previous trips to Vaison la Romaine, and it looked beautiful.  The village is located on the side of a mountain, and it has an old fortress at the very top of the mountain.

Of all of the villages we visited during our two week trip, I think that Seguret was the most memorable.  It is very small, but it has a lot of character.  It is probably the least "tourist-ey" place we visited which added to its charm.  The streets are very narrow (even by Provence standards), and are all built with handmade cobblestone. 

No matter where you looked, you could take a picture that would be a perfect postcard.  Exhibit 1:

Exhibit 2:

Exhibit 3:

Exhibit 4:

I have quite a few more, but you get the idea...

The views from the village were also spectacular:

That last picture was taken from the terrace of a beautiful little restaurant where we stopped to get lunch. The restaurant had the usual kids menu of cheeseburgers (make sure you order them well done, or you will get medium rare - not exaggerating!) and chicken nuggets, but the girls were getting a little tired of that, so they were very happy to see that this restaurant had a few other kids items that we had not seen before.  They both ordered the "Baguette and Strawberry Smoothie" special.  Unfortunately, a French "smoothie" is apparently radically different from the yogurt-infused sugar bomb that we north americans are accustomed to.  Abbey immediately said "Ewwwww" as soon as she had her first sip.  I tried it, and I would guess that it was a mixture of strawberries and carrots or some other vegetable.  I actually thought it was quite good, as I am not a big sugar fanatic, but it was definitely not up Abbey or Kaitlin's alley.  The "baguette" was actually a small slice of bread with diced vegetables and a mild salsa spread.  Poor Abbey and Kaitlin were wishing they had stuck with the cheeseburgers, but their meal sure did look pretty:

Wendy and I ordered prawns and salmon, and today's Wine of the Day was another Tavel rosé which we really enjoyed, especially with a light lunch on a hot summer afternoon.

The previous Tavels we had tried all came form the grocery store and were quite inexpensive.  This Tavel was definitely a higher end product produced by Domaine Le Vieux Moulin as a 2008 vintage.   Tavel is one of the few rosé wines that can benefit from aging, and we found this three year old wine to be much more refined and less sharp than the previous ones (which were 2009 or 2010 vintages).  This bottle also had a bit of reddish/pink sediment in it that looked like it was possibly added when it was bottled.  As I mentioned in a previous post, I was not a fan of rosé wine, but the dry rosé wine of Provence was making me a convert.  This was a very enjoyable bottle, and I will see if I can order a few bottles to enjoy next summer. 

More info on Tavel wines here.