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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The best table wine at less than 1 Euro

When I was visiting my family in France, I got impressed by the rare findings that my father-in-law had discovered at his local Carrefour Hypermarket near Paris. In fact, he pays less than 1 Euro for his everyday white table wine, a wine that I found of remarkable value for the price.

The wine is non vintage from Gros Plant du Pays Nantais, a lesser Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure appellation located at the westernmost part of the Loire valley, near the Atlantic ocean. It is made of Folle Blanche, also called Gros Plant in the region, a highly acidic grape variety traditionally used in the distillation of Cognac and Armagnac.

The wine is light, crisp, uncomplicated, but deliciously refreshing, the perfect match for a simple plate of tiny crevettes grises (grey shrimp), fresh bread, and Brittany butter (with sea salt).



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A visit at the Domaine des Huards in Cour-Cheverny

The Château La Gagnotterie, where we organized our family reunion, is located in the Loire Valley appellation of Cheverny. This appellation, south of the Loire river at Blois, produces a wide range of wines from Cabernet Franc, Gamay, Pinot Noir for the reds, and Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Chenin blanc for the whites. Cheverny has also a small sub-appellation called Cour-Cheverny that had been specifically created for wines made from the little-known but interesting Romorantin grape.

So Monday morning after the party, we decided to drive to the tiny village of Cour-Cheverny and pay a visit to one of the best producers for the Cheverny and Cour-Cheverny appellations, the Domaine des Huards.


Cabernet vines at the entrance of the Domaine des Huards

The domaine covers 32 hectares including 8 hectares planted exclusively with Romorantin. The soil is mostly clay and chalk with a layer of sand in some areas. The estate is certified biodynamic, banning weed killers and chemical fertilisers in order to keep the microbiological diversity of the vineyard.


Tasting at the Domaine des Huards

We tasted different Cour-Cheverny cuvées as well as their Cheverny reds. Here are my notes:

• 2002 Cour-Cheverny Domaine des Huards: 100% Romorantin. Light color, mineral, herbal, crisp. One of the few wines that could be paired with asparagus.

• 2002 Cour-Cheverny Domaine des Huards Cuvée François 1er: 100% Romorantin old vines, the oldest planted in 1922. Bright golden color, nutty nose with hint of hay, crisp, full and complex mouthfeel, long mineral finish, ageworthy.

• 2005 Cheverny Domaine des Huards: Gamay 55% Pinot Noir 30% Cabernet Franc 10%. Deep red purple color, gamay nose, peppery , floral notes of peony, light-bodied, balanced palate.

• 2005 Cheverny Domaine des Huards Cuvée Le Pressoir: Pinot Noir 80% Gamay 20%. Garnet color, red berry nose, raspberry notes, lively finish.

• 2004 Cheverny Domaine des Huards Cuvée Jean-François Deniau: Pinot Noir 50% Gamay 40% Cabernet Franc 10%. Floral peony nose, fuller palate, long finish of licorice.

• 2004 Cour-Cheverny Domaine des Huards Cuvée J. M. Tendresse: 100% Romorantin demi-sec, late harvest style. Light golden color, delicate nose, flavors concentrated on the palate, nutty, herbal finish.

All these wines were delicious but I really liked the cuvée François 1er (I bought half a case to cellar) and the serious but very food friendly cuvée Jean-François Deniau.

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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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