A most serious tasting at Château Richard
Our wine correspondent Jim Walker chronicled his personal discovery of the Dordogne region of France and how he and a group of friends set out in search of the finest wines of that area, in his last post3. He now concludes the tale of his arduous, self-sacrificing search for and ultimate selection of the holy grail of wines from the Bergerac appellation. Continue reading “DRINKING IN THE DORDOGNE (PART 2)”
Three bronze geese of Sarlat
The Dordogne region of south-western France holds a treasure trove of things to see and do. As our wine correspondent Jim Walker notes, it is also home to some superb but, sadly, little known wineries. And, that’s exactly how its downriver neighbour Bordeaux likes it. Continue reading “DRINKING IN THE DORDOGNE (PART 1)”
A magnum of 2012 Palon Vacqueyras
Being in the wine business provides one with the opportunity to enjoy some very, very good bottles. But, as our wine correspondent Jim Walker reports, better still, it gives one the chance to get to know some truly remarkable people. Such is the case with the Palon family, vintners in Gigondas. Continue reading “EULOGY FOR A WINERY”
Our wine correspondent Jim Walker’s wine cellar, like some rogue, mutant organism, had gotten completely out of control. It needed severe pruning. But, as he relates in this post, culling one’s wine collection in Ontario isn’t as simple or rewarding as one would imagine. Continue reading “GOING, GOING, GOTCHA!”
Apéro hour at the Château (Photo by Tim McTiernan)
Our wine scribbler, Jim Walker and his wife Hélène have recently returned from a month in Provence, the last week of which they spent with friends at a castle in the Luberon. Cocktail hour conversations one evening drifted onto the subject of ghastly wine experiences. He relates three of them for us here. Continue reading “WINE TALES FROM LE CHÂTEAU DE GOULT”
Irises in full bloom – April in Provence
Many years ago our wine scribe Jim Walker, inspired by Peter Mayle’s book A Year in Provence, decided to visit southern France and experience for himself what all the fuss was about. It seems he was favourably impressed as he’s just back from his 25th visit.
It was Peter Mayle, who sadly passed away this January, and his delightful first book about Provence together with our cousin’s offer of free accommodation in the charming village of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence that induced us to make our first trek to southern France those many years ago. We adored everything about that enchanting bit of France, the food, the weather, the sights, the history, the people and, oh yes, the wine. We returned often, sometimes with our girls, and developed many friends there along with our wine and tour businesses. And so, after enduring this year’s miserable March weather in Ontario, we were more than a little excited about returning to our cherished haunts this April.
The journey over went quite well till we became enmeshed in the troubles of the French train system, the SNCF. Their three militant unions were staging rotating strikes to protest the Macron government’s intention to scale back retirement ages and benefits. The system is hemorrhaging cash and is deeply in debt. Someone told us that many employees were eligible to retire at age 53 with a pension equal to 125 percent of their top salary!
We were scheduled to take the high speed TGV to Avignon with an hour stopover in Lyon. The train station in the Charles de Gaulle airport was swarming with anxious would-be passengers trying vainly to replace cancelled rides. We took refuge in the nearby Sheraton restaurant and eagerly devoured a breakfast of freshly squeezed orange juice, croissants and petits pains au chocolat washed down by double espressos. Happily, our train was in operation and left on time. As we scrambled aboard, wrestling our luggage into whatever space we could find, we were told to watch it closely because thieves were in the process of pilfering baggage!
The stop in Lyon was utter chaos. Trains had been cancelled and hordes of passengers were flailing about, scrambling to board just about any available conveyance. But once again our train was in operation and we made it to Avignon with no further excitement. We collected our rental car and thoroughly enjoyed the lovely 20 minute drive to our home-to-be for the next few weeks, a bright and airy two bedroom apartment with views overlooking neighbouring gardens in St-Rémy. One of the best things about this rental (other than the hospitable landlords) is the U Express, a convenience or corner store a mere 100 meters away. In addition to a whole range of delicacies including fruit and vegetables with their provenance clearly displayed, there is a wine corner that would put most of the LCBO’s French wine sections to shame. The prices would too: Côtes du Rhône 5€; Vacqueyras €7; Gigondas €9 and Tavel Rosé €8!
April 1, 2018 – Les Alpilles and flowers in bloom
April 1 was a most eventful day. Not only was it Easter, it was April Fool’s Day, (Poisson d’avril in France, where children go around sticking paper fish on unsuspecting victims’ backs) and Hélène’s birthday. We chose one of our favourite local restaurants, Ô Caprices de Mathias to celebrate. As you can see, it was a beautiful day in Provence, a far cry from the climes of southern Ontario. Did that make our day even more enjoyable? Perish the thought.
Whilst on the subject of restaurants, for those lucky enough to be visiting Provence in the next little while, in addition to Ô Caprices de Mathias we found the following to be particularly enjoyable:
Dessert at L’Aile ou la Cuisse in Saint-Rémy
It wasn’t all an orgy of fine dining, it just seemed that way. We also visited our nearby wineries – Domaine Palon, Domaine Giuliani and Domaine Roger Sabon and sampled many other local wines from the more recent vintages. I can just hear your cries of sympathy. This is my take on the three most recent vintages from the Southern Rhône:
2015 – They were generally terrific – both reds and whites. The 2015 growing season had been close to ideal (hot in July and August with little rain) and harvesting was a bit earlier than usual under favourable conditions. During the harvest, I had predicted that 2015 was going to be a very good year for Grenache and it turned out I was right. But, to my surprise, the Syrah proved to be every bit as good if not better. In that these are the two principle grapes for the reds from the Southern Rhône, the resulting wines are very, very good, not unlike those of 2009 at this stage of their development.
2016 – I must avoid hyperbole here. The 2016s generally appear to be even better than the excellent 2015s. The wines are similar to the classic 2010s with perhaps even more structure and fruit. The growing season was pretty much ideal, not as hot as 2015 with more light rain and the grapes reached full maturity at early harvest time. There are powerful aromas of blue and red fruit and the wines are concentrated and beautifully balanced. Many vintners are claiming that this is the best vintage in 40 years. It is too soon to tell, but I will concede that the Southern Rhônes from 2016 are terrific.
With Marie Line and Sebastien Palon
2017 – I tasted most of these wines from tanks and barrels. It was a very small harvest due to coulure (a condition that prevents the vines from flowering properly) and then drought during the growing season. Vintners are reporting a 30 to 50 percent drop in yields, resulting in much economic hardship (prices are likely to increase accordingly). But, believe it or not, what was harvested in late August (very early) turned out to be quite spectacular. The berries were small and their juice concentrated. Sebastien Palon of Domaine Palon in Gigondas noted wryly that his 2017s were even better than his 2015s and 2016s, but there is not much of them.
In summary, we have a winning trifecta from the Southern Rhône – 2015, 2016 and 2017. There is no point buying the lesser 2013 and 2014 vintages with these beauties present on your favourite liquor store’s shelves.
Our month in Provence evaporated oh so quickly. Time does indeed fly by when one is having fun. We witnessed the Provençal spring unfold. Barren, severely cropped plane trees sprouted their verdant canopies, fruit trees exploded with fragrant blossoms of pink and white, bright red poppies and irises in a profusion of colours appeared in the fields and sleepy sidewalk cafés and terraces suddenly teamed with grateful revellers. But the surest harbinger of the season was the plethora of pétanque games that materialized on dusty lots throughout the glorious land.
We were not too morose about leaving for we knew that we were going to enjoy a second but very different Spring back home. Happy Spring to all.
Cheers! Jim
PS: I invite you to visit my Arthur’s Cellar Wine Club homepage to find out about the delicious wines from the Southern Rhône that we have on offer, now by the bottle.
PPS: My recommended wine for this post is the 2016 Châteauneuf du Pape from Domaine Giuliani; a real treat for only $42.75 the bottle.
Featured image: Spring in Provence and a game of pétanque has broken out
The Panmans, Jim and Bruno, The Wonder Dog
What was it that drew our wine correspondent Jim Walker to the fabulous wines of Limoux? Was it the affable vineyard owners, the magnificence of the Pyrenees or, just possibly, an adorable little Irish Springer spaniel named Bruno? Continue reading “WHO KNEW LIMOUX?”
Our wine correspondent, Jim Walker, had searched high and low for a top notch Beaujolais to add to his stable of fine wines. He found one at last … but it came with a rather nasty surprise. Continue reading “BAMBOOZLED IN BEAUJOLAIS”
Our wine scribe, Jim Walker, uncovered more than a long forgotten bottle when he plumbed the depths of his wine cellar. Continue reading “A VERITABLE VINOUS VALHALLA”
Wine aficionados are not born, they are definitely created. It takes a great deal of care and feeding, not to mention endless practice, to produce true devotees of the nectar of the vine. Fortunately for Jim Walker, our wine correspondent, he was in the right places at the right time to ultimately gain admittance into Bacchus’ realm of vinous delights. Continue reading “WHEN BACCHUS BECKONED”
Gentlemans Portion 