More South-of-France Offerings
CHÂTEAU
CLOTTE-FONTANE
Owned
by the Pages family, this fellow only recently acquired this lovely estate
east of Pic-Saint-Loup and west of Nimes.
They have about 40 hectares of vineyards out of about 140 on the
estate. Only a small percentage of the vines are cultivated for
their estate wines. The rest, we learned, are sold to a large
negociant firm.
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Maryline & Philippe Pages produce a nice range of wines and I have
noted a distinct improvement in quality since my first visit to the estate
in 2003.
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- There's a dynamite red blend called "Cremailh." This
wine can easily stand in for Rhone Syrahs, though 40% of the blend is
Grenache. The wine displays hints of gamey Syrah and nice spice
tones. It's a medium-full bodied red.
Currently in stock: 2005 CLOTTE FONTANE "Cremailh" $13.99-
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DOMAINE DUFFOUR
Winegrower
and vintner Michel Duffour owns the Domaine de Saint Lannes.
We buy his Domaine Duffour wine of the Cotes de Gascogne appellation.
Duffour is truly a magician. I've visited in the winter several times,
tasted various tanks of wines and have tried to make a suitable blend of
these. But Michel's own blend is always the best.
The wine is predominantly Colombard, so it's different from the other couple
of Cotes de Gascogne whites we often have in the shop.
The 2008 has just arrived and despite the weak dollar, this is a dynamite
little wine and it's most reasonably-priced.
Currently in stock: 2009
DOMAINE DUFFOUR Côtes de Gascogne $8.99-
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CHÂTEAU LA COLLINE
The
Dordogne is a wonderful region in the vast region of Aquitaine of southwest
France.
Eleanor of Aquitaine married an heir to the English throne in the 1100's and
the region remained under British rule until the 15th century.
Well, the Brits have returned, this time in the person of Sir Charles
Martin. Monsieur Martin has 18 hectares of vineyards on the 40
hectare property in the appellation of Bergerac.
Charles describes the winery as a "terroir-based vineyard."
When you ask him what the percentages of various grapes are in particular
bottlings, he makes his best guess. The idea is that a particular
vineyard produces various varieties according to Mother Nature's bounty and
so one year the blend of his Cote Sud is 70% Semillon and 30% Sauvignon
Blanc...but the percentages may vary a bit according to the vintage.
Martin cultivates six varieties. The white wine vineyards are planted
predominantly with Semillon, though there's a small amount of Sauvignon
Blanc and an even smaller planting of Muscadelle. The red wines are
based on Merlot, with supporting roles played by Cabernets Sauvignon and
Franc. -
Charles shows off some prized vines on a cool, sunny
morning in the middle of winter.
- Amidst the La Colline vineyards is this curious
little residence.
Meanwhile, down the road at the vinification facility, you'll find tanks
with curious stickers on them. Charles tastes each tank and ascribes
a pet name to each.
We're not sure what to make of this tank.
Frank & Forest Gump...Bombay Mix...Picasso...Chewing Gum...
Sounds like quite a wine.
I think he meant "Bob Dylan," unless the name of his car
mechanic is Monsieur Dillon?
I'm hoping this is a tank of white wine.
Spelling is not Charles' forte. Happily, winemaking is.
There is another cellar with barrels for maturing the various wood-aged
wines. After having a taste of various tanks of newly-fermented
wines, we visited the other cellar.
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The cellar.
Charles Martin tasting with various American celebrities.
In the middle is Jeff Berlin, inventor of Rogaine. On the right is
Charles Neal, a contestant in Dancing with The Stars.
I found more curiously-named lots of wines in the barrel cellar.
- Cheryl.
Finally! A barrel with the name of a particular vineyard!!!
We enjoyed a wonderful dinner with Charles and
his lovely wife Gerrita.
The white wines produced at this estate are terrific. We sell a fair bit
of La Colline's white as it's a terrific expression of the Sémillon grape.
Gerrita planned an interesting main plate for us...ostrich!
How about this?
A molded serving of polenta with a small branch onto which the ostrich pieces
were skewered...then poked into the middle of the polenta and surrounded by
beans! This was delicious with the La Colline red wines.
We currently have three wines from this estate...
The 2006 Bergerac Blanc is about 90% Sémillon and 10% Sauvignon Blanc.
This is a mildly minerally white wine with a hint of smokiness. It
features the estate's best blocks of Sémillon. I gave a bottle to a local
winemaker who is located in California's Livermore Valley, an area once famed
for its Semillon. Perhaps it will, one day, again be famous for this
variety thanks to the wonderful work of Charles Martin in France's Bergerac
region!
The
2006 Bergerac Rouge is a lovely expression of Merlot. It displays nice
red fruit notes and is a plump, round, well-balanced wine. Though it may
cellar nicely for a few years, we view this as an immediately drinkable
bottle. Pair it with white meats or red...What a delicious wine. And
it's a "best buy" in our book.
Since Charles has a rooster as his logo, we've
dubbed his delicious sweet dessert wine, "Confit de la Colline" as
"Coq-A-Doodle-Doux." It's predominantly Sémillon with about 15%
Muscadelle. The wine easily rivals most any of our Sauternes in the shop,
save for Château d'Yquem.
So, yes...we're big fans of these wines.
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Currently in stock: 2006 Bergerac Blanc $11.99
2006 Bergerac Rouge $11.99
2003 Confit de la Colline $18.99 (375ml)
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