Some rotten French wine

We recently made a visit to a family reunion in the town of Quissac which not far from Montpellier in the Languedoc region of the South of France. Whilst we were there we also took a tour around and our trip included a visit to Toulouse in the Haut-Garonne department. At the party we drank some lovely Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon from the local co-operative and some really excellent Alexandre Bonnet Champagne Blancs de Noirs Brut from Les Riceys from the Aube department. This champagne was excellent.

http://www.alexandrebonnet.com/website/indexf.html


But where did we find some of the worst wine I have ever drunk? We did not have to go far for we paid a visit to Les Saintes Maries de la Mer which is a charming seaside town and which is the capital of the Camargue in the Bouches-du-Rhône department on the Mediterranean. The French love fish and chips just as much as the British and we found a lovely restaurant by the sea front. This restaurant will remain nameless. I ordered a pichet of the local white wine to go with my fish and chips, without the mushy peas, and it was disgusting and undrinkable. It was my own fault as I should have ordered a bottle of Picpoul de Pinet but we were on a mission to  drink only a restaurant's offerings when we had a meal out.

http://www.saintesmaries.com/en/

                                                                              Les Saintes Maries de la Mer


When we visited the Pont du Gard the previous day we were treated to a pichet of glorious and local dry red wine at the Le Colombier Restaurant which is 200 meters from the entrance to the Pont du Gard park. This restaurant is well worth visiting

The food and wine , however, could not compare to the glory of seeing the Pont du Gard Aquaduct. The Romans were phenomenal engineers.

Next we were off to Toulouse which is a very rich, vibrant and young city in the Haut-Garonne. I must have been the oldest person there. The city is also very expensive and we thought that we would try and save some money and eat in a tapas bar. 

We broke our rule and ordered a bottle of wine - shock horror it was Rioja. The wine was rather good but the waitress knew nothing about Spanish wines and she couldn't care less what grapes it was made from. They weren't French grapes so why bother to know anything about the wine. We left the Tapas bar with my wallet lightened by 50 Euro for three plates of tapas and a bottle of wine; but never mind.

The next day we met some friends and they knew Toulouse really well and where to find good food at a reasonable price and this was at the Victor-Hugo market. On the first floor there are five restaurants selling excellent food  and we choose the Louchebem. What else could we eat other than Toulouse sausages with mashed potatoes - where have I eaten Sausage and Mash before? A pichet of the local dry red wine washed this down really well, things were getting better and the costs were getting lower.

We were surrounded by wine and the flags, insignia and photographs of the Toulouse rugby club.

Next we travelled to Pezenas and back to the Languedoc; we stayed the night in the delightful Hotel Moliere on the Place du 14 Juillet. We dined in the nearby village of Valros and drank some excellent local dry red wine once again.

We finally paid a visit to family in Montpellier and once again drank some excellent local wine before making our way back home to the excitement of London.


Most of the wine is very good in France but like all countries it has some pretty undrinkable stuff especially if you buy it served in a pichet. If you want good quality all of the time it is best to stick to a bottle with a recognisable label.

Chablis and distinctive taste

Whilst waiting for a plane to Montpellier at Gatwick  Airport the other day my wife treated me to some smoked salmon and a glass of dry white wine at the Caviar House wine bar; she must have been feeling rich.

I took one sniff of the wine and guessed correctly, blind, that it was Chablis as it had all the mineral and stony flavour consistent with wine from the region.

How did I get it right first time? I can't do this with many other wines. Well Chablis has the distinctive and inimitable taste of the appellation. No other wine region in the world can mimic this taste even if they use Chardonnay grapes and have a cool climate. It is something to do with the unique soil and climate of the Chablis area and the way the wine is made. This is why I love Chablis it has the distinctive taste of its own and it goes so well with fish and fowl. Chablis has no need for varietal labelling.

Being able to recognise a wine also stems from familiarity with it. My wife's family come from the region and we  drink the wine so often.. We can also recognise other wines from the area such as Irancy and Epineuil just by giving them one sniff. Our taste buds and sense of smell are no better than anyone else but familiarity with a distinctive tasting wine helps.

This is why I love Chablis, Irancy and Epineuil so much; they have a style and quality all of their own which no other wine producing area can copy.