Chateau Peyrassol & Domaine Peyrassol

Hey everyone,

This week, I had the opportunity to try a few wines which do not often chance to cross my path. Being that I work in a well supplied wine shop, I get the chance to taste a lot of nice wines and some very interesting ones as well. That said, I am somewhat limited by my own selection and do not often taste outside our range. Coming home however, I am often presented with some really interesting bottles selected by my elder brother, who has developed an eclectic taste.

Among the selected wines were a pair of Provençal roses, from the same producer; Domaine Peyrassol, one being a standard affordable rose and the other a bit more elegant and classy.

The first wine, simply named for the Domaine, was fruity, fresh and pleasant.  Accompanying burgers and hot dogs off the barbecue, it was perfectly suited to the occasion.  Not too powerfully fruity, with a good profile of strawberry and raspberry, it was balanced by a nice level of acidity.  A hint of tart cranberries came through as well on the finish giving it a touch of complexity in an otherwise simple, straightforward wine.

The second wine was definitely intended to be a more structured and refined style, but I'm not so sure it really lived up to that standard. Instead of a bright pinkish colour, the Chateau Peyrassol was decidedly more of a silvery salmon hue with a beautiful luminescent character in the glass. The nose was refined and balanced a moderate fruitiness with a hint of spice and herbs (perhaps a bit more mourvedre in this blend).


It wasn't quite as good of a match with the big rack of spicy barbecue ribs and ended up serving the same purpose as a glass of cold water. Although I prefer the more restrained style of rose that this wine displayed, it just didn't stand up to the food and could have done with a bit more fruitiness and acidity. In essence this wine's own classy character got in the way of it being a good pair, but on its own it was a delightful glass of wine.

Personally, I preferred the cheapie for the enjoyment factor.

As neither of these wines are what I would consider overly expensive, both being in the sweet spot between £9-20, I would consider them both bargains and good wines for the price and their class. Alongside many wines from the south of France making it to our shelves they offer good quality for their price. I'm a huge fan, and I think they deserve more attention as the daily drinking quality wines they are.

I hope you're all drinking well these days, whether you're enjoying the cool summer weather in Britain or the sweltering heat in America, where I am right now. Sometimes a nice cheap, fruity rose is exactly what the doctor ordered.

Much love,

G

Champagne Visit #2- Pol Roger

Hey everyone,

So today I am writing about a trip which may have been the most enchanting experience since I began my journey in wine. For four years, that is ever since I began competitive wine tasting in St. Andrews, I have been aware of the champagne house, Pol Roger. I have ever since been a huge fan of this house, mostly because it sponsored the competition which I have been so fortunate to have been a part of. I only came around to champagne as a wine style in the last two years and having done so, my experience at the actual Maison of Pol Roger went from delightfully enjoyable to truly sublime.

Without the same cache enjoyed by names such as Moët & Chandon, Bollinger and Roederer, Pol Roger is a relatively small production compared with the bigger names known around the world. It has always produced for the British market, which is more interested in the richer flavours of the more mature wine included in Pol Roger's wines. That maturity, which extends to its vintage wines as they are often among the last champagne houses to release their vintages, definitely sets them apart. When I first came round to champagne, I noticed the richness and purity of green and light red fruits in their basic wine. As someone not necessarily in the know on champagne, that says a lot. It is appealing. It is delicious champagne.

Their style extends beyond the wine in the bottle, which is exceptional of course. They are a house of great generosity and dedication, which clearly translates into the final product. They care about their wine, their traditions and their customers as well as the experience and context with which we engage their wine. We walked through the cellars, cut deep into the chalk earth beneath the house, cellars which wind for kilometres housing decades of wine, some bottles over a hundred and twenty years old. The history of it all truly strikes the imagination of the visitor.

Believe it or not, Pol even has an element of mystery within its vaults. A semi collapsed cellar beneath the house itself has entombed a vast number of bottles sealed off forever. There it will remain, for excavation of the cellar would lead to the collapse of the house above. Like a Champagne version of Rosslyn Chapel's role in the Da Vinci Code, this vault could contain some of the oldest champagnes ever made by Pol Roger to bestill in existence. According to a member of the family, the characterful Hubert de Billy, the storage conditions would be perfect so the is no reason that the wine should not be perfectly maintained.

Whilst there, we were allowed to try an excellent array of the house's wines. The full range of Non-vintage including the Rich Demi-sec, the Pure extra-brut and the standard reserve all showed excellently, with the Rich being a delightful accompaniment to desert, and the pure serving as a wonderfully appetising wine on its own. The vintages (in particular Sir Winston Churchill) were all excellent and really beautiful wines, but the stars of the range, for yours truly, was the one-two punch of the Blanc des Blancs 1999 and the 2004 vintage Rose. The former being a stellar wine by any standards, and the Rose giving me a great surprise, showing me that a rose can be among my favourite wines; a supposition which I would not have believed before this past week? For a more detailed description of the wines themselves, have a look at my good friend's blog for his analysis.



In short, I firmly believe Pol Roger to be the best champagne on the market, for all around satisfaction. Each wine in the range filled a purpose perfectly and some were truly stunning to be sure. For hospitality, Pol is generous beyond reasonable expectations and even if their wines were not truly magnificent, which they are, they would have a loyal customer for life in this wine lover.

I hope you get a chance to try out some of the amazing wines by Pol Roger especially this summer in the sunshine. What better way to watch Wimbledon than with a great bottle of bubbly? I can think of none!

Much Love,

G.

P.S. Cogratulations to the St. Andrews Tasting team on winning this trip. It was well deserved. As for you Ranald... Congratualtions on successfully free loading. It was great to have this last experience with you all at the sunset of my university career! Thank you for the experiences my friends! Good luck next year!