I coined the theme “unglamorous” because we were decidedly NOT drinking wines that are highly sought after and outrageously expensive. All but one of the bottles were under $20. And, I also chose wines that were made from relatively unknown grapes, indigenous to these specific regions of France. I get to check off ten more grapes for Century Club!
There are, in my mind, four unglamorous areas of France: Savoie, Jura, Provence and Southwest France. is in the Eastern part of the country, near the city of Lyon. It’s a mountainous region that produces far more white wine than red. is in the remote hills north of Savoie and grows a lot of the Burgundy grapes, pinot noir and chardonnay, and has always produced a lot of sparkling wine. Provence (which is otherwise known as glamourous, though not for its wines) is the southeastern corner of the country, situated on the Mediterranean Sea. It is most well known for rosé wines. Southwest France is reserved for the southwestern portion of the country near Spain. Here the Bordeaux grapes reign, and Cahors and Gaillac are some of the most well known, and historic, regions here.
Armed with a list of grapes we were to taste and their descriptions (from the Oxford Companion to Wine and included below), we set off the see if we could match the grapes to the wines (which we tasted blind). Easier said than done. Here’s what we tasted:
Wine 1- From JuraCaveau du Mont July Bugey Cerdon Rosé $15.99
It was a light orange colored sparkling wine made from poulsard and gamay (which was the one red grape we’d all had before). It was pretty sweet and very fruity. A great appertif and one of the favorites of the evening. Poulsard is a relatively rare grape of the Jura region, it is dark and has adapted to its very particular climate and soils. Produces lightly colored wine with a distinguishing perfume. Gamay, most well known for being the sole grape in Beaujolais, it is the most planted red grape variety in the Savoie.
Wine 2- From Savoie2009 Domaine Frederic Giachino "Monfarina" Vin de Savoie Abymes $12.99
A light and refreshing wine with good acid and a little citrus, though not as polished as I prefer wine in this style (think Alsatian Riesling). Made from Jacquere, a common white grape in the Savoie that produces lightly scented, essentially alpine dry wine.
Wine 3- From Southwest France2008 Clos Lapeyre Jurancon $14.99
This wine smelled like a white rhone style wine and tasted a bit tart with a hint of vanilla. It had an acidic backbone, but was just a bit odd. Made from , a white grape that looks similar to, but is not petit manseng (and has an unfortunate name!). Provides generous yields and produces wine that is less elegant, less rich but still powerful. (*A sight to see, by the way, a French wine with a screwcap!)
Wine 4- From Provence2008 Saint André de Figuière "Valerie" Côtes de Provence Blanc $15.99
I thought this wine had very little nose, but was powerful in flavor and tasted of lanolin (from the semillon). A blend of three grapes, rolle, an aromatic and crisp grape that is often blended with southern French varieties such as Viognier, Rousanne, Marsanne and Grenache Blanc; semillon, and ugni blanc, which is also known as Trebbiano in Italy. It is France’s most planted white grape variety. Extraordinary high yields and acidity, it is “undistinguished”. Or, one might say, unglamorous.
Wine 5- From Savoie2009 Domaine Frederic Giachino "Altesse" Roussette de Savoie $14.99
This wine had a great nose, smelling of sweet peaches and honey. It tasted very much like a white rhone. Made from , Savoie’s finest white grape variety, once known at Roussette. Produces relatively exotically perfumed with with good acidity and is worth aging.
Wine 6- From Provence2009 Château Miraval "Clara Lua" Côteaux Varois en Provence Blanc $15.99
My favorite wine of the evening. A little floral with minerality and a bit of sweetness on the nose. This wine also had bite. I probably liked it so much because I’ve found myself really enjoying the relatively new vintages of grenache blanc from California. It was a blend of grenache blanc and rolle. Rolle was the only grape that made its way into two of the wines for the evening.
Wine 7- From Savoie2009 A et M Quenard Chignin Mondeuse $24.99
This wine smelled sweet in a plastic way. It was odd. Made from mondeuse noire, which is one of the oldest and most distinctive red grapes of the Savoie. Wines are juicy and peppery with powerful flavors and colors and do not respond well to oak aging.
Wine 8- From Southwest France2008 Château Cahuzac Fronton $10.99
This wine was a bit unfortunate. It smelled funky. We even noticed that after dumping what remained in our glasses a scent lingered. One of B.O. Yep, don’t want to drink any more of that! Made of negrette, a black grape variety that produces supple, perfumed and flirtatious wine best drunk young. Sometimes described as having a slightly animal (sweaty human?!), or violet, flavor, unsuppressed by heavy oak aging.
Wine 9- From Southwest France2008 Domaine Tres Cantous "Le Duras" Gaillac $15.99
This wine was skunky on the nose. It had lots of acid with an herbal kick. I wrote in my notes “not very tasty”. Enough said. Made from , perhaps the oldest vine variety still used in the once-famous red wines of Gaillac. Produces deeply colored and lively wine with a full body. Vines that bud early give the wines good structure and acidity.
Wine 10- From Southwest France2006 Domaine Berthoumieu "Charles de Batz" Madiran $19.99
We all thought this wine smelled like cabernet sauvignon and had the tannins of a young cab. Turns out we were onto something, it was 10% cab. The other 90% was tannat, a distinctive, tough, deep black-berried vine variety. Inherent astringency leads to it often being blended with Cabernet Franc and some Cabernet Sauvignon and wood aging. Madiran is its noblest manifestation. This was the only red from the evening I would drink without complaint.
So, there was have it. Four French regions, 10 news grape varieties. I promised the group I’d choose a less obscure theme next time I hosted! And a valuable lesson for me: Stick to the glamorous regions in France for red wine!
