Love that Languedoc, video blog

Hey, I started a vlog promoting Languedoc Roussillon wines and the region in general.   It’s called Love That Languedoc and it’s pretty fun.  The Languedoc Roussillon is one of the largest wine producing regions on the planet and it is an incredibly diverse region that deserves a lot more public attention.  And that is what I am going to obtain!  YOUR ATTENTION!

So thank you for checking out the Almost MasterGrape blog and PLEASE take some time to learn about the Languedoc-Roussillon whether it’s in your favorite reference books or my video tributes.  There’s a lot to appreciate.

The blog will comprise of interviews, tastings, guided visits and book reviews amongst other things.  It’s a no holds barred look at all things LANGUEDOC.  I hope I’ll see you there!

À l’occasion de la commémoration de l’Armistice, Les Amis du Vieux Canet proposaient une conférence de Renaud Martinez sur “Les Catalans dans la Grande Guerre”. Historien et écrivain, auteur d’ouvrages de référence* sur le sujet, l’invité du jour a su captiver un large auditoire par la clarté de ses propos résumant documents et témoignages accumulés au fil de patientes recherches. Tout un pan de l’histoire vécue par les Poilus du département dans l’enfer des tranchées a été ainsi mis en lumière.
Cette évocation traitait surtout de l’engagement dans le conflit de deux régiments basés à Perpignan : le 53e d’infanterie, monté au front dès la déclaration des hostilités dans la Lorraine annexée, et le 253e RI constitué de réservistes. Malgré les pertes subies, la bravoure de nos soldats ne se démentit pas durant ces longues années de souffrance. Ils défendirent vaillamment leur drapeau porté par le sous-lieutenant Ruffiandis, instituteur à Canet. Un autre habitant de la commune devait s’illustrer sur le champ de bataille, le lieutenant Fournier (par ailleurs champion de France de rugby au côté d’Aimé Giral), disparu lors d’un un dernier assaut avant la guerre de mouvement qui allait mener son régiment à Dixmude et à Ypres, puis dans les Vosges et à Verdun.
L’exposé sans concession ne se limitait pas à l’énumération des combats et des moments de gloire partagés par les régiments perpignanais. Aucun des épisodes les plus controversés ne fut esquivé, des erreurs – ou incompétences – d’état-major à l’origine de plusieurs carnages jusqu’aux aux mutineries survenues après l’échec sanglant de l’offensive Nivelle sur le Chemin des Dames au printemps 1917. Avec la rigueur qui sied dans le choix des mots, le conférencier préfère parler à ce propos d’« actes graves d’indiscipline ».
Pour lui, incontestablement le 53e RI et à son exemple le 253e RI ont contribué à la victoire finale des troupes françaises. De nombreuses citations recueillies à titre collectif et individuels l’attestent, tout autant que le lourd tribut évalué dans leurs rangs à 3800 morts et 10000 blessés ou mutilés.
Les questions posées par un public à la fois intéressé et ému montrent que leur sacrifice n’est pas oublié. En ce sens, comme devait le souligner Renaud Martinez en conclusion, cette conférence participait du devoir de mémoire.

* En avant, quand même ! et Comme des fleurs d’héroïsme de Renaud Martinez (éditions de l’Agence)

Some wines have a defining quality.  The sharp acidity and mineral quality of Chablis or the big bones of Molletieri’s Taurasi have been commented on in recent posts.  The defining character of Roussillon’s wines is sunshine and lots of it.  Tucked up against the Spanish border, this Catalan region is literally sun-drenched, with the most hours of sunshine in France.  And it shows in the bottle and in the glass.

Here’s a typical example of the dense, red fruit, with the purple rim of a young wine.  It’s a product of the hundreds of hours of sunshine and of wine making which mainly tries to preserve the fruit flavours in the finished wine.

Our guide to Roussillon was Jean Pla, negociant, vine and wine consultant, from the village of Maury.  If you want to join the current gold rush into the south (cf Tuscany’s Maremma), he is your man (www.restocave.com).  At the invitation of Paul Gumn, one of our 

members who has a house in the area, Jean and his wife, Genevieve, flew from Beziers to lead the tasting for Andover Wine Friends.  On a blustery November night, Jean’s genial nature and good humour, great pictures of Roussillon and excellent wines certainly lifted the spirits.  And as the reds really cry out for food, Paul had also bought regional cheeses and wild boar sausage to go with the wines.

View Full Album

Jean Pla’s selection of wines showed three great strengths of the Roussillon wine scene: powerful modern reds, innovation, the tradition of world class sweet red wines.

Modern reds

With all that sun and the heritage of Grenache, Carignan and Syrah, it is hardly surprising that Roussillon produces great, big, fruit-led reds.  First, kill your wild boar, roast over a spit for half a day, gather the tribe and crack open some bottles which will stand up to any meaty challenge!  15˚ is common place on the label but only because of legal reasons for not declaring a higher percentage of alcohol.  But this is not to say that the wines are unbalanced.

Here we have two wines at different quality levels. The Sarrat on the left is a quality wine which costs €12 in France. It’s made of Grenache, Carignan and Syrah, with only the last named spending 6 months in casks – so it’s red fruits all the way, smooth, with enough acidity to make this big wine highly drinkable.  By contrast the L’enfant perdu on the right is a serious customer, €20, with more use of oak ageing. It is initially more restrained on nose but with a dense bouquet with some balsamic notes and then a great intensity of fruit in the mouth.  It would be  great wine for ageing.

Innovation

Jean Pla also introduced his every day wines with which he has had a great success in the Japanese market – how the world of wine has changed! His entry level duo, red and white, are a good value €5 and have cheeky labels!

the funky labels of La Passion

What’s in the bottle is just as good: predictably gorgeous red fruits in the red with good grip from the acid and tannins.  Made basically

from Grenache, it also has a touch of Syrah and Carignan to help with Grenache’s proneness to exposure to air in the winemaking.  Also shown above is the old vine Grenache – here old vines means 80 year olds!  The wine spends two years in older, large, oak barrels and is a big leap up in seriousness – again a big mouthful of red and black fruit, smooth but with great depth of flavour, satisfying.

View Full Album

More of a surprise was the white with its good fresh nose, herbs and slightly nutty.  Made from Grenache blanc and gris (ie the white and pink version of the red grape), and grown on the schist rather than limestone/ clay, it was refreshing, with good fruit and plenty of structure to stand up to food.  And with a couple of angelic grape pickers on the label!

Traditional sweet reds

Roussillon’s fame in the past has been for its sweet reds.  Banyuls and Maury are the big names.  These wines are made by adding high strength spirit to a part fermented wine. This stops the fermentation while there is still a ‘natural’ sweetness about the resulting wine, hence the designation, vin doux naturel.  The tasting included three such wines, the first an innovation, being white!  This was the product of the large company, Mas Amiel, perhaps aimed at those who will be surprised by the idea of sweet reds.  The wine was fruity and herby, not too sweet, far too quaffable …

But the stars of the show were the pair of sweet reds, one a recent bottling, the other, like a grande dame, keeping her age a proper secret.     These are the traditional wines of the area and it’s great that they are still being produced, alongside the new trend for big, dry red wines.   Both come from the Domaine des Soulanes in Maury with the 2008 showing a delicious fruity nose and a great combination of red fruit, refreshing acidity and balance in the mouth.  The trick is the relatively simple process: make wine, add alcohol, store in stainless steel for three months, bottle, sell after one year … The kick for the unwary is the 16.5˚  of alcohol and all for €11 for a full 75cl bottle.

By contrast the Hors d’Age was something really special.  By law it must be 5 years old but this old hand was in fact the 1992 vintage.   Once it was poured you could see the effect of long term ageing.  The

pictures don’t quite capture the amber to brown colour, quite a shock after the vivid purple/reds of young grenache.  In the glass, there was a symphony of sensations – beautiful oxidized notes of nuts, caramel or toffee, figs, and then underneath all that you could still taste red fruit. And the flavours went on and on.   Here’s to the sunshine of Roussillon.

Mas las Cabes, Jean Gardiés, Espira de l’Agly, Roussillon
Le Mas Las Cabes est un vignoble d’une quinzaine d’hectares acheté par la famille Gardiés en 1990. Adossées aux contreforts des Corbières, les terres noires de schistes d’Espira de l’Agly se mêlent aux calcaires de la garrigue environnante pour accueillir les vignes du domaine. Balayé par les vents de la méditerranée, ce terroir complexe donne toute leur puissance et leur typicité aux vins du Mas las Cabes. Des rendements mesurés et une viticulture respectueuse de l’environnement, nous procurent chaque année des vins savoureux alliant caractère et finesse.

Les cuvées :

Mas Las Cabes Blanc, Vdp des Côtes catalanes, 2008 (9.95 €)
Muscat (70%), Grenache blanc (15%), Maccabeo (15%), rendements de 35hl/ha, macération pelliculaire de 8h et élevage 5 mois en cuve sur lies fines.

Mas Las Cabes rouge, AOC Côtes du Roussillon, 2008 (9.95 €)
Syrah (60%), Grenache noir (30%), Carignan (10%), rendements de 35hl/ha, Macération traditionnelle de 21 jours et élevage 8 mois en barriques et en cuves (50/50)

Bon voilà trop de flemme trop de vacances tout ça tout ça…

Mais…!!!

tadaaaaam!

Je recherche des vidéos

… en effet suite à ce… truc! … je suis à la recherche d’extraits vidéos… aidez moaaaaaaaa! ><

Et…

en plus pour me faire pardonner je post aussi quelques waterelles! (aquarelles, hein!)

Encore désolée pour la longueur (et pour les fautes) mais je me rattrape, comprennez… ^^

]]> http://vinyaivo.wordpress.com/2009/10/20/la-pedrera/ Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:07:26 +0000 Ivo Pagès http://vinyaivo.wordpress.com/2009/10/20/la-pedrera/

La Pedrera inaugura este martes una retrospectiva de 121 obras del artista rosellonés Arístides Maillol (Banyuls de la Marenda -Catalunya-, 1861-1944)

y saca una de sus obras monumentales, El Riu, a la calle, en pleno paseo de Gràcia, frente a la puerta del emblemático edificio de Antoni Gaudí.

Mas informaciones en: La Pedrera expone 121 obras de Maillol.

Aristide Maillol est né a Banyuls dans le Roussillon – Catalogne – en 1861. Sculpteur, peintre, il fut aussi tapissier ! Diane Vierny – galleriste –  sa muse et sa compagne se dédia a faire connaitre l’Oeuvre de Maillol aprés la mort de ce dernier en 1944 par le biais de sa fondation et de ses musées. A Barcelone, la Pedrera expose 121 oeuvres de l’artiste.

IVO

At the start of every series of Masterchef, I begin with the intentions of watching all the way through, I might learn something, I reason and if nothing else there is always the opportunity to cackle at the poor efforts of the misguided and talentless. Misanthropy, your name is surely moi. Although I am not mad keen on Gr-Egg Wallace, although I find the camerawork, editing, voice over work, and some of the ‘challenges’ irritating at best, there must clearly be something in it that draws me back. I suspect it is often a dearth of competition for my attentions from another source. But this series of Professional Mastershite shout chef has just turned me off completely. So far there have been 20 episodes of heats and quarter finals. 20 epsidodes of the opportunity of watching unattractive young men (for the most part, monobrowed, poorly shaven and flabby) fail to bone/cook through/construct or make something basic. 20 episodes of some hammy, stroppy sous chef claiming she would only put ‘the best’ through to cook for Michael, and then putting through abject failures simply because well, she had to. 20 episodes of watching the same dishes presented the same way – the only difference being the main ingredients. Classic recipe tests where the young chefs had never heard of the dishes, much less cooked or eaten them and 20 episodes of having to watch Gregg shovelling food into his mouth. Not pretty.

But you know, tonight, the first of the semi finals. One assumes, before watching, that these guys will know how to cook and cook well. They will, for an instance, be able to cook vegetables, manage a crepe or some lemon curd. Phrases like ‘expecting perfection’ , ’skill and commitment’ and ‘great chefs’ are bandied about by the narrator. Lets hope we’re not disappointed.

In this semi-final, the chefs begin their day at a central London restaurant, Roussillon. I quite like these bits – they are not, as is the case with sleb masterchef, somewhere crummy, they are at a proper establishment. I love a nose inside a professional kitchen, as all my readers know, I particularly love to watch what happens in a michelin starred restaurant kitchen. The chef is French (so much the better).There is  Lady Chef and  Boy Chef. We want the girl to do better(natch). They are in charge  of making a cheffy dish each. Girl chef messes up a touch (cue sonorous music and narration of ‘Marianne needs to focus’). Switch to Boy Chef, narrator reliably informs us that Boy Chef  ‘needs to cook his egg perfectly’ – thanks for stating the bleeding obvious for us there, eh? Anyway, Boy chef overcooks his egg. Quelle horreur! More confusing editing. More moments of tension. Onto the money shot – quite posh patrons in the dining room. Unlike with Gregg we don’t have to watch them shovel it in. The customers liked it. Hurrah. Onto post mortem. It was stressful. No, really? To cut a long story shorter, the boy won. Boy Chef and Lady Chef then go head to head to cook a truffle risotto. The Girl chef won that one. So what have we learnt? Well, you know.

Back to the studio, where they have an hour to cook a suitably cheffy meal for Gr-Egg and Michel. Oh no! Michel wants to see their hearts on the plate! Michel is expecting the best.. ohh.. lets hope Boy Chef doesn’t make him a risotto then.. Gr-Egg asks Lady Chef how much effort she is putting into this competition. I am not sure I understand the question. Anyone want to respond by yawning, stretching and mumbling ‘mmh…20%’ and turning their back on him? I have to go and put the kettle on now. I can’t stand any more of this inanity.

They love the way Lady Chef’s food tastes. But it’s too simple. Boy Chef hasn’t cooked his beans, and his starter lacks flavour (Michel was expecting the best, remember) His main course tastes good but it’s not right. Surely, surely this means Lady Chef goes through? There is some meaningless ‘conversation’ (the judging conversation is often so disjointed and strangely edited its impossible to tell they’re in the same room) and it doesn’t matter what Gr-Egg says anyway, does it. Whether it’s shouty chef John or chef Michel, they make the call. After all, what is he? A green grocer. After a long, X-factor stylee pause, Lady Chef goes through. Bon. Gr-Egg says, ‘Everything she touches, tastes like its been cooked by an angel’. I nearly choke on my lemsip. Fade to black.

The First Million Years or So

600 Years of Unwanted Guests

Middle Ages and the Turn of Provence

Wars of Religion and Hocus Pocus Popes

Oppression, Resistance, Quel Renaissance!

Debating The Age of Bad Taste ou Epoch Classique?

Post-War brings Socialist Mitterand and the Revival of Occitan

The Joys of Being French, Oui or N’est Pas?

C’est La Vie in The South of France

Santon Fairs in the Var et Renoir at Les Collettes

Columns, Columns, Columns and a Bridge

Troubadours Cansos, Love Story, La Californie of Europe

Hug the road winding the Cote d’Azur

Bordeaux, Beaujolais, frescoes in Peille

Sailing to Promenade du Soleil

Down the Rhone: Orange to Beaucaire

Malabar’s bulging biceps swell

Jagged Alpilles, rocky plains of the Crau, marshlands of the Camargue

For the Rhone is a Saturdays Child

On to Nimes, the Gard and Montpellier

Le Vin’s de Herault and Agde founded by the ancient Greeks

Narbonne, the Corbieres and the Aude, Castles and Cathedrals abound

Last but not least, there’s the Catalans of Roussillon

Getting There

By Air, By Coach, By Car, By Train

By Boat, By Bus, By Bicycling

The Song of Summer, Cicadas tune

Siesta under pine trees and game of boules

Tender is the Night with starry skies

Bouillabaisse, Aioli, Thirteen desserts

Estocaficada and onion tart

Before Laying a Bet, will it be

Holiday Destination or Life on the Riviera?

Like the Fitzgerald’s and Hemingway’s

You will not be the first to stay

Avec votre coeur dans la méditerranéenne.

If you are in the mood for fine French wine and food, you should consider the Languedoc-Roussillon region of south central France. Who knows you may find a bargain, and I hope that you’ll have fun on this fact-filled wine education tour in which we review a local red Merlot.

Languedoc-Roussillon is the largest of France’s eleven wine-growing regions and ranks number fourth in the vineyard acreage. This area that includes the Midi was infamous for producing immense amounts of somewhat dubious table wine called vin ordinaire. Recently, thanks in part to flying Australian wine makers, the region has started to produce a lot of fine wine. Like Alsace, and unlike most other regions of France, many Languedoc-Roussillon wines, such as the one reviewed below, are identified by their constituent grape variety on the label.

This lovely region has a varied terrain. For example, Languedoc is mostly flat; in contrast Roussillon is hilly. Several areas take advantage of their unique combination of microclimate and soil (terroir) to produce one or more local AOC (Appellation d’Origine Controle) wines. You can expect to pay more for these wines than for their generic cousins. Sooner or later we will review at least one of these wines in our series. Languedoc-Roussillon has almost 50 AOC wine appellations; red, white, rosé, sparkling, and sweet. This diversity is not surprising given that the region grows over 30 grape varieties including Merlot, the single most important grape variety in Bordeaux.

Perpignan, settled first in Roman times, was founded over a millennium ago. It was the capital of Roussillon. Unlike most of the other cities and towns mentioned in this series, Perpignan rose up against French rule. Even though it lost the battle, France ceded it to Spain for several decades. You won’t have to look far to see Spanish influence. Salvador Dali, arguably one of Spain’s greatest modern artists, called its train station the center of the universe and said that he got his best ideas sitting in its waiting room. So it’s no surprise that a monument honoring Dali hangs above the station. Other sites to see include the historic downtown near the docks of the Basse River, the fortified Palais des Rois de Majorca (Palace of the Kings of Majorca), Le Castillet a former prison, and the Cathedrale St-Jean (Cathedral of St. John the Baptist). Sad to say you can no longer visit the city walls; they were demolished over a century ago to let a growing city expand.

The Mediterranean fishing village of Collioure is a major tourist attraction especially during the summer months. To a large extent it was made famous by Henri Matisse and other Fauve painters of times gone by. You’ll be happy to know that the view hasn’t changed much. It’s hardly surprising that this little village, population under three thousand, is a favorite of artists. Make sure to see the old port, the Seventeenth Century Notre-Dame-des-Anges (Our Lady of the Angels) Church and the Thirteenth Century Château Royal (Royal Castle) once the summer home of the kings of Majorca.

Before reviewing the Languedoc-Roussillon wine and imported cheeses that we were lucky enough to purchase at a local wine store and a local Italian food store, here are a few suggestions of what to eat with indigenous wines when touring this beautiful region. Start with Roque Anchois (Anchovies with Tomato, Spices, Vinegar, and Olive Oil). For your second course savor Tagine de Lotte (Monkfish Stew). And as dessert indulge yourself with Crème Catalan (Crème brûlée with Orange Flower and Aniseed).

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed Domaine des Aspes Merlot 2003 13% about $14

Let’s start by quoting the marketing materials. An attractive Merlot from the warm 2003 vintage. The aromas suggest ripe plum, blackberry and a hint of tar. It is dry, quite rich and supple with a long, balanced finish. Match barbecued steak.

My first meal was take out. It consisted of chicken breast with the skin on, potato salad, and a somewhat spicy tomato, red pepper, and garlic salad. No, I didn’t buy this last salad in the Midi. At the first taste the wine was excellent: It was quite round and rich with some tobacco and plenty of dark fruit. You know the old story about never getting a second chance to make a first impression. No need. I think that the Merlot’s length and level of complexity kept it from competing in a totally different price range. I wasted some wine by pairing it with a quite unorthodox partner, fresh pineapple. No surprise, the two didn’t mesh.

The next meal consisted of a stove-top home cooked chicken breast with a somewhat spicy tomato sauce, accompanied by white rice and green beans. As previously this wine was quite powerful tasting of tobacco and dark fruit.

Of course I did want to try this wine with red meat. I went for hamburgers and the fixings. Once again it was a success. The Merlot was long and round and clearly presented the taste of tobacco. Let me remind you that I am not now and have never really been a smoker. I don’t go looking for a tobacco taste but I do like it in a wine, if not overdone. In all cases I was pleased with its tobacco taste. The wine was fairly chewy and quite pleasant. I finished the meal and then enjoyed the final sips of wine.

My first cheese pairing was with a goat’s milk cheese, a Palet de Chevre from the Poitou Charentes region of central-western France. This cheese resembled a Camembert more than a goat’s milk cheese. While this wine was less forward than when accompanying the meals, I’d call it subtle rather than flat. I got the taste of plums. The second cheese was a Swiss Gruyere. The wine was intense; the wine’s fruit and the Gruyere’s nuttiness went well together. I usually limit my tastings to imported cheese but I found a real favorite of mine, a local Asiago that I prefer to its Italian cousin and to most cheeses that I have eaten recently. The wine remained powerful and fruity with a good level of acidity. Black plums are good, but I don’t think that they were ever this good. Final verdict. Can you guess? Will the next bottle be as good? I’ll follow my instincts and the marketing notes and try it with barbecued steak.

As promised, a recap of last weekend:

I spent last Saturday on a planned excursion with the rest of my program in the Luberon region of Provence, made famous by the British author Peter Mayle. We started in Lourmarin where we toured a château and checked out the markets and cafés. We also saw the grave of Albert Camus there, which was a bit of a surprise for the group. Bonnieux (a small village on top of a mountain with an incredible view) was our lunch destination and Roussillon the final stop. There, we took a tour of an ochre quarry. I felt like I was in Arizona or Utah – very surprising and nothing like the rest of the Provençal terrain. The day was a little too long and a little too tiring but it was great to see a different style of life that is still quintessentially (Southern) French.

On Sunday 5 (American) friends and I took a bus from Aix to Marseille, where I will be living from Janurary through May. As we drove in from the north I thought, “Ahhh. Now THIS feels like a real city.” Even on a Sunday, the place had a pulse that I hadn’t been exposed to since the last time I was in downtown Chicago, over a month ago. Marseille also differs from Aix in ethnic makeup. I’m pretty sure that I heard more people speaking Arabic than French while walking the streets on Sunday.

We walked to the Vieux Port, which is the traditional tourist heart of the city (for good reason) and from there decided to try and find a beach. We succeeded, finding a small but free beach facing the Château D’If, made famous for its role in “The Count of Monte Cristo.” Content in the knowledge that I had 5 more months to explore the city, I returned to Aix.

Another unforgettable weekend, comme d’habitude ici.

nguedoc Languedoc – Roussillon wines, launched their own Sommelier of the Year competition in London.

” First : 26-year-old Romain Henry of Gordon Ramsay’s Maze who captivated the judges with his passion, professionalism and the magic he wove on stage. It was, however, a very close call between him and Marc-Andrea Levy of Murano, another Ramsay establishment, who also showed enormous competence and charm. Both young men clearly have exciting potential and Mr Ramsay should be proud of them. Rebecca Skinner of Green & Blue Wines came in third with her superior technical knowledge.”  Read more about it on Jancis Robinson’s blog: Gordon’s boys triumph

Marc-Andrea – Rebecca – Romain.

Los vinos del Languedoc – Roussillon organizan en Londres su competicion de “Sommelier of the year”.

” Primero: Romain Henry de 26 anos , del restaurante Maze del Gordon Ramsay. Mucha passion, profesionalidad i magia en su présentacion. Marc-Andrea Levy del restaurante Murano llego secundo. Tambien mucha competencia, i placer al comentar estos vinos.  Marc-Andrea i Romain trabajan en restaurantes del Gordon Ramsay.  Tercera tambien con un conocimiento muy bueno de la zona i de los vinos Rebecca Skinner de “Green & blue WInes”  Mas informaciones el el blog de Jancis Robinson : Gordon’s boys triumph

Marc- Andrea Levy fué el primero Sommelier de un restaurante estrelllado en Londres  a pedir S’Alqueria !!

IVO

The wines of Bulli-land
31 Aug 2009 by Jancis Robinson
“Having spent quite a substantial part of 21 consecutive summers in the  western Languedoc, we are finding ourselves straying south of the  Spanish border with increasing frequency – mainly to enjoy the much  more varied and sophisticated food that’s available there.  Cassoulet  v El Bulli acolytes sprinkled liberally over the Costa Brava basically  – not much of a contest.  See, for example, Richard Neville’s recent  review of  Ca l’Enric in Your views.

The wines made in the very far north-eastern corner of Spain, in the  DO Empordà, have also been improving quite considerably. This steep,  traditionally terraced, often schistous wine country on the  Mediterranean coast is only just over the border from Banyuls in  Roussillon, and in parts the rocks look not unlike the llicorella of  Priorat, and are far from a million miles from those of the Agly Valley.

The most impressive wine I have come across from this part of the  world is the first vintage of a new enterprise, S’Alqueria 2006  Empordà. Ivo Pagès, pictured here wearing the traditional Catalan  baratina (described by him as having a similar status as a kilt in  Scotland) at a wedding,

was brought up in the wild hills, mainly  National Park, in the hinterland of Cadaquès, just round a rocky  headland from El Bulli. With experience from wineries all over Europe,  he began work on older vineyards in his homeland and this is the  result.  It is the most sophisticated blend of very old Samsó (Carignan) and Grenache Noir from Rabos, and 18-year-old Petit Verdot  and old Macabeo from Villajuiga. The result is a 13.5% subtle red  blend with considerable minerality and a whiff of the sea. It’s not  cheap, alas.  Planet of the Grapes in London want £37.50 for a bottle.  Also in London, Philglas & Swiggot are listed as stockists on Pagès  information-rich website in four languages. But the wine is certainly  classed-growth standard, and really distinctive. It’s also on the list  at restaurants such as The Greenhouse Restaurant* , UMU* and Pied à Terre**,  apparently. Look out for a new style of red he is developing in tandem  with this most serious wine.

Ivo’s top new restaurant tip in his area, by the way is the Miramar in  Port Llanca which now has an ex Bulli chef installed.  We have had two  excellent lunches at the slightly more traditional Els Pescadores right on the marina where the sommelier is a delight.”

Jancis…thanks for your support and the people I work with: growers, wholesalers, restaurants, retail shops…. They had the guts tom buy my wine without knowing me, or with any media support. they just liked it  and that’s the beauty. It just confort me on the quality potential of wines from Emporda D.O.

Follow Jancis Robinson’s news on wine and food: JancisRobinson.com, for people who love good wine

IVO

A woman who threw her thong (or was it a g-string?) at a judge in court has been arrested and taken into police custody.

The thirtysomething woman was sitting in the public gallery at Perpignan magistrates court yesterday afternoon when she stood up and started shouting at the judge…

“Justice de merde! Vous (ne) servez à quoi, c’est la croisière, (on) s’amuse?”

In other words, “This is crap justice. What are you playing at? Are you having a laugh?”

Mind you, in the local newspaper (see below) she was also politely abbreviated to “Justice de m…!”

"She throws her string at the face of the judge"

Eurovision thong contest

(OK, I simply couldn’t resist a punny heading here) She then pulled the thong out of her handbag and threw it across the room at the judge’s face.

As Midi Libre’s Perpignan edition puts it this morning, “It’s a ‘gift’ more customary for rock stars than judges.” As in Tom Jones and the late Joe Dolan perhaps.

She was immediately aprehended and taken into custody at Perpignan’s cop shop for contempt of court. I blame the recent hot weather.

But it all begs the question – what was the case in the court at the time all about?

• See also: Perpignan’s smelly socks election scandal

If you have an urge for fine French wine and food, why not consider the Languedoc-Roussillon region of south central France. Who knows, you may even find a bargain, and I am sure that you’ll enjoy yourself on this fact-filled wine education tour in which we review a local white Viognier.

Among France’s eleven wine-growing regions the Languedoc-Roussillon is the largest in actual area and ranks fourth in acreage planted in wine grapes. This area, which includes the Midi, was once known for producing huge quantities of questionable quality wine called vin ordinaire. Now, however, in part due to the influence of Australian winemakers, the region is producing more and more fine wine. Unlike most other regions of France, many Languedoc-Roussillon wines, such as the one reviewed below, are identified by their grape variety on the label.

It’s a mistake to think of this region as being uniform. For example, Languedoc is mostly flat, but Roussillon tends to be hilly. In addition, several areas with their own unique combination of microclimate and soil (terroir) produce their own AOC (Appellation d’Origine Controle) wines, which tend to be more expensive. Sooner or later we’ll be looking at some of these wines in our series. Languedoc-Roussillon claims nearly 50 AOC wine appellations; covering the entire range, red, white, rosé, sparkling, and sweet. This diversity is not surprising when you consider that the region grows over 30 grape varieties.

About forty years ago the Viognier grape came close to extinction. At that time it was restricted to France with a grand total of about 35 acres. Times have changed and this grape is now grown in California, Italy, Australia, Chile, and Canada, with more countries on the way. The classic Viognier wines come from the Northern Rhone Valley of eastern France, but we probably won’t be reviewing them because of their limited availability and high cost.

Of course the Languedoc-Roussillon region has many places to visit. We’ll just focus on a single city, Carcassonne whose population is about 45 thousand. Talk about location. This city sits on a hilltop on the route linking the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. It’s quite close to the Spanish border. Small wonder that it dates back well over two thousand years. The Romans fortified it about 100 BC. Carcassonne has the longest standing city walls in all of Europe. Its name comes from Dame Carcas, who fed the last of the city’s wheat to a pig in clear view of the French Emperor Charlemagne. He mistakenly believed that the besieged city was in no danger of starvation, and called off the siege.

The Aude River divides the fortified upper town, La Cité, from the newer lower town, La Basse Ville. The upper town is basically closed to private cars. Upper town sites worth seeing include the Bascilica of Sainte Nazaire, Museum of Chivalry, Arms and Archery, the Fortress, and the Museum of the Middle Ages, focusing on military history. The lower town has a fine arts museum and, in season (April to mid-November), an Australian Animal Preserve with kangaroos and emus.

Before reviewing the Languedoc-Roussillon wine and imported cheeses that we were lucky enough to purchase at a local wine store and a local Italian food store, here are a few suggestions of what to eat with indigenous wines when touring this beautiful region. Start with Huitres de Bouzigues (Oysters from Bouzigues). For your second course savor Bourride (Fish with Aïoli, a local mayonnaise). And as dessert indulge yourself with Creme Colane (Dessert Cream with Lemon, Vanilla, and Dill Seed).

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed Domaine des Salices Viognier 2005 13% about $12

Let’s start by quoting the marketing materials. During the last ten years or so, the Viognier grape has been quite successful in the vineyards of Languedoc-Roussillon (a.k.a., Midi). Once confined to vineyards in northern Rhône, today Viognier is thriving not just in the Midi, but throughout other warm climate regions around the world. Enjoy this fruity, low acid, aromatic wonder with lightly spiced seafood dishes, turkey breast or grilled salmon.

My first meal consisted of baked chicken leg with the skin on in a medley of spices (garlic, onion, cumin, and uncharacteristically tame Moroccan Harissa), rice, and green beans. I tasted apples, pears, and something floral tasting in this wine. I liked the acidity and the way that it cut the tasty grease of the chicken skin. The wine was a good accompaniment to fresh pineapple. I tried an off-the-wall combination by finishing my glass with jalapeno roasted almonds. The wine went dead. I don’t blame the Viognier for this mismatch.

The next meal was an omelet with brown mushrooms, red onions, and American cheese (a mistake). The Viognier was moderately acidic and just a bit sweet with the taste of light fruits. Frankly, I preferred sipping the wine to this combination. There is a well-known rule when pairing a wine to dessert: make sure that the wine is sweeter than the dessert. I broke the rule with a homemade cheesecake that simply denatured the wine. On the other hand, the wine held up better with a homemade chocolate cake that wasn’t as sweet.

My final meal was vegetarian. There was a moderately spicy broccoli mushroom sort of quiche that contained no cheese. The wine was very refreshing and almost ethereal. The other dish was a sweet potato, olive, and rustic potato concoction held together by crushed crackers. The wine was somewhat less exciting than before but still fine. As often with vegetarian meals, I was still hungry. Always on the lookout for an unconventional pairing, I tried dried, lightly sweetened cranberries. They killed the wine. Why stop there? Candy-coated peanuts went better. The peanuts increased the wine’s acidity and I went back for seconds.

The first cheese was a goat’s milk cheese, a Palet de Chevre from the Poitou Charentes region of central-western France. This cheese looked and tasted more like a Camembert than like a goat’s milk cheese. But the wine was quite fruity and pleasant with it. My next cheese was a Swiss Gruyere with a nutty taste. As previously the wine was fruity and a bit acidic. Just before the wine and cheese tasting I went to the local supermarket. On the cheese shelf was a local Asiago, a sharp cheese originally from northern Italy. Usually I don’t taste local cheeses with these wines, but because I actually preferred this local Asiago to the imported version, I thought that I’d make an exception. The combination was quite good; the wine came out fruity and lightly acidic. Slices of fresh tomato perked it up even more.

Final verdict. I liked this wine and intend to buy it again, even more so at its relatively low price. I’ll let you in on a secret; this is the first Viognier wine that I liked to any extent. I plan to taste other Viognier wines in this series. I don’t promise that I’ll try the top-of-the-line offerings from the northern Rhone Valley; they are quite pricey.

If you really feel like fine French wine and food, why don’t you take a look at the Languedoc-Roussillon region of south central France. Who knows, you may find a bargain, and I really think that you’ll have fun on this fact-filled wine education tour in which we review a local red Pinot Noir.

Languedoc-Roussillon holds fourth place among the eleven wine-growing regions of France when it comes to total vineyard acreage. This area, which includes the Midi was infamous for its overproduction of poor quality table wine called vin ordinaire. Recently, in part because of Australian winemakers, the region has started to produce a lot of fine wine. A few weeks ago a salesman offering free samples greeted me at my nearby wine store. While I had no intention of reviewing still one more Languedoc-Roussillon wine so soon after the two others, I was particularly intrigued by this wine’s classification and its grape variety.

The wine bottle proudly displayed a sticker proclaiming its Gold ranking in a national contest for Vin de Pays (Country Wines) in 2006. You may recall from the initial article in this series (I Love French Wine and Food – Launching a Series) that Vin de Pays is a relatively recent French classification for wines of promise that for one reason or another don’t meet the stricter requirements of the presumably better classifications. Although nearly one third of all French wine is classified as Vin de Pays they are few and far between in North America. I smelled a potential bargain.

The grape variety was Pinot Noir. I saw a quite exhaustive list of Languedoc-Roussillon grape varieties with more than thirty entries, some famous, others obscure. Pinot Noir was absent, surely not by oversight. Pinot Noir is usually a cool-weather grape grown in areas like Champagne and Burgundy in France, and the state of Oregon. In our various article series we reviewed Pinot Noirs from non-traditional areas including Germany, Italy, and France (Alsace). We’ll see below how a Languedoc-Roussillon Pinot Noir stacks up.

Narbonne, population about fifty thousand, was a major city in the days of Ancient Roman. Sadly little of its Roman past remains. You’ll have to be satisfied with “modern” sites such as the Fourteenth Century Cathedrale St-Just-et-St-Pasteur (St-Just’s and St-Pasteur’s Cathedral), the tallest cathedral in all of southern France. Nearby is the Palais des Archeveques (Archbishop’s Palace) that houses art and archeology museums. If you’re feeling ambitious climb the almost two hundred steps in the dungeon for a prisoner’s eye view of the surroundings. The sculpture museum in the former church Notre Dame de la Mourguie displays Roman and Gallic treasures of all sorts. The twenty-two kilometer (fifteen mile) Robine Canal, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, flows into the much longer Canal du Midi (Midi Canal), similarly classified. Charles Trenet, a famous French singer and songwriter was born in Narbonne. While Leon Blum, three time French Prime Minister was born in Paris but it was Narbonne that elected him to Parliament.

Before reviewing the Languedoc-Roussillon wine and imported cheeses that we were lucky enough to purchase at a local wine store and a local Italian food store, here are a few suggestions of what to eat with indigenous wines when touring this beautiful region. Start with Gambas (Prawns). For your second course savor Loup en Papillote (Sea Bass cooked in Foil). And as dessert indulge yourself with Peches à la Minervoise (White Peaches with Muscat Wine and Raisins).

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed Partiarche Pinot Noir Vin de Pays 2004 12% about $9

Let’s start by quoting the marketing materials. Tasting Note: Pale ruby color; light cherry and spice aromas, sweet fresh cherry flavour, soft finish. Serving suggestion: Serve with cold roast beef.

My first meal consisted of cold beef spare ribs with cracked peppercorns, potato salad, and cucumber and onion salad. My initial reaction was – I can’t believe a Pinot Noir at this price. Its light acid did a great job of cutting the congealed fat. It was shorter and less complex than other Pinot Noirs that cost a lot, lot more.

The next meal was cold barbequed chicken with cucumber and onion salad, and potato salad. There was a lot of extract and quite a good length. I tasted tobacco and dark fruits.

The final meal involved grilled hamburgers with spicy Thai sauce, a coleslaw advertised as a health coleslaw – whatever that means, and once again potato salad. In this case when they said spicy they meant spicy. The sauce was too assertive; I had to remove most of it. While I like spices I want the wine to be there. Once that problem was solved the wine was fine. In place of the sweet cherries that I had been promised I tasted black cherries. I was not disappointed. I also tasted the underbrush and that didn’t disappoint me either.

My first cheese pairing was with a local Asiago cheese that I prefer to the native Italian versions that I have tried. Perhaps in Italy… In response this Pinot Noir was powerful with dark fruit. Then I went to a goat’s milk cheese, a Palet de Chevre from the Poitou Charentes region of central-western France. I might have guessed that the cheese was a Camembert rather than a goat’s milk cheese. Be that as it may, the wine became too acidic and lost its flavor. Then I paired the Pinot Noir with a nutty tasting Swiss Gruyere. At first the same phenomenon occurred, but later became less pronounced. I thought that perhaps the wine was starting to decline, but I finished the bottle on its own and the fruit came back in force.

Final verdict. We have a winner. We have a bargain. The two are related. At twice the price I wouldn’t bother. But at the present price I’ll be coming back. And I’ll be looking for another Vin de Pays to try soon.

Roussillon entre Luberon et Monts de Vaucluse est situé au cœur du plus important gisement d’ocre du monde, ses couleurs se déclinent du violet sombre jusqu’au jaune, en une gamme complète de rouges, de roses et d´oranges. L’ocre provient d’un passé marin, longtemps exploitée en carrière puis rendue à la nature.