Last night I opened a bottle of Champagne Paul Lebrun Demi-sec. I felt like it. Usually rather a « brut » drinker, I admit that me, too, I sometimes need a little sweetness in my glass. That must be the romantic side of my palate ...

Shiny and golden, with very fine, creamy bubbles, the wine flirts with me from the very first minute. It exhales a delicate scent of red currants and fresh melon, a perfume that continues on the palate, enriched by a splash of lemon juice. Proud to be a semi-dry wine, it displays its 35 grams of sugar per liter without any complex. Featuring a fresh and tender balance, it ends up on juicy acidity. This Champagne is an endangered species, precisely because most people are like me. Dry bubbles are more fashionable at the moment.

WINE & FOOD MATCH FOR CARNIVORES & HERBIVORES
Those who sabre a bottle of this Champagne, should come up with a nice fruit salad and a certain sense for savory moments.

I particularly love this punchy red wine in summer! What really strikes when tasting it, is the liveliness and freshness that it displays. Moderately tannic, I would describe it as being crispy and vigorous, with just enough generosity as it needs. Could we call a wine from Cahors being thirst-quenching? Yes we can, as this wine is living proof! It’s is a young, enthusiastic and happy wine...

I forgot to mention its visual and olfactory aspects? Please excuse me: It’s black and purple as a real Malbec should be, having a lovely bouquet of fresh black fruit, with hints of violet and notes caramelized hazelnuts.

CARNIVORE wine-lovers among us will be delighted to discover this red wine, that strongly supports long BBQ-evenings in summer. But it will also comfort the HERBIVORE connoisseur by sublimating a fresh tomato salad with feta cheese and black olives and perfectly matches to all kind of grilled summer vegetables.

During a visit in Cahors, I had the privilege of doing a « prerelease tasting of Château du Cèdre’s white wine. This pure Viognier fermented and aged in 500 liters barrels, has been preciously kept on fine lees for 9 months. Bottled next month, it will be available in September.

The nose, first kept discreet by the presence of the fine lees, shows amazing aromas of honey and beeswax. With a little air and opens up in the glass, showing more and more fruit with notes of apricot and white peach, but mostly develops increasingly, powerful fragrances of lilac and elderberry.
Soft and elegant on the palate, it shows a very nice freshness, underlined by tasty “saltiness”.

HERBIVORE SUPPORT
Its aromatic diversity, as well as its roundness and the long salty final, this wine will make a great companion for various fresh and slightly aged cheeses: Brillat-Savarin, Chaource, Rocamadour ... After a couple of months of bottle aging, try it on a Rigotte de Condrieu, a tasty goat cheese produced on the soils of the Pilat mountains in the northern Rhône area.

CARNIVORE SUPPORT
Sweet water fish, crayfish, but also a chicken supreme on lemon butter, accompanied by snow peas. Keep it simple, using rigorously tasty ingredients!

This wine “entirely made by hand” exists since 14 years. The vineyards which he comes from accumulate almost 400 years. Its composition almost was heresy in the beginning of this millennium, as proves the story that sounded the death warrant of its predecessor: an AOC MINERVOIS from the vintage 1999, made only from PICPOUL NOIR. Sales of this product were officially banned, due to the grape variety it was made from. PICPOUL NOIR however is an official grape variety of MINERVOIS and several other prestigious appellations, such as CHATEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE. A stroke of luck, finally, because this incident aroused the envy of PIERRE to go even further and create this unique blend, entirely made from prohibited, unpopular and unloved varietals (PICPOUL NOIR, ARAMON, ALICANTE & CARIGNAN).

Today, some of these varietals almost have disappeared from the map. They were partly replaced by other varieties, so called « improving varieties ". This seems to have led to a reduction of the diversity in French vineyards and in consequence to a certain loss of variety in tastes over the last 40 years. Only 10 grape varieties now cover 70% of the vineyard area cultivated in France, with a total of 40 varieties playing an important role economically.

On Vinparleur we defend a very simple policy: we love all grape varieties, without any exception. The more, the better!

To convince those who are still in doubt, please find here our impression of PIERRE CROS’ MAL AIMÉS (THE UNLOVED) 2012:

Clear garnet color, slightly hazy due to bottling without filtration, this Vin de France (formerly Vin de Table) impresses with its intense and bright bouquet of red and black fruits, especially marked by the luscious fruity-vegetal character of Cassis and a handful of black olives. In bottles for two years, it opens in a few minutes, enriching its bouquet with aromas of pastry and a little cocoa. The mouth is rather light and smooth with a refreshing acidity. Low in tannins, this wine still has a beautiful silky structure and slight tanin grip giving length and character. Drink now, or cellar for another 2-3 years.

HERBIVORE SUPPORT eggplant lasagna, without an hesitation!
CARNIVORE SUPPORT You’ll be spoiled for choice: grilled lamb chops, black pudding, roast pork, raw ham, boar pâté, coq au vin ...

PS FOR THE CURIOUS, here are some figures for these varieties:
ARAMON: 150 230 hectares planted in 1958 - 9084 hectares in 2004.
Carignan: It covered 43% of Languedoc-Roussillon’s vineyards in 1979, against 13.5% in 2010.
PICPOUL NOIR: some residual 200 hectares planted in 1990.
If you add details of these varieties with the surfaces of CINSAULT NOIR, TERRET and GRENACHE BLANC, ALICANTE BOUCHET and MACABEU these traditional varieties of the Mediterranean vineyards add a drop of 260 000 hectares between 1979 and 2010 ...

1 chicken or poulard of 1.5 kg
4 large garlic bulbs
500 g organic potatoes
500 g organic tomatoes
Salt and pepper
1 bouquet garni and some sage leafs
6 tablespoons of organic olive oil
Fresh herbs for final seasoning

Rinse the chicken, dry, salt and pepper, slide 4 sage leafs and some sprigs of thyme under the breast skin and put the remaining herbs in the interior. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees, heat olive oil in a large ovenproof pan (with a lid) and fry the chicken. Break the garlic bulbs and add the unpeeled cloves to the chicken. Close the pan or casserole, put it in the oven and cook for 90 minutes.

Wash, brush and cook the potatoes in salted water until they are almost soft and put aside. Rinse and slice the tomatoes and put them aside.

During the last 15 minutes of cooking time remove the lid of the pan in the oven and add the potatoes to the chicken. Add the tomatoes 5 minutes later. When everything is well cooked, further season with salt, pepper and fresh herbs.

Serve the chicken with potatoes, tomatoes and whole garlic cloves. Also add slices of freshly toasted bread, so you can spread the soft cooked garlic cloves on them. I would savor this dish with a Carignan- or Grenache-based red wine from the Mediterranean area. Its spiciness and smoothness will make a good match with the herbs and the slight sweetness of the braised garlic.

Download the recipe here

Located north of the Dentelles de Montmirail, the village and the vineyards of Sablet nestles comfortably between Gigondas and Séguret. On the 340 hectares of vines, red grape varieties prevail. Thus, white Sablet is rather a rarity, a precious wine...

This blend of of Viognier, Bourboulenc, Grenache, Clairette and Roussanne comes up with a beautiful sparkling golden color in the glass, that already makes your eyes thirsty ! The bouquet continues the work of seduction by introducing a nice cup filled with fresh apricots and a huge bouquet of white flowers. Although round in the mouth, even creamy, there is no shortage of lightness and its freshness is highlighted by some delicate flavors of grapefruit peel and lemon.
This wine will be a perfect companion on your terrace, beside the pool or close to the Mediterranean Sea.

HERBIVORE SUPPORT: appreciate it with a nice green salad with sun dried tomatoes, goat cheese, candied peppers and pine nuts, or try a creamy humus or a vegetable curry with lime.
CARNIVORE SUPPORT: excellent on a grapefruit-avocado salad with spicy shrimps, on a grilled chicken with spices or a baked sea bream.

" It looks like every vineyard gave us grapes with a lot of character and personality, which is rather promising for the blending and the ageing to be done.”
That’s what Yves Gras said right after harvest in November 2012. Today the wines have completed their maturation period and the whole expression of the grapes, the terroir and the vintage is now in bottles.

This Gigondas shows a strong fruity expression of redcurrant and blackcurrant, enriched by subtle aromas of laurel and rosemary.It’s straightforward with lively acidity, and delicate, savory tannins. A long, mineral finish, slightly salty.

HERBIVORE SUPPORT : Try some sauteed pumpkin with cumin and chillies (not too spicy !) on this wine. It also loves cheese...
CARNIVORE SUPPORT : give me some LAMB !

Ah, “bubbles”! That feels good! But of course, this wine has much more to offer. Elegance in the first place: pears in syrup, vanilla cream with hazelnuts, dried flowers and fresh blossoms. A very fine bouquet, marked by time and maturity. A true lady!
Pleasant, fine bubbles on the palate, medium-bodied with surprisingly tangy acidity. This is typical of Chardonnay. Or more precisely, typical of Chardonnay from Cramant, because the vines from which this Champagne is made grow on the white chalky soils of the Côte de Blancs.

For Nathalie Vignier wines from Cramant are always characterized by a strong minerality that gives some tension on the palate. “Pure Cramant Champagne requires patience. It must be polished by time, it needs to ripen.”

After partial fermentation and ripening in oak barrels, followed by four years of bottle aging on fine lees in the cool cellars of the winery, the wine has reached its full maturity. Instant pleasure guaranteed!

HERBIVORE SUPPORT : Fried, fresh porcini mushrooms on a parsnip puree with Garam Masala, or a good piece of Brie de Meaux on fig bread.
CARNIVORE SUPPORT : bass fillet with cinnamon, sauerkraut with fish and “beurre blanc”, poultry with vanilla cream sauce ...