Vol. 2 No. 6
Standard Selection - (1) Red, (1) White
Domaine La Garrigue Vacqueyras - France
Canto Perdrix Tavel - France
Domaine La Garrigue - Vacqueyras
From the very first sight of the Domaine’s windswept vineyard on the Vaucluse plateau, to the snarling dog that guards the cellar door, to the old combat boot toting auntie that bottles and labels the wine, to the stocky, plain-speaking proprietor, Domaine La Garrigue recalls the quintessential Provence: rugged, beautiful landscapes and honest, unpretentious people. The Bernard family, proprietors of both Domaine La Garrigue and the excellent restaurant "Les Florets" in Gigondas, are a generous, honest, and hardy lot. It should then come as no surprise that their wines reflect their nature and character offering the consumer some of the most affordable and pleasurable drinking in Provence.
Producing chunky, flamboyant, all natural wines, Domaine La Garrigue is indeed one of our favorite producers of Rhone wines: Vacqueyras, Gigondas and Cotes du Rhone in particular. This Domaine is one of the largest estates in Vacqueyras, a distinctive red wine as well as a beautiful Provencal village that looks like it stepped out of a Marcel Pagnol novel.
Domaine La Garrigue produces a fine Vacqueyras; a serious red with a penchant for aging. With a few years in bottle, it evolves from a lusty, herb-tinged red into a plush, aromatic and flamboyant wine of distinction. Likewise, the Domaine’s Gigondas is another formidable red; it is pure, rich and laden with both personality and character. Unfortunately, La Garrigue’s small production of Gigondas is rarely seen outside of the winery or the family’s renowned Gigondas restaurant; "c’est dommage". The other fine coup from this estate is the winery’s excellent Cote du Rhone, labeled Cuvee Romaine after the myriad of Roman artifacts that were excavated by archeologists on the property in the late 1970's and the early 1980's. Cuvee Romaine is a veritable bargain; originating in the village of Vacqueyras, it is a combination of old vines, Grenache and Syrah. The estate produces no white wine. However, a little Provencal rose is said to be produced at Domaine La Garrigue.
Domaine La Garrigue takes its name from the wild herbe de Provence and ground cover of Provence called Garrigue, a common scent often detected in the region’s better wines, including Domaine La Garrigue’s Vacqueyras. How we love Domaine La Garrigue. The estate’s wines taste like wine, not like the insipid laboratory, homogenized beverages that so many commercial wineries try to foist on the wine consuming public. Like it or not, this is the real McCoy. All of the Domaine’s wines are bottled un-filtered, retaining the natural flavors of the region’s soil and climate.
Vacqueyras: A Wine and a One-Horse Town
In a small corner of the Vaucluse, hemmed in by the Rhone River and the craggy granite teeth of the Dentelles de Montmirail which constitute the last outcropping of the Alps, lies Vacqueyras. A picturesque, one-horse Provencal town, complete with twisting streets of red-tiled roofs and pétanque (the Provencal equivalent of "boule" or bacie) players, Vacqueyras is surrounded by some of the finest scenery in France. Along with Gigondas and Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Vacqueyras completes the triage of great Cotes de Rhone Villages that set the standard for fine wine in the south of France. A traditional blend of the ubiquitous Grenache and Syrah, along with a sprinkling of Mourvedre and Cinsault, the red wines of Vacqueyras are often compared to their more famous neighbors in Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Gigondas with which they share similar characteristics. Although sometimes not quite as polished as the finest Chateauneuf-du-Pape or Gigondas, Vacqueyras is often more robust, particularly in lesser vintages when the grapes in Vacqueyras ripen more fully than those in neighboring villages. With a warmer micro-climate and the presence of the galets, or large, flat polished stones, in many of its vineyards to radiate the sun’s heat back into the vineyard at night, Vacqueyras is more consistently full and rich in comparison to its neighbors, even in so-called off vintages.
With nearly 160 growers, Vacqueyras should be better known in the international market, but whether it be the absence of one large Domaine to garner world-wide renown or the unusual sounding place name itself, Vacqueyras has yet to be discovered by the popular wine press. For the moment, it is one of the best kept secrets in Provence.
Accompaniments: Like all fine medium-to-full bodied dry reds, Vacqueyras pairs nicely with grilled meats. Vacqueryas is terrific food wine and will complement pheasant, wild boar, rabbit, partridges and other game as well as lamb and roast kid quite well. Consider pairing it with a lightly seasoned sirloin steak on the grill or with grilled lamb chops, brushed with garlic, olive oil, and rosemary.
A nice simple duck, braised either in a clay pot or conventionally, with some carrots in the stock to sweeten it slightly makes for another fine meal. For vegetarians, we suggest vegetable paella.
Tasting Notes: A blend of old vine Grenache and Syrah, the 1994 Domaine La Garrigue Vacqueyras is a deep, brooding, purple potion. Scents of a cassis, woodland blackberries, roses and violets form the cachet of this wine, while a touch of "Garrigue", or herbe de Provence, pervades the rustic, sumptuous flavors that speak of the south of France. Richly fruity, yet completely dry, the Domaine La Garrigue Vacqueyras needs at least forty-five minutes open to reveal a core of pure, rich, natural flavors. According to the proprietor, as well as several reliable sources on Rhone wines, no additional sulfites are added at bottling. Indeed this would not surprise us since Domaine La Garrigue is essentially organically farmed. All of its wines are made in the most natural way possible; from the initial fermentation in tanks to aging in ancient ceramic vats, Domaine La Garrigue practices the ancient art of bringing a well tended vineyard to your table with the least bit of interference. Bravo!
Meaning "Song of the Partridge" in Provencal, Domaine Canto Perdrix has captured the fancy of many a wine critic over the years. Today, wine writers continue to sing the wine’s praises, referring to the Canto Perdrix Tavel as "one of the very best Tavel of the appellation", and "a fresh, serious rose that is both austere and flavorful." Make no mistake about it, Andre Mejan, proprietor of Canto Perdrix, produces one of France’s most compelling rose wines, a wine that has nothing in common with the sweet, insipid examples of rose commonly referred to as "blush" wine. Andre Mejan cultivates sixty-seven acres of vines in from various plots, representing all three of the classic terroirs, or soils in Tavel. For elegance, flavor and bouquet, Mejan makes use of the sandy soil in vineyards to the east of Tavel. From the north, Mejan draws strength and fullness out of a very rocky site with clay subsoils, while finesse and freshness spring from a limestone rich vineyard in the west of the appellation.
As if the formidable use of ideal "terroirs" is not enough to assure quality in his wine, Mejan uses up to eight different grape varieties in Canto Perdrix, including a cepage of 80% Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault and Mourvedre from black grapes and the balance from Picpoul, Clairette and Bourboulenc from white grapes. By utilizing most of the traditional varieties of Tavel, Andre Mejan gains complexity and balance–the trademark of the finest Tavel rose.
Tavel: France’s Most Famous and Expensive Rose
Located just 8 miles west of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, the village of Tavel has been said to exist "for the sole purpose of producing wine"–a function it has performed well for centuries. Known as the "premier rose of France", the 2300 acre appellation of Tavel produces only dry rose wine, a wine that has been championed over the years by such notables as Louis XIV and the renowned, French gourmand, Brillat-Savarin, as well as a coterie of writers, poets and connoisseurs. In Tavel, the producers have lighted upon the virtue of a fresh, austere, full-bodied rose wine with the scent of apricot, peach, strawberry and "herbe de provence".
With the use of both red and white grapes in Tavel, one would think that Tavel were a blend of both red and white wine, but it is not. Typically, Tavel is made by allowing the cepage, or blend of grapes to macerate in stainless steel tanks from 24 to 72 hours to gather color and flavor from the skins of the grapes. The free run juice that results from this vatting time is then removed. The solid mass of grapes called "marc", that remains is subsequently pressed. The light, delicate free run juice is later combined with a percentage of the darker, drier, fuller-flavored press wine. The result is a strong wine, often 13 or 14 percent alcohol that seems to capture the mystique of Provence–light color and aromatic scents wrought by the sun.
Although most tasters seem to agree on the quality and character of the best Tavel wines, when to drink this legendary potion has not drawn the same consensus. While many argue that Tavel must be consumed in its youth, at no more than three years of age, when the bloom of floral scents and fresh fruit gush from the glass, others insist upon aging Tavel; they prefer the nutty, meatier side of Tavel that displays the wine’s alcohol and punch. Whatever your preference, Tavel is the ideal accompaniment to the food and climate of Provence.
Accompaniments: Tavel makes for a wonderful picnic wine or hot-summer-day wine. It’s a perfect match for grilled vegetables and fish, or spicy food. Mild cheeses, light appetizers, pates, dips and seafood entrees all pair very well with this dry rose. Also consider a grilled salmon or tuna served in a spicy fruit or vegetable salsa.
Tasting Notes: "Pure joy" is how one taster described the 1997 Canto Perdrix Tavel, while "fun, fresh and friendly", were the accolades of another aficionado, but these pretty words don’t quite tell us what the Canto Perdrix is like. Yet, this is one of the special attributes of a fine Tavel rose, the Canto Perdrix in particular; there is a certain ethereal quality about Tavel that nearly eludes definition....but not description. Strawberry tones pervade the pure, clean bouquet that conjures scents of spring fruits. A melange of berry, tangerine, and citrus flavors explode in the mouth when the wine is not overly chilled. Unlike lesser, sweeter rose wines, the Canto Perdrix is better after a few minutes in the glass, when time relieves the icy numbness of the refrigerator and expands the mild palate of the wine, accentuating the fine, bone-dry finish. Like sunshine in a glass, this deeply hued rose reminds us of the setting sun in Provence–a simple pleasure and a complement to whatever else you are doing.
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