Weekend Wines in France

My wife and I went to Troyes last weekend to visit our family. We drank some superb wines which were not very expensive. If you are in England and live near the channel ports or the channel tunnel then it is always worth making a trip to France to buy wine even though the pound sterling has gone down from the heady days of 1.9 EUR to the Pound to 1.27.

France is really feeling the effects of economic chills and wine prices are going down there especially for Champagne. The Intermarche supermarket is now selling two varieties of Champagne for EUR 9.95 a bottle and this is cheaper than Aldi and Lidl can manage in the UK.

The first of their is cheap champagnes  J.Contet Père & Fils/Brut . J Contet is a négociant: we did not buy his Champagne but I have no reason to believe it is anything but good value for money. All négociants buy Champagne from all over the region and blend them into a house style. J.Contet is probably just as good as anyone else in identifying good quailty wines which also taste good.

The Second cheap Champagne on offer was Champagne - Marine Clément Cuvée Emotion NV also now at EUR 9.95 a bottle. I have reviewed this before and all of our friends in England enjoyed it. My wife and I think this is superb value for money. We weren't tempted to buy this Champagne either.

My brother-in-law opened a beautiful bottle of Champagne from a grower producer of Buxeuil in the Aube which is to the south of Troyes:Champagne Albans D'Aulbe Brut Élégance NV. This fine wine is one or two steps up from the Marine Clément Cuvée Emotion and it literally tasted elegant. You can buy this wine from the producer by contacting jean-michel.diligent@laposte.net. The Brut Élégance NV is in short supply but the Brut Tradition is readily available at EUR 12.25 per bottle and it is exceptional value for money. This Champagne easily rivals the top houses from Epernay and Reims.

My brother-in law also produced some excellent Bourgogne Rouge the first was: Ladoix 2010 Domaine Désertaux-Ferrand. I have not drunk Ladoix for ages and I had forgotten how good it can be. Domaine Désertaux-Ferrand is situated not far from Beaune and they farm about 12 Ha. They are prize winning producers and this shows up in their wine. The Ladoix was full of red fruit flavour with soft tannins and had the distinctive style of the region: the 2010 is ready to drink now. It is difficult to obtain outside of France. I have seen the 2011 on Wine Searcher for £11.45 a bottle and the wine is most certainly worth it but you could probably buy it cheaper at the producer.
http://www.vins-bourgogne.fr/nos-vignerons-nos-savoir-faire/des-signatures-de-renom/desertaux-ferrand-corgoloin-21700,2397,9211.html?&args=Y29tcF9pZD0xNDA2JmFjdGlvbj12aWV3RmljaGUmaWQ9VklOQk9VMDAwMDIwMDM0NyZ8

We also savoured a bottle of Domaine Mouton Givry 1er Cru Bourgogne Rouge, from the Côte Chalonnaise, and this wine was perhaps half a step up from the Ladoix as it had more fruit flavour. My wife preferred the Ladoix. The Givry was also full of fruit flavour with soft tannin and to me it was more complex and concentrated than the Ladoix. Of course it had all the style and distinctiveness of red Burgundy which is unique to the region and cannot be copied by the New World or even elsewhere in France. This was superb tasting wine. UK buyers can buy the wine here.

http://www.wine-searcher.com/find/dom+mouton+givry+premier+cru/2011

We had some excellent home cooked food to go with these wines. Roast pork, coq au vin and roast duck. The wines went down perfectly with this food and they also went down well with some English and French cheeses.

We also drank a lovely aperitif wine; Expert Club Gewurztraminer Réserve Fleurie. This wine was full of the flavour of fruits and flowers. Alsace wines are always excellent value for money and there is a plentiful supply in French and British supermarkets but do not let the unapproachable names put you off for you are in for a treat.

The wine and food always make our  journeys to France special - a gastronomic delight.