Latest update : 13 March 2020.
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, (...)
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 (...)
continueLocated 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 (...)
" 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 (...)
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 (...)
continueNo less than four terroirs (Rasteau, Vacqueyras, Roaix and Séguret), six varieties (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, Carignan, Cinsault and Clairette), and several people (including Yves and Robin) contributed to this stunning red Côtes du Rhône 2012.
And what a red! Ruby, shiny and deep... a true gem in the glass. He welcomes me with a generous bucket of fresh red and black fruit, filled to the top with raspberries, strawberries, blackberries and black currants. Black pepper, bay leaf and (...)
WOW... 7 years already, with two yeras of which in barrels and five years in bottles. That’s reasonably old, as compared to our usual wine drinking behavior (WINE ENTHUSIAST revealed in 2012 that more than 90% of wine was consumed within 48 hours of purchase, regardless to origin and quality…). But it seems this is still young for this wine from CAHORS (mainly made of MALBEC grapes).
Very intense, it exhales aromas of cherry, tar and toasted hazelnuts, or cherries in syrup, with prunes and (...)
A slightly blurred colour of garnet red with a brownish tint at the rim of the glass...It looks like a precious rarity found at antiques shop. An intense fresh nose, showing aromas of cherries, prunes and raspberries and furtheron developing fragrances of marzipan, dried blossoms and undergrowth. In addition several mushrooms, a trifle of pepper and the scent of old books, similar to vanilla. That´s a lot, II must confess, but its an impressive wine.
On the palate: Mellow and well structured (...)
I admit that I almost got trapped on this champagne. Someone served it out of my attention, while being entirely committed to the discussion with my neighbour at table. So I tasted it blind. After a few sips, the wine challenged me. Having well-recognized the style of PAUL LEBRUN, I was nevertheless unable to determine which of their wines was in my glass. First I took it for GRAND RESERVE, but the wine seemed thicker, softer, despite the many crispy bubbles exploding on my palate. But its (...)
continueSauvignon, Viognier, Muscat... a proud blend! Grape varieties, skin maceration and barrel fermentation (for 70% of the cuvée) are equally responsible for the deep golden colour and intense bouquet of this wine: peach, pear, apricot, butter and a little vanilla, white flowers ...
Dense, rich and fat on the palate with lively acidity and dominating fruit aromas. Appreciable smoky and woody flavours reemerge at at the bottom of the glass, whereas a slight tannic grip enhances and extends the (...)
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