|
This sun-soaked Mediterranean region stretching form Nice in the east to Perpignan in the west, typifies the very “esprit” of Old World romance and charm. This vast region has more vineyard acreage than all of Australia, and is now competing successfully with many New World wine-producing countries. |
Modern winemaking started to take root only in 1980’s, but today this region’s wines are as good as any from the New World. Prices are reasonable.
Young winemakers of Midi and Provence are creating exiting wines with supreme individuality, character, and refinement.
Roussillon, adjacent to Spain, favours carignan, grenach, syrah, mourvedre, cinsaut and lladoner pelu varieties. There are also many hectares of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc in the cooler parts of the region.
All these grapes ripen well, ad yield robust, aromatic, spicy wines to complement hearty food, for which the region is well known.
Corbiere is a large and rugged appellation using mainly the same grape varieties as Roussillon produces full-bodied, dark and flavourful red wines suitable for beer, roasted root vegetables, sausages and game stews.
Minervois located inland, is known for its full-bodied, “forest floor” and garigue-smellig red wines. All small of ripe red berries and are recommended with hard, ripe cheeses, steaks, meat-sauced pastas, and pizzas.
St Chinian, just east of Minervois, is relatively small but produces crisp, elegant, flavourful wines reminiscent of Bordeaux.
Fougeres is another small but important region, producing deeply coloured, rich and spicy wines reminiscent of Cotes du Rhone.
Languedoc as an appellation was established in 2005, but has been producing wines, mostly red, for centuries. Today a limited amount of white wine is also produced. Languedoc wines are concentrated and balanced.
Bandol is a small appellation just east of Marseille, the main port of southern France.
The wines are dark in colour, full-bodied and deeply flavoured.
Provence s best known for its rose wines, but also produces cellar-worthy red wines.
Here are some wines you may want to try:
Château Calissanne, 2006, a blend of grenache, syrah, cabernet sauvignon, packed with aromas of raspberries, leather, coffee, and wet stones. A refreshing wine.
061283 $ 17.95
La Bastide Blanche, 2006, Bandol
Mulberry, plum and blackberry aromas waft out oft eh glass of this full-bodied and tannic wines. Cellar-worthy for three to five years, but you can decant it and enjoy with medium rare cooked steaks.
Occultum Lapidem, 2006, Domaine de Bila-Haut
A FINE WINE MADE BY CHAPOUTIER, THE FAMOUS COTES DU RHONE WINERY. FULL-BODIED, RICH AND SUPPLE.
643239 $ 19.95
LE GRAND PENCHANT ROUGE, 2007
DRY, INTENSE, VERY FLAVOURFUL AND WELL-STRUCTURED.
061267 $ 17.95
TERRASSES DE LA MOULIEN ROUGE, 2007
RICH ON THE PALATE WITH DARK CHOCOLATE FLAVOURS, AND VERY LONG FINISH.
103648 $ 13.95
ESPRIT DU SUD ROUGE, 2007
DRY FLORALFRUITY, VERY ACCESSIBLE.TRY IS WITH CASSOULET, A TYPICAL FRENCH MEDITERRANEAN STEW.
104919 $ 15.95
Guest Writer – Hrayr Berberoglu E-mail or interested in his books?.
|
Share it with others! | 
|
|
Tags: France, Languedoc, Provence, Roussillon, South
