The Natural Wine Fair held recently at London’s Borough Market is not the first. Les Caves de Pyrène are at the forefront of “natural wine” promotion in the UK and have held annual trade tastings for some time. Things are starting to come of age and expansion has included four other importer/retail partners and a day devoted to paying consumers like me. It seems much of this is down to Isabelle Legeron, who is on a mission to raise awareness using her considerable communication talent. I wrote about her re-vamping of the Hibiscus restaurant wine list here, admittedly focusing on how a Michelin 2* London restaurant now lists as many Languedoc-Roussillon wines as it does Bordeaux. Well over 100 growers were present or strongly represented... »View More
Occasionally I do make a spontaneous purchase of a wine new to me, although this quite often results in a rather uninspiring evenings drinking – even if recommended by a cavist. This is a shame as for every grower I’ve heard of within 10 miles there are at least two I know nothing about. This is the size and complexity of the Languedoc. Clermont l’Herault is a typical market town, the Wednesday market is a must, and could be described as the gateway to the Terrasses du Larzac. The Huilerie Cooperative is renowned for olive oil but their recently expanded touristy shop also stocks some quality food stuffs along with interesting trinkets and beauty products at fair prices. This bottle of Clos des Clapisses Carignan Blanc 2009... »View More
At the London International Wine Fair Sud de France were showing their prestige selection of 42 Languedoc-Roussillon wines that are available in the UK. A varied panel of 11 influential names from the UK wine scene made the selection by blind tasting 200 wines presumably submitted by participating distributors. Now 200 different wines sounds and is a lot, but for a start this is a region with over 20 recognised areas plus near infinite Vin de Pays tucked in and between. Multiply this by factors such as red, white, sweet, rosé, aromatic, mineral, oaked, full bodied, fresh, mature – let alone grape varieties – and you get the picture. The 158 wines that didn’t make the selection aren’t disclosed but knowing the lists... »View More
Outsiders are a group of some of Languedoc-Roussillon’s best and most creative producers who have relocated to the region. The tasting last November in London was a wine highlight of the year. A few members were at the London International Wine Fair to support their importers and wrapped up one of the long days with a get together, along with their founder Louise Hurren, to say a few words, chat and share a few bottles. This was a chance to drink rather than taste. The newest Outsiders member is Domaine Sainte Rose – with the exception of La Grange de Quatre Sous the one I’ve known the longest, starting with Charles and Ruth Simpson’s first harvest back in 2002. Les Derniers Cépages 2009 is from late ripening Mourvèdre... »View More
As inside temperatures, even in the evenings, edge above 25 deg. (77 °F) plus then common wisdom dictates a regime of rosé or dry white wine. Nothing wrong with that, but as a lover of reds these can be tough times. While white and rosé make fine aperos, not moving on is like a cricket match with the second innings rained off. This season I’ve been much bolder at putting a bottle of red into the fridge for an good hour or so followed by a move to a wine cooler and all seems to work just fine. The wine quickly warms up when poured and the evolution in the glass takes on a few more stages that warmer wine ever can. It’s also more refreshing. I’d hesitate to try this on a fully mature bottle, wines proffering a good dose... »View More
Today’s Midi Libre, a regional daily covering the Languedoc and Aveyron, had a snippet about a court case involving Château Taillefer in Pomerol challenging one of the leading lights of Faugères, Domaine Ollier-Taillefer, over their use their name. After a year and a half the tribunal at Bordeaux is reported to have ruled in favour of the family from Fos. Considering Ollier-Taillefer has been the name for the Domaine and bottle labels for over 10 years its curious why this challenge has been so long in coming. Perhaps the continuing rise of Languedoc independents is starting to be seen as a threat that justifies court action. The tide is turning? »View More
Vinotaure 2011 is a Salon des vins Bio et naturels organised by Epicuvin, who describe themselves as a club of wine and gastronomy lovers from Montpellier. Overall this was a slightly disappointing showcase for Bio wines. Several producers offered poor value and there were also too many underwhelming wines, an observation magnified by a few notable exceptions. That said, “regular” wine shows in France are just as variable, but if you’re going to have a Bio/Natural Wine event they need to excel and differentiate themselves in the glass as well as on paper. The event took place at a rather soulless resort complex the Résidence Domaine du Golf near Fabrègues east of Montpellier. A navigation check on Google Streetview reveals... »View More
Personal Computer have changed the people life. And every person have a PC in their home in a normal family. And my opinion every one need a PC. But due the the huge amount of use of the energy due to the Computer in huge sector, the energy consumed is growing day by day. And there must be some solution to this problem. If the huge computer can be made to work in low power available then we can managed the energy saving and bring a revolution in the world. A company has invented cheap pcs so that people can enjoy the low power consumption at low price. Its just not about the low price as power consumption directly effect you electricity bills and helps energy saving. Its not just about the power consumption, but they are also the cheapest found... »View More
I spent my first day grape picking this year at Régis and Christine Pichon’s Domaine Ribiera in my village Aspiran. 7 am start yes, but at least there was no commute involved. To my surprise it was going to be Grenache and the 22nd August was believed to be the earliest recorded day for a Grenache harvest the village had know. That said, the objective was to make a fresh and expressive wine for drinking young which is not too rich and not too alcoholic. To achieve this the Grenache was being picked “early” and the instructions were to discard all unripe bunches that, by my estimation, amounted to 30% of the crop. Once it starts to ripen Grenache apparently ripens quickly so waiting until those 30% of bunches were ripe would... »View More