Port4olio Tasting in San Francisco part 2: wines from France, Spain, Portugal, and South America

The following wines are part of the portfolios of importers and distributors International Vineyards and Vinos Unico:

From France (International Vineyards):

• 2005 Cahors Les Comtes de Cahors: from Cahors, an appellation in the southwest of France producing robust red wines made primarily from Malbec. A blend of 70% Malbec, 20% Merlot, 10% Tannat. Dark color, spicy nose, firm tannins, still very young.

• 2001 Domaine du Grand Ormeau Lalande de Pomerol: Lalande de Pomerol is located north of Pomerol on the right bank of the Garonne river. Soils are a mix of clay, stones, and sand, which are particularly beneficial conditions for Merlot. Blend of 80% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. Red-brown color, attractive nose of sweet berries, soft on the palate, mature but tasty.

From Uruguay (International Vineyards):

• 2007 Monte de Luz Cabernet Franc Uruguay: a wine produced by Vignobles Lesgourgues, owner of 6 wine estates in Bordeaux, the southwest of France, and Uruguay. The Lesgourgues family founded the Domaine Monte de Luz in 2000, planting 34 hectares of vines including Tannat, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Syrah in the foothills of the Mahoma Mountains in Uruguay. 100% Cabernet Franc, garnet color, clean fruity aromas on the nose, good acidity, mineral finish.

From Spain (Vinos Unico):

• 2008 Ochoa Navarra Blanco: Bodegas Ochoa grows Tempranillo, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Garnacha, Moscatel, Viura, and Chardonnay in Navarra, at the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains. Blend of 70% Viura, 30% Chardonnay, floral nose, fizzy and light-bodied on the palate, refreshing.

• 2008 Bodegas del Abad Abad dom Bueno Bierzo Godello: Bierzo is a up-and-coming wine region in Northeast Spain. The wine is 100% Godello, a white grape variety native to Galicia. The wine is unoaked, dry-farmed, organic. Light yellow color, grapefruit, citrus on the nose, crisp and off-dry on the palate.

• 2006 Bodegas del Abad Abad dom Bueno Bierzo Mencia: 100% Mencia, a red variety native of Bierzo. Wine made with 55 year old vines, dry farmed, organic. Dark color, smooth on the palate with notes of oak, tannins grip a bit on the finish.

From Portugal (Vinos Unico):

• 2007 Paulo Laureano Alentejo Reserve Branco: Alentejo is an emerging winemaking region in Central Portugal, bordering Spain on the east and the Algarve on the south. The wine is 100% Antão Vaz, a local white grape. Light color, pear, tropical fruit aromas on the nose, fresh and bright on the palate.

• 2005 Paulo Laureano Alentejo Reserve Tinto: a blend of local red grapes: 40% Alicante Bouschet, 30% Aragones, 30% Trincadeira. Dark color, blackberry on the nose, rich flavors on the palate, balanced finish.

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Wine and Cheese party at GC's Tasting Cafe in Menlo Park

GC's Tasting Cafe is a casual and friendly place downtown Menlo Park, offering a good variety of sandwiches and small plates based on cheese and charcuterie. Thanks to Gérard, co-owner and Maître Fromager, the cheese selection is particularly expansive. The place is also a tasting room where you can purchase your own wine or taste by the glass. The wine selection includes well chosen wines from local wineries as well as from California, Europe, and the Southern Hemisphere.

For the party, I was asked to choose some of the French wines sold at the cafe that would go well with the cheese, and so here is what we tasted:

• 2006 Sancerre Les Monts Damnés Domaine Roger Moreux: Sancerre, located in the eastern part of the Loire Valley, is regarded as the spiritual home of Sauvignon Blanc, producing wines of great minerality and elegance. Les Monts Damnés or Damned Mountains is a terroir of chalky purity with an abundance of crushed oyster shells and wet stones. Domaine Roger Moreux has been making wine since the 16th century. It is located in Chavignol, a small village within the Sancerre appellation, also known for France's most famous goat cheese, the Crottin de Chavignol. The wine had an attractive, floral nose. The palate was crisp, with notes of grapefruit, and a persistent stony finish. And of course, it was delicious with the goat cheese.

• 2006 Chablis Premier Cru Fourchaume Domaine Séguinot-Bordet: Chablis is located at the north of the Burgundy region, along the 48th parallel north which places Chablis at the northern extremes of viable viticulture. The soil is a mix of Kimmeridge clay from the Jurassic age, with the same chalk layer that is found in Sancerre and up to the cliffs of Dover. The appellation produces white wines only, all made from the Chardonnay grape. Thanks to the region's cool climate, the wines have more acidity and less fruit than Chardonnay wines made in warmer climates. Domaine Séguinot-Bordet is a 16 hectare family estate that has been growing vines since 1590. For young winemaker Jean-François Bordet, the main emphasis is to get the best fruit possible through careful pruning, debudding and harvesting. The wine had a focused nose of stone fruit, and a complex, mineral backbone on the palate. It was much less fruity than the Sancerre but nonetheless not less intense.

• 2005 Chorey-Lès-Beaune Vieilles Vignes Dominique Laurent: Chorey-Lès-Beaune is the Burgundy village appellation closest to Beaune. The appellation has no grand or premier crus, but the village wines have gained reputation of being among the best value on the Côte de Beaune. The total area under production is 136 hectares, the vast majority of this being Pinot Noir. Dominique Laurent is a renowned grower-producer in Burgundy. He owns only tiny parcels of vineyards and buys grapes or new wine from various growers, focussing on old vines, low yields and minimal intervention winemaking. The wine had a pleasant earthy nose of red cherry. The palate was tart, light-to-medium bodied, firm, but rather unbalanced in terms of acidity.

• 2005 Côtes du Rhône Domaine du Pesquier: Guy Boutière from Domaine Pesquier farms around 30 hectares of vines spread among Gigondas and Côtes du Rhône vineyards. The Côtes du Rhône is a classic Rhône blend of Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Carignan. It had a nose of sweet berry fruits and spices. The palate was full-bodied, quite robust, and richly flavored. A stronger wine, perfect with the salami.

• 2005 Château Charmail: Château Charmail is a Cru Bourgeois in the Haut-Médoc appellation, bordering Saint-Estèphe. It is produced by the Sèze family who also owns Château Mayne-Vieil in Fronsac. Planting is 48% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc, an unusually high proportion of Merlot for the Médoc. I think this was the best red wine of the evening. It had a nose of black fruit with some notes of licorice. On the palate, it was medium-bodied, still young and tannic but very well balanced, tasty, and excellent with Petit Basque.

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Second Guess The Wine tasting party

Earlier this fall, we had our second annual Guess the Wine tasting party where guests are asked to identify the varietal, region, and vintage of the wine. To add to the fun and ensure that the tasting was completely blind, each wine was transferred beforehand into a completely random bottle. That evening, we tasted 6 different single varietal wines from different regions including Australia, California, France, and New Zealand. Here they are:




• 2006 Pouilly Fuissé Les Folles Vieilles Vignes Domaine des Nembrets: located in the south of Burgundy, Pouilly-Fuissé is one of the best known appellation of the Mâconnais. It is a white only appellation producing wines from the Chardonnay grape. Domaine des Nembrets is a tiny estate west of the town of Mâcon. The wine is made from 50 year old vines from a south-west facing vineyard called Les Folles. Grass is left to grow on the vineyard to force the roots of the vines to dig into the deep topsoil. The wine is fermented and aged in 100% stainless steel. My notes: light golden color, peach, tropical aromas on the nose, light to medium-bodied, good acidity on the palate, grapefruit notes and minerality on the finish. Because of its crispness and minerality, some guests identified the wine as a Sauvignon Blanc.

• 2006 Georges Vernay Viognier Le Pied de Samson: the Domaine Georges Vernay is a 16 hectare family owned winery with vineyards mostly in the Condrieu and Côte Rotie appellations. Georges Vernay (now retired) is renowned for having almost single-handedly resuscitated the Condrieu appellation as well as Viognier the local grape. The cuvée called Le Pied de Samson comes from vines growing on the upper slopes of Condrieu (above 300 meters), an area excluded from the appellation because of the elevation. The wine is aged in stainless steel vats. My notes: light yellow color, fragrant nose of litchi fruit and rose petal, fat mouthfeel with fresh raspberry notes on the palate, spicy finish. Not everybody was familiar with the Viognier grape but those who had tasted it before were able to recognize it.

• 2006 Amisfield Pinot Noir: Amisfield is a New Zealand producer of Pinot Noir, aromatic whites and sparkling wines. It is located in Central Otago, the most southerly wine producing region in the world where Pinot noir is the leading grape variety (approximatively 70% of plantings). The estate consists of 60 hectares of Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc. My notes: medium red color, raspberry, vanilla on the nose, medium-bodied on the palate with some acidity, rather short finish, slightly disappointing. Many guests were confused about the wine and few identified it as a Pinot Noir.

• 2001 Joseph Swan Zinfandel Mancini Ranch Russian River Valley: located in California's Russian River Valley, Joseph Swan Vineyards is a small family-owned winery specialized in vineyard designated Pinot Noir and old vine Zinfandel. The Mancini Ranch vineyard was planted in the early 1920's on the Santa Rosa plain of the Russian River Valley. Although the majority of the vineyard is Zinfandel, it is interplanted in the old traditional Italian style with a mix of varietals. My notes: red-brick color, attractive floral nose with notes of cinnamon, medium-bodied on the palate with complex berry flavors. Some guests mistaken it for a Pinot Noir. Personally, this was one of my favorite wines of the evening.

• 2005 Buehler Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley: Buehler Vineyards is another small family-owned winery located in the mountains east of St. Helena in Napa Valley. The Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from grapes grown on hillside estate-owned vineyards (35%) blended with grapes from other Napa Valley vineyards located on the valley floor. My notes: deep garnet color, blackberry and plum aromas on the nose, medium bodied plate with a good balance between acidity and tannins, tasty fruity finish. A very good wine but not showy, which is what confounded some of the guests.

• 2005 Kurtz Family Vineyards Boundary Row Shiraz Barossa Valley: Kurtz Family Vineyards is located in the Barossa Valley, South Australia. The name Boundary Row refers to the fact that vineyards in the Barossa Valley traditionally have no fence lines to divide the properties between neighbors. Instead, a Boundary Row is planted and the yield from this row is shared. The wine consists of 5 different blocks that were picked and fermented at differing times. My notes: dark and deep color, ripe fruit and pepper on the nose, full-bodied and warm on the palate, notes of eucalyptus on the finish. This was maybe the easiest wine to recognize.

For the second year in the row, our host Jean won again, with our friend Marcus in second place. Now, is Jean going to win again next year? Stay posted! Meanwhile, for our next tasting event, we'll be tasting some Pinot Noir.

Previous wine club tastings:
•  Wine and Cheese pairing
•  Champagne Tasting
•  Tasting the wines of South America

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WBW #39: a wine from Silver Burgundy, the 2005 Viré-Clessé Maison Chanson

Can you find a good Burgundy at a reasonable price? Yes, says the Brooklynguy, who is hosting this month's 39th edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday. Just consider the wines from Silver Burgundy, the southern part of Burgundy that includes the Côte Chalonnaise and the Mâconnais.

If you're a Burgundy lover, you may know that the Mâconnais is one of the best sources of good value Chardonnays. The 2005 Viré-Clessé Maison Chanson comes from that region. Created in 1999, Viré-Clessé is one of France's newest appellations. It is made of two villages, Viré and Clessé, located about 15 kilometers north of Mâcon, and previously part of the Mâcon-Villages appellation. The terroir is good with south-east facing slopes and soils of clay and limestone. Only white wines are produced in the area as Chardonnay is the only varietal allowed in the appellation.

The producer is the Beaune based Maison Chanson, a négociant house founded in 1750 and now part of the Champagne Bollinger group. The domaine owns premium vineyards around Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune, and Pernand-Vergelesses. While a quarter of the production comes from estate fruits, the rest is being sourced from selected growers.

The wine is from the 2005 vintage, which was exceptional in Burgundy. The growing season was characterized by a cold winter, a rainy spring followed by a hot and dry summer. During harvest, the grapes were picked at optimum ripeness and in perfect health. The wine shows a light golden color and toasted nuts and pears on the nose. On the palate, it is fresh and creamy with a mineral finish.

Overall, it is a very nice wine and a good accompaniment to fish. Try it with Poached Fish with Lemon and Capers.

And thanks for hosting Brooklynguy!

Previous WBW posts:
•  WBW #38: 2001 Periquita Classico
•  WBW #37: Hello Teroldego!
•  WBW #34: 2002 Stella Maris Red Columbia Valley

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My last 2007 vacation story: tasting the wines of Porquerolles Island

This will be my last vacation story but I still have to tell you about the wonderful wines that I have tasted this summer on Porquerolles Island. Porquerolles is the largest of the Iles d'Or, a group of three beautiful islands off the coast of Provence. We made several trips to the island, and of course tasted some of the local wines, as our vacation rental was conveniently located within walking distance to the ferry service.


Porquerolles Island
Although in the early twentieth century, Porquerolles had one of the largest vineyards of the region — 200 hectares of vines — most of the island is now a protected national park and only three small wineries are producing wine today, all from the Côtes de Provence appellation.

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The vineyard of Domaine de l'Île
The Domaine de l'Île is the island's oldest wine estate. The owner is the grandson of François-Joseph Fournier, a wealthy Belgium engineer who bought the Porquerolles Island in 1910 after making a fortune discovering a gold and silver mine in Mexico. The vineyard is completely organic and made of Grenache and Syrah for the red wine, Grenache, Cincault, Tibouren, and Mourvèdre for the rosé, and Rolle for the white. I was able to taste the red version of the Domaine de l'Île at a local restaurant. The wine had a pleasant Côtes du Rhône character, fleshy, fruity, and peppery, although I didn't find it specially distinctive.


The tasting room of Domaine de l'Île
The second oldest estate is the Domaine de la Courtade. Founded in 1983, it has now 30 hectares in production. The soil is made of flaky schist which has a great capacity to store water and allows the vines to develop a deep root system. The main planted red variety is Mourvèdre which thrives here thanks to 3000 hours of sunshine a year (the highest in France) and the constant high humidity coming from the sea. Rolle, also known as Vermentino in Italy, is the main white variety. There is also an olive grove of 800 trees on the estate.


The Domaine de la Courtade
The domain uses organic practices. Yields are low, grapes are hand-picked. After fermentation, the wine is kept in casks for 9 months for the white wines, 12 to 18 months for the reds.


The wines at the Domaine de la Courtade
Here are the wines that we tasted at the winery:

• 2004 Côtes de Provence La Courtade Blanc: 100% Rolle. The wine can be cellared for approximately ten years. Light golden color, fragrant nose of white flower, creamy palate with a nice acidity, nutty flavors on the finish. A complex white.

• 2006 Côtes de Provence La Courtade Rosé: 70% Mourvèdre, 20% Grenache, 10% Tibouren. Pale salmon color, floral nose with citrus and berry aromas, nicely textured and refreshing palate, rather classy for a rosé.

• 2001 Côtes de Provence La Courtade Rouge: 97% Mourvèdre, 3% Syrah. The wine can be cellared for up to 15 to 20 years depending on the vintage. Deep red color, nose of red fruit, licorice and dry garrigue herbs, powerful, tannic palate, with a long finish. Really good but needs time.

Founded in the late 1980's, the Domaine Perzinsky is the youngest of the island estate. The planted varieties are Rolle and Sémillon for the white, Grenache for the rosé, and Mourvèdre and Syrah for the red. Unfortunately, I didn't have the opportunity to taste the wines of the domaine. The truth is that I spent too much time at the beach and the tasting room was closed when I arrived at the winery!

Related posts:
•  7/7/7 family reunion at the château de la Gagnotterie
•  A visit at the Domaine des Huards in Cour-Cheverny
•  The best table wine at less than 1 Euro
•  And a Bordeaux at less than 5 Euros

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And a Bordeaux at less than 5 Euros

Who said that Bordeaux had become far too expensive? In fact, many small properties in the generic Bordeaux appellation sell their wines for less than 5 Euros. Unfortunately, too many of these wines are mediocre and uninspiring, and the sad story is that these vignerons are struggling to survive. However, if you're lucky, you might discover a real winner at a bargain price.

One of these good values is the 2004 Château de Perière, another wine that my father-in-law found at his local Carrefour. The wine is medium-red in color with a subdued nose. The palate is clean, medium-bodied, and well-balanced with supple tannins. Overall, it's an agreeable wine that complements well my mother-in-law's roast with a purée de courgette.

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7/7/7 family reunion at the château de la Gagnotterie

What do you do when you have a large family in France (my husband has 8 brothers and sisters with an average of 3 children per family) and you want to see all of them together? You find a convenient time, a location that can accommodate everybody, and you organize a big family reunion party.

So on July 7 2007, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and a happy crowd of cousins between 2 months and 18 years of age, gathered at La Gagnotterie, a nineteenth-century château near Blois in the Loire Valley.


Château de la Gagnotterie

For the main dinner on Saturday, my sister-in-law Claire-Élise had planned a mouth-watering catered buffet (terrine st jacques à la laitue de mer, marbré de foie gras de canard aux artichauts, pavé de blois au chocolat et nougatine, crème fine au pain d'épices...) and I was in charge of the wines.

Naturally, the wines that I brought were all from the nearby Anjou-Saumur, Touraine and Centre regions. We started with a lively Saumur Brut, the Saumur Brut Bouvet-Ladubay cuvée Saphir, a refreshing Chenin Blanc-Chardonnay blend made, like in Champagne, using the Méthode Traditionelle.

Our two white wines were very different in style although both equally excellent. There was a Savennières from the renowned Domaine des Baumard, the 2003 Savennières Domaine des Baumard Clos de Saint Yves. It was a 100% Chenin Blanc sourced from a south-facing vineyard next to the distinguished butterfly-shaped Clos du Papillon. it had a bright light golden color and a delicate honeyed nose. The palate was complex with a mineral backbone and a lenghty finish of citrus and white flower aromas.

Our other white wine, the 2005 Sancerre Alphonse Mellot La Moussière came from the exceptional Domaine La Moussière, a southwest exposed chalky vineyard of over thirty hectares, planted with Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. This was a seductive and generous wine with a light yellow-green color, a fragrant Sauvignon nose, a well-balanced palate with a hint of oak and some nice acidity on the finish.

The red wine selection included the 2003 Anjou Château de Pimpéan Cuvée Passion, a nice mellow drinking Cabernet Franc with gentle tannins and a fruity finish, a perfect accompaniment to the pâté d'oie en croûte.

After the appetizers, the pavé de selle d'agneau grillé and the magret de canard en tapenade were calling for a more serious red and the 2001 Bourgueil Pierre-Jacques Druet Grand Mont happened to be exactly what we needed. Showing a dark red-purple color, this 100% Cabernet Franc had a spicy nose of blackcurrrant and plum and a firm palate followed by a finish of great earthy-mineral quality.

After such a feast, nobody had much room left for the cakes and pastries, but that ended up not being a problem: we served the cakes again on Sunday and they all disappeared, mostly eaten by a hungry crowd of kids.

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Family vacation in France but coming back soon!

These are our last vacation days in France. I have to say that we have been pretty busy during this last month. We started our vacation with a family reunion near Cheverny in the Loire Valley, then stayed near in Paris, then drove to the south of France where we had rented a place facing the island of Porquerolles. We are currently in Saint Paul de Vence on the French Riviera.


Fondation Maeght in Saint Paul de Vence

We tasted several pretty good wines from the Loire Valley and the Côtes de Provence and I have some tasting notes on most of them, so stay tuned for a few tasting reports coming soon!

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The cuvée Manon of Clos Marie

Last February, I wrote about the excellent 2005 Pic Saint Loup Clos Marie l'Olivette. And then last week, I had the chance to taste the domain's white cuvée, the 2004 Clos Marie Cuvée Manon, a blend of several Southern France white varieties such as Grenache Blanc, Ugni Blanc, and Bourboulenc. Manon is a nickname for Marie and the name of the vigneron's daughter, but it is also the name of my niece and my daughter's middle name. Therefore, I was really happy to find this wine absolutely delicious. We drank it at lunch time on a warm, sunny day with a sweet and sour Persian chicken dish that one of my friends had prepared. The wine had a nice floral, honeyed nose with a creamy mouthfeel on the palate, some lively acidity and stone fruit aromas on the finish. Manon had a tough job dealing with the nuts and the acidity and sweetness of the pomegranate sauce, but I can tell you that she did extremely well.

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A delicious wine for a great bouillabaisse

Bouillabaisse is Marseille's traditional fish stew. The word comes from the Provençal bolha-baissa which means boil and reduce. It is served with toasted bread slices spread with a spicy garlic mayonnaise called rouille or rust. I never tried to make one, thinking that the recipe was too complicated and that I could never find the right fish in California.

But last week, a friend of mine showed me her simplified recipe. Her bouillabaisse ended up being rich in flavor and surprisingly easy to prepare. First, make a fish broth with fish trimmings (such as fish frames and fish heads). This can be done ahead of time. Then, cook onions, garlic, tomatoes, leeks, fennel in olive oil. Add orange peel, fennel seeds, bay leaf, saffron, and the fish broth. Let it boil and reduce. Finally, strain the soup, add fish fillets (halibut, red snapper), scallops, then mussels. Serve with parsley, croutons, and rouille.



With the bouillabaisse, we had a white from the Languedoc, the 2005 Bergerie de l'Hortus Classique Blanc. Domaine de L'Hortus is a 60 hectare estate located in the valley between the Pic Saint Loup and the Montagne de l'Hortus. Bergerie de l'Hortus is the domaine's second label. Made with young vines, the wine was an unusual blend of Chardonnay, Viognier, and Sauvignon Blanc. It had a bright golden color with aromas of stone fruits and white flowers. On the palate, it was deliciously lush, ripe, and mouthfilling with a touch of sweetness on the finish. Everybody agreed: it worked wonderfully well with the bouillabaisse.


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A new trend in France: low alcohol and reduced alcohol wines

In reaction to stricter driving regulations and the decline of alcohol consumption in France, some producers have recently released new brands of low alcohol/reduced alcohol wines. These wines are also aimed at female drinkers who don't like to feel heady after just one glass of wine and also appreciate the reduced amount of calories.

Winemakers have different ways to produce low alcohol wines. This can be done naturally by using varietals such as Grenache and Cinsault that can reach maturity without accumulating too much sugar. They can also use yeasts that do not completely transform sugar into alcohol, leaving a certain amount of residual sugar in the wine. Other methods are more technology-based. Some remove the sugar from the must (Redux procedure). Others remove the alcohol from the fermented wine (reverse osmosis).

Now, do these high tech reduced alcohol wines still taste like wine? According to the French wine magazine La Revue du Vin de France, only few are successful, most are disappointing.

The magazine tasted 13 wines with an alcohol content ranging from 9% to 11.5%. The best rated brand was the Plume (means feather) range from Domaine La Colombette in the Languedoc. The domaine offers a white, rosé and red with an alcohol level reduced to 9% using reverse osmosis. The magazine gave the Chardonnay a 15.5/20 rating and noted that the wine was fresh and tonic with a vivid nose of citrus and stone fruits and a well balanced palate. They also found the Plume Grenache Rosé and Grenache-Syrah Rouge pleasing and well-crafted. But many were lower than average, including the Dix Vin Blanc and Dix Vin Rouge (alcohol limited to 10%), also from the Languedoc and produced by the Vignerons de Calvisson. They didn't have much structure and flavors and were both rated 9.5/20.

Now I am curious to try some of these Plume wines. Unfortunately, I don't think they are imported in the US yet. So maybe next time I go to France, I'll let you know...

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