South of France

Consolation 2010 Juliette Roussanne Sauvage

Hey Everyone,

Today's message comes from a bit of frustration with the current wine market, in which it seems that the wines which once upon a time were good values are no longer affordable and the wines which were once obscure are becoming the value buys of our time.  There was once a time (two years ago) when I remember buying a decent Argentine Malbec for £4.99 and a good Australian shiraz for a fiver.  now, it seems that these cheap and cheerful wine regions have lost both the cheap and the cheerful.  So where does one go for a good bottle of wine these days?

I've become a bit of a bargain hunter since I've gotten my foot (ever so slightly) in the door of the wine trade and i've found that the traditional regions for good, cheap-ish wines no longer hold their titles very well.  You can't get a decent New Zealand Sauvignon for under £10 anymore nor can you find an acceptable Aussie Shiraz for the same.  As always, we must look to new horizons.  But one question we must ask is where that horizon may be... Bulgaria is becoming a premium wine region in it's own right, South Africa offers a few decent cheapies, and Chile offers the cheap (if not the cheerful) wines we crave.

The true value, my friends, lies in the south of France.  The regional 'vins de pays' offer superb value for money, spanning from budget wines with class, minerality and structure, to genuinely fine wines with so much potential and character that they could be mistaken for some cru classé Bordeaux.   Beauties like the Tramontane Macabeu and the Cuvée des Oliviers clock in under £8 and for under £15 you can find true gems like the Consolation Filles de Mai, and the Mas Christine range.

Like Jet Li in wine form.

There are also fine wines to be had for really great prices.  For amazing rosé have a look at anything Provençal, in particular Bandol rosé.  The Consolation Rosé Barriques made from 100% Mourvedre is stunning for it's depth, character and poise.  In every way it hangs with the some of best wines I've experienced.  However, my wine tonight is a Juliette 2010 Roussanne Sauvage and I have to say that it knocks the socks off anything else under £30.  It has everything going for it to the point where I believe that it has the potential to be my favourite bottle of wine considering it's price, style and versatility with food.

Anyone familiar with white Rhône varietals will know that Roussanne generally plays second fiddle to Marsanne and is a part of a punchy white blend.  This wine is big and full flavoured with lovely aromas of stewed peaches, overripe pears and a hint of flint alongside the oaky aromas of vanilla and clovey spice.  The palate is warm but not hot.  The alcohol is well balanced with the fruitiness and acidity and makes only the briefest of cameo appearances on the screen.  Overall it is an elegant ballet of flavours, silky texture and tantalising aromas.  It costs about £17 and is worth every penny of £30 for its elegance, beauty and overall finesse.  Try it sometime and I hope you will enjoy it.

I love the south of France.  It's wines are bountiful and wonderfully priced against the quagmire of over-priced sub-£20 Burgundy and Bordeaux.  They are dynamic and bold as well as elegant and balanced.  I hope your faith in the humble vin de pays will be reinvigorated.

Much Love,
G

P.S. for some great regional french wines try out these...

Around and under £10- Tramontane Grenache Gris, Tramontane Macabeu, Tramontane Grenache, Cuvée de Oliviers, Tramontane Cotes de Rousillon, Jean Luc- Colombo Rosé, Filles de Mai Macabeu, Wild Boar Syrah

Around £20- Juliette Roussanne Sauvage, Dog Strangler Mourvedre, Tempier Bandol, Chateau Thenac Bergerac,  Chateau Thenac Bergerac Blanc,

Traditions of Independence

Hey Everyone,

Today I'm writing about something a tad different than my usual subject matter.  I've stated many a time that I love the unselfconscious style of traditional wine makers who make the styles of wine consistent throughout the centuries.  But what does a producer do when there is relatively little history for their craft and they are more or less starting from scratch?  The answer is of course debatable and anyone can take their own line of argument.  For instance, some might say that they should find another tradition tried and true throughout the ages and adopt it as their own.  This has worked in Napa Valley, where some winemakers are making some of the most classic Burgundy-style chardonnay on the market.  But my answer is that they must look beyond their specific trade and find a native tradition and craft their art so that it stays as true as possible to the spirit of the people.

That spirit is nowhere better displayed than in the American industry of Craft brewing.  While the brewing trade has developed to a much more highly refined and diverse set of styles than it's original form as an offshoot of the 18th century British tradition, that can be put down merely to the fact that the years go on.  Quite simply, time moves forward and all things must develop.  Why then, is it that the american brewing industry made the great leap into craft brewing brewing and the population so readily embraced it as enthusiastically as they did?  in a country so set in it's ways as a light ('lite') lager drinking nation, how is it that thousands of microbreweries making such adventurous styles of beer gained such success?

I believe that it all comes down to the spirit of independence.  The American beer industry had the opportunity to be based upon the British style of bitters, or the German style of lager and in turn embraced those two, but in equal measure moved on to something more interesting.  Look at nearly every beer producing country in the world and historically the styles of beer produced was relatively monolithic.  That is why we have a certain image in our heads of Belgian beers as all looking like the three Chimay's or German Beers as looking more or less like variants of Erdinger.  I'm definitely not trashing the beer produced in these countries, I love Belgian Lambic and will no doubt one day write about it!

However, American microbreweries have no inhibitions.  Therefore, in the best and most original breweries, the head brewer will have designed his recipe because it was exactly the kind of beer he wanted to drink and it didn't exist.  It stems from a culture where making beer is fun.  Its like a grown-up-ish version of spin-art.  You throw in the ingredients and give it a couple goes until you realise that you can make some amazing stuff!

As I write this message to you, I am sitting here having a bottle of Hop Head Red by the Green Flash Co. based in San Diego.  It ticks my boxes in every way.  It's got a beautiful deep amber colour, which darkens into an opaque core.  Its aromas are pine needle-like, with a lot of fruitiness and some beautiful zest, like lemon peel.  It's fresh and pleasing with a great hoppy profile and upon sipping it, I get sweetness, richness, a thickness of body and texture followed by a drying hoppy bitter finish.  In short, it's a great red ale crossed with a great IPA.  It's a great example of the production of a style of ale that a brewer thought would be a good idea and, went ahead and made it.  The result is a complex, powerful beer that I now believe to be the single, perfect match for spicy Lamb Madras curry.

Because of this wonderfully independent style of beer production, I think that America has achieved the height of beer crafting and that it keeps true to the national spirit.  I believe that it is catching on elsewhere around the world, with micro-brewing movements in Scotland leaping forward.  Breweries such as Loch Fyne, Black Isle and Swannay as well as countless others are beautiful pockets of craft brewing leading the charge for independent brewing.  England as well is making some amazing beers these days with Kernel brewery miles ahead.

I think that in the way that Italy has it's rustic wines, which show off the spirit of the Italian countryside, America has it's craft beer.  For me, there is no bottled ambassador for america better than it's micro-brewed beers.  So go to your local beer shop and check out this great tradition of brewing.

Much Love,
G

For a few examples of some nice craft beers to check out, have a look at these:

USA: Green Flash Brewing Co., Sierra Nevada, Dogfish Head, Magic Hat, Stone, Great Divide, Aloha Brewing Co., Brooklyn Brewery and Anchor Brewing Co.

Scotland: Fyne Ales, Black Isle Brewery, Swannay, Orkney Brewery, Brew Dog, Luckie Ales, Stewart's Brewing, Williams Brothers, Traquair House, Strathaven and Houston

The list goes on!