France | WanderCurtis Wine

January 2, 2024
by WanderCurtis Leave a comment

Un petit Tour de France – harvest time 2023

The onset of 2024 has left me reflecting on my inherent Francophilia. This got the better of me towards the end of last year. I had been meaning to visit Alsace for years. It took so long partly because of my preference for red wine and more recently due to Covid.

My favourite varietal though is Gewürztraminer. This is very much a marmite love or hate grape. For me it’s love. The most textured, succulent, floral powerhouse of a wine I’ve ever tasted was a Matawherho Gewürztraminer from Gisborne in New Zealand. It was an early 1990’s vintage tasted at a masterclass with my boss of the time Dr David Durham at his home next to Cloudy Bay, Marlborough New Zealand in 1995.

The 1976 Hugel Gewürztraminer with a nose distinctly reminiscent of cannabis was a highlight of many years of wine tasting.

This grape has mesmerised me since. I also have great appreciation of the other white Alsatian varieties. Well made Pinot Gris is also beautifully textured and aromatic. Riesling whilst not my first go to drink due to its high acidity playing havoc with my gastrointestinal equilibrium is still a wine I highly regard.

So I finally made it to Alsace, and the wait was worth it. Not only for the wines but for the delightfully preserved chocolate box towns and villages such as Colmar, Riquewihr and Ribeauville. It really feels like an amalgamation of France and Germany as its geography and history suggest.

I was lucky enough to visit some of the top producers. See my interviews with Jean Frederic Hugel, Etienne Dopff, Jean Trimbach and Eddie Faller.

I stayed in central Colmar at the Hotel Le Colombier. This is very conveniently located centrally and for the electric bike store on the same street. This is an excellent way to explore the region as there are many dedicated wine cycle routes throughout the area.

I wasn’t wild about the food, quite pork base and Germanic. They do an interesting pizza type of thing called a Tarte Flambee in French and FlammeKueche in German.

Then I hopped on a flight to Bordeaux.

Chateau Coutet, Barsac France

Visit to Chateau Coutet in Barsac, Bordeaux

It was the first day of the Rugby World Cup so the flight was awash with excited fans.

I’d had also long wished to visit Chateau Coutet in Barsac having met Aline Baly on many occasions in London. I’m also a fan of dessert wines, again not everyone’s taste. Aline was in Paulliac but generously arranged the Maitre du Chai, Laurier Girardot to entertain us.

We started in the vineyards surrounding the pristine opulent Chateau.

Laurier discussed the terroir, which is slightly different to Sauternes and a little further from the River Garonne. The style here being a little less unctuous than Sauternes and perhaps less botrytis. They also make a dry white. The wines as ever, were finely balanced, long and delicious with complexity evident in older vintages.

Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Next up a flight to Marseille, en route to another region I’ve longed to visit, Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

It’s one thing reading about the ‘Galets’ (larger pebbles/ smooth rocks) which are characteristic of the area. it’s another thing to see them. The entire vineyards are literally covered with layers of Galets with virtually no soil evident. These rocks have been washed down from the Alps over millions of years dating to when the area was the bed of the Rhone river.

First visit, the famous Chateau de Beaucastel owned by the Perrin family.

Beaucastel were in the midst of the most fascinating new build. They had a competition amongst world renowned architects who tendered for the job. It was finally won by and Indian based firm. In keeping with Beaucastel organic and biodynamic sustainability, the new structure is being built with products of excavation.

The excavated earth for the new cellar is gently crushed and then taken to a large vertical mold and compressed. This creates the large slabs to build the new winery. It already looks amazing and effortlessly blends in with the environment.

We tasted the 2008 and 2019 Beaucastel and also a 100% Roussane of which little is made. The wines as expected were spotlessly balanced and full of fine grained tannins.

En route to Château La Nerthe we popped into Chateau Mont Redon

I was impressed by the Chateau Mont Redon range, especially with their most moderately priced Lirac which is full of fruit but also has a lovely mouthfeel. I have been buying en primeur Mont Redon from the wine society for many years.

Final visit of the day was to a very welcoming and passionate Antoine at Chateau La Nerthe.

He gave us the historical background. There have been grapes here since Roman times. More recently they were one of the pioneers of the Appelation Controlle system

This a stunning chateau with views reaching far and wide. We toured the cellars and we were lucky enough to witness a live ‘remontage’ and sample 4 day old Mourvèdre from the tank. It was surprisingly delicious given its age.

Wine tasting here can be a little confusing as 13 grape varieties are permitted.

6 white grape varieties: Grenache blanc, Clairette, Roussanne, Bourboulenc, Picpoul and Picardan. Grenache blanc, a mutation of Grenache noir, is the most commonly used grape variety. Red grapes: Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Cinsault, Vaccarèse, Terret, Counoise, Muscardin.

We tasted a range of their wines including

Château la Nerthe 2014 Clos de Beauvenir – it had an oxidised nose, almond, nice freshness and texture Good food wine

Château la Nerthe Barrel sample, Syrah amazing for only 4 weeks old! Full of fruit Soft tannins Delicious!!!

2020 Château la Nerthe Châteauneuf du Pape 25% Mourvèdre, Balanced, good year, plenty of fresh fruit alcohol well integrated

2019 Château la Nerthe Châteauneuf du Pape . 35 %Mourvèdre Syrah 31 %Grenache 33 % about a third each A bit more serious than 2020 and probably need more ageing to develop complexity

2020 Château la Nerthe Châteauneuf du Pape Cuvee des Cadettes which is made from their best grapes 9.000 bottles only GSM blend

2019 Château la Nerthe Châteauneuf du Pape Cadettes 55 % Mourvèdre floral earthy savoury serious big wine.

Antoine then brought out a blind wine which I immediately described as Pinotesque. I was happy to be correct in my deduction that it was one of their very limited production 100% Grenache.

This tasting was one of the highlights of many years of different wine trips. Thanks to @bossofthewine, Bruce Baldinger and the New Yorkers. We had serendipitously met them on the tour of the old Synagogue in Carpentras the day before and tagged along to this visit.

Finally I must not forget the opulent Chateau La Coste in Provence. It was a short drive south from our accommodation in Lourmarin through the beautiful countryside towards Aix en Provence near the village of Le Puy-Sainte – Reparade.

This is a real destination owned by Irish property magnate Paddy Mckillen. It has its own art and architecture walk, 600 acre sculpture park, a luxury hotel Villa La Coste multiple very high end restaurants and excellent wine.

Despite the breadth and depth and quality of wines across the world, there’s nothing quite like returning to La Belle France!

September 12, 2023
by WanderCurtis Leave a comment

What’s trending in Alsace?

During my recent trip to Alsace, I asked four of the most influential people in the Alsace wine scene several questions.

What’s trending in the Alsace wine world?
How do you ideally envisage your business in the future?
If you weren’t in the wine business what would you be?
What are your two Desert Island bottles of wine?

Here are the mini interviews

Etienne Dopff of Maison Dopff et Moulin in Riquewihr

Jean Trimbach of Maison Trimbach in Ribeauville

Jean Frédéric Hugel of Maison Hugel in Riquewihr

Eddie Faller of Domaine Weinbach in Kayserberg

September 24, 2019
by WanderCurtis Leave a comment

Rediscovering Burgundy, June 20th to 23rd 2019

A lot of pre-planning goes into our wine trips. The final decision is the result of many discussions about the pros and cons of each region.
We try to somehow pull ourselves away from the obvious joys of Italy, only because we’d never venture elsewhere!

Maybe Spain? Spanish wines these days are so varied, well made, good value and the weather in Spain more predictable.

Or should we cycle by the Danube in the Wachau, immersing ourselves in crisp fresh Gruner Veltliner?

The decision was Burgundy. We had been before, a decade ago and when we first started Wandercurtis.

We wanted to experience again the long winding, gently undulating cycle route through the Cote de Nuits to the North and the Cote de Beaune to the South.

The wines here magically take on their sense of place with a history of wine making dating back thousands of years to Roman times.The craziness of the division of the land is arresting. More than 30 owners can share a few acres of earth often Grand Cru site only possessing a few rows of vines.
The prices reflect this, and the demand in the market for Burgundy has rocketed making many of the wines oppressively expensive.

We made some great discoveries:

A champion of Aligoté in Marsannay,
Back vintages from the 1800’s at Chateau de Beaune including a Romanée st vivant 1865.
The cathedral like modern state of the art winery at Louis Jadot.
We revisited old friends at Olivier Leflaive and indulged again in the voluminous wine list at Ma Cuisine.

The Magnificent Chateau de Beaune

Tasting at Chateau de Beaune, Domaine Bouchard Père et Fils June 21st 2019

Founded in 1731 by Michel Bouchard, located in the magnificent Chateau de Beaune since 1820.

Philippe Prost, part of the furniture here, took us on a grand tour of their huge cellars, under the 15th century fortress, which house some of the best back vintages in Burgundy dating back to 1845.

They own 130 hectares of vineyards across Burgundy, of which 12 hectares (30 acres) are Grand Cru and 74ha Premier cru. In 1995 the Bouchard family sold to Champagne House Joseph Henriot, they have since acquired Chateau De Ponce in Fleurie and William Fevre in Chablis.

Wines Tasted -Red Crus

Fleurie le Pré Roi 2017

Initially cranberry and bright red fruits and later red plum 6 to 8 months in barrels bright acidity, chalky

Monthelie 2017

Classic Pinot nose with red fruits earth and game lovely length of fresh strawberries

Gevrey-Chambertin 2017

Closed and reductive at this stage

Beaune du Château 2017

Blend of 17 premier crus
Lovely perfumed nose of wild strawberries and loganberries with a subtle violet aftertaste and nice soft tannins delicious!
Highly recommended

Beaune Grèves Vigne de L’enfant Jesus 2017

Another classic well made Pinot Noir
red floral fruits and red and dark plums earth spice silky tannins long length beautiful balanced wine

Volant Les Caillerets Ancienne Cuvée Carnot 2017

Blueberry red plum, brooding tense wine power underneath, complex holding back at the moment great potential

Le Corton 2017

Lighter colour impressive earthy nose and game lovely balance

Wines tasted White Crus

Pouilly Fuisse 2017

5,000 cases apples pears honeydew melon

Meursault Les Clous 2017

Butter green apples lemon curd melon sl grapefruit on the finish

Meursault Geneveieres 2017

White wine of the day complex lemon smokiness cream butter melon ripe apples pear and minerality really delicious

Corton Charlemagne 2017

sweet apple butter viscosity soft round mouthfeel

Chablis Montmains 2017 Domaine William Fevre

Lemon crisp apple lees good acidity

Chablis Bougros 2017 Domaine William Fevre

Crisp fresh lemon apples

The cellars at Maison Louis Jadot

Maison Louis Jadot

Above photos in the Cellars during our visit to Maison Louis Jadot. We were lucky enough to observe barrel transfers by candlelight.

Clos Vougeot

Domaine Olivier Leflaive – Puligny Montrachet

Wines Tasted

Bourg les setilles – Served at the wedding of Prince Harry & Megan. Fresh crisp

Montagny – Mineral, chewy long quite big.

Puligny les Meix- Nice toasty citrus slightly closed nose slightly vanilla intense. Nice texture

Auxes Duresses la Macabre- Floral vanilla ripe golden delicious softer rounder vanilla lemon pith long

Puligny Referts Lemon oil hint of citronella! Intense, pear pinapple great body fresh. Tingling finish. Sherbet dip!

Abbey Morgeot Chassgne Wider, not as intense slightly less ripe as pulignys, citrus

Domaine Sylvain Pataille, Marsannay

We arrived at Domaine Sylvain Pataille the far north of Cote d’Or towards Dijon. We were kept waiting for a length of time, before being greeted by the young, dynamic, bearded

Sylvain fresh from work in his vineyards. He welcomed us into his very compact cellar via a metal door off the small street next to his families’ house. We had no idea what to expect, initially conversing with us in French.

It became clear this is a man of great passion and vision, using organic and biodynamic methods and some whole bunch, indigenous yeast and low sulphur. We discovered he is very much a champion of Aligote. We were in for a few pleasant surprises and a very long tasting!

Wines Tasted with Sylvain

Borgogne Aligote organic 50-50 barrel tank fresh slightly smoky flinty cumin zest. Lemon pith.

Borgogne les Mechalot. Smokey nose cloves orange, citrus, mineral. Sherbet finish.

Marrsannay More classic nose wood more orange grapefruit more creamy.No sulphur,Only 1g sO2

Chardonnay Rose old mutation wood ripe citrus, floral smoke Lovely fuller mouth feel. Slight nice vegetal note

Aligote Les Champ ForeyStones Clove slightly bitter notes, Aligote ages more linear catches more smokey notes.

Aligote La Charmes Aux Pretres should be 1er cru Charm chaum chaume means field flatishLemon, pith, less clove long

Aligote Clos du Roy Floral citrus peel. In mouth ripe pear, lees, prickle, almond. Needs a couple of years.

Bourgogne Le chapitre Long extraction low sulphur but not young, Slightly funky nose, Lovely length body complex – ***

Marsannay La charmes Aux Pretres chardonnay, Smokey creamy elegant nose, Fabulous intense elegant full v long slightly saline finish

Marsannay Rose Fleur de Pinot Saignee skin contact,strawberry bit of smoke. Wow delicious with structure

Red Wines

Borgogne rouge Strawb jam and leaves, Lovely sweet fruit, fresh , balanced slight edge. VG

Marsannay RougeFruit, animal note, slight leafyNice rounded sweet fruit, balanced with savoury notes excellent complex

Marsannay La Montagne Strawberies and cream on nose.Gorgeous complex

Marsannay Les Longeroies V nice nose strawberry leaf cream Amazing vivid fruit complex intense

Marsannay Clos du RoyDeeper bit of blood, clove mineral balanced fruit savoury very long

Bourgogne le Chapitre Chalk board, Lovely slightly more funky mineral. Some kirsh

Clos du Roy 2018 barrel sample Volcanic nose yeast reduction, fruit, savoury stalks

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It was great to be back in Burgundy for may reasons, quiet dedicated cycle routes through the vineyards, the history, exquisite cuisine, excellent wines, friendly locals and as ever the joys of meeting like minded passionate wine folk.

May 12, 2014
by Kiran Leave a comment

A recent weekend visiting an old uni mate in Marseille revealed how much the city has to offer and gave me an insight into why he has so happily gone native.

Provence is all about rural retreat and chilling in that charming restored French farmhouse no? Well if you think that’s a bit main stream then a city break in Marseille might be for you. The old port at the heart of this industrial city was recently made over for its role as European City of Culture 2013. There are a couple of stunning new galleries on the water front, some swanky hotels, a fish market and as many cafes and restaurants as you could want all wrapped around a lively marina. Plenty for a full day of wandering.

Venture a short distance deeper into the city and the narrow streets take on a distinct north African flavour or head a few minutes along the coast and guys are surfing waves or trekking up and down the rocky limestone coastline (we sipped coffee instead and watched them march past).

The gastronomic highlight was dinner at restaurant Peron which looks out across the bay facing the sinking sun and serves a fantastic bouillabaisse which we washed down with a local white Cassis. There’s normally a good local wine that matches local cuisine, best just to ask the waiter.

My mate also introduced me to a lovely Provencal red from the tinny appellation of Palette (smallest in France apparently) dominated by Mourvedre but with Cinsault & Grenache by Henri Bonnaud other quality reds are by Chateau Simone.

As one enjoys the spring sunshine the rose wines aren’t bad either!

May 26, 2013
by WanderCurtis Leave a comment

Wine tasting in Northern Rhone May 16th to 19th 2013

La Chapelle

Thursday May 16th 2013

It was with great excitement that six wine loving gentlemen of various levels of fitness left London to seek the finest offerings of the great wine region of Northern Rhone.

With a mixture of serendipity and brazen I had got us an invite to Maison Chapoutier for a party the night of our arrival.

Having attended an M.Chapoutier masterclass on Monday In London I sought out the fun loving forthrightly spoken Michel
Chapoutier who immediately extended a warm hand , game on.

It started with the style we intended to continue.
First class Lille to Valence in an area of the carriage akin to a private boudoir.
Stuart , our travelling sommelier , invited as much for his cellar collection as his fine North American sense of humour (but certainly not for his wind capacity.)
The indulgence commenced immediately with Kiran’s beautifully blown finely rimmed plastic glasses.
Out came my J L-Chave celebre St. Joseph , 100%Roussane courtesy of Yapp brothers recommended by the lovely Bianca Ford. Nelly
Tim’s great analysis of it ..Peaches and cream just like a dream!
Then the J L Chave Hermitage 2004 , see tasting note for full description .This took us to a new level of euphoria.
We questioned the possibility of illicit substances having been added, as we all developed and enhanced sensory
and analytical level .Even the softly spoken, muscle strapped Gerald seemed truly in awe commenting
‘you just want more and more of this’
With a blindly tasted Paulo Scavino 2001 Barolo the journey flew by.
We soon found ourselves on the banks of a wild ,gushing Rhone at le Chateau in Tournon .

Straight to chapoutier … party on , the winners of the days sommelier competition were being announced we were served-
Champagne Millesime 2000 et Ultra D de deveaux
Alsace Bland Riesling 2011 Domaine Schieferkopf
Hermitage Blanc chante alouette
Pyrenees rough Victoria 2008
Hermitage rouge Monier de la Sizeranne 2007 en magnum
Muscat Beaumes de venise 2011 and Rivesaltes 2001

This was just the general wine list.
Michel came over to say hello and insisted we be served Le Pavillon.The delightful Nelly France , Michel’s export director who never left us all night, proceeded to bring a selection of vinous miracles. Le Meal Hermitage 2006 , Le Pavillon 2000 L’Ermite . All washed down wit-.

Risotto a la Truffe . Gambas et Legumes aux saveurs asiatiques , blanquettes de riz de veau aux morilles , St Jacques snackees et petits legumes verts a la noisette, Booeuf Angus snacke et asperges du Luberon and this was just the hot area . It was all too much for the normally stamina laden Rob.

We danced and partied on , what a welcome to Rhone , Merci bien Michel Chapoutier ! Chapoutier party

Crossed the river to Tournon in the early hours , and soon wished I had brought some ear plugs.

Friday May 17th

The forecast was poor but are spirits high. We headed to Jaboulet. The charming aptly named Jean Luc Chapel took us up Hermitage to La Chapelle.
Wonderful views and a topographical history lesson of the vineyards of Jaboulet .This was followed by a private tasting of 8 wines ( see Jaboulet wine event for tasting notes)
and hugely generously opened a La Chapelle Hermitage 2007 for good measure. Lunch of Fromage , Charcuterie and beautifully ripe heritage tomatoes rprovided in Jaboulet .
The six of us warmly satisfied having been treated royally.

Then to Maison Chapoutier where the fabulous Nelly treated us again to a stunning portfolio of their wines .Highlights including Cote Rotie la Mordoree (full details under tasting notes)
Stuart could have easily set his stall for the night, but another appointment at 4pm meant we had to drag him kicking and screaming.

The weather turned. A taxi to Cave Fayolle for a tasting.

We then welcomed a rare spell of fine sunshine and mounted our unused bikes.Half the party ascended the imposing Hermitage La Chapelle led by Gerald Wiggins Kelly.
A leisurely ascent for the big man. Kiran and I sweating and panting behind. We were treated to wonderful views from the summit .Spring flower blossom,neat rows of beautifully tended budding vines
and the majestic Rhone river meandering serpentially across the valley floor.

Evening came and an exquisite dinner at Restaurant Le Chaudron in Tournon served by Mac Grillon in .Highlights being
the St Jacques lightly seared, pan fried sweetbreads,Magret de Canard,rasberry pannacotta and a fine wine list.

Saturday May 18th

The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men Giugal
Gang aft a-gley, [often go awry]
An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,
For promised joy

Robbie Burns ‘To a Mouse ‘ 1786

The plan was bikes in hand by train to Vienne and follow the lovely dedicated bike path V2 down the Rhone back to Tain with various leisurely stops on route.
It was not to be.
We managed Vienne to Ampuis and took in the beautiful views. However as predicted, the weather was starting to turn .

We arrived at the congenial Rene Rostaing. We were entertained in his cellar sampling amongst many, his Condreui, Ampodium, 2003, la Landonne 2009, Languedoc 2010.

The rain increased in ferocity, and the wind picked up. We took refuge in Bistro de Serine ,16 boulevard des allees, Ampuis. Great lunch and some lovely wines – Cote Rotie Gerin 2005 and 2010. Then off to GillesBarge next door. He was most generous opening many wines including a 1992 Cote Rotie. Rene Rostaing

Domaine Gaillard in Malleval next stop.The rain teamed down , the clouds darkened ,the temperature dropped, and the wind picked up.
Five soaked sodden cold defeated men pondered for a few seconds whether to make the ascent up to Gaillard in Malleval. Only the ever stalwart Gerald showed any wish for it. We headed for the nearest train in Peage de Roussilon .Instead of our intended scenic ride by the river we found ourselves five drowned rats inhaling all manner of fume around the chemical factories of Peage.

There was only one thing to lift our mood..To engorge ourselves to bursting with chocolate. And that we duly did back in the Valrhola chocolate factory in Tain.

A warm bath later and we were all ready for our final gourmet experience of the trip back at Le Chaudron . Pol Roger to start followed by a selection of Delas wines including Crozes and St Joseph and more. Served with Nuits St Jaque, sweetbreads, Boeuf fillet ,fromage de la region, pannacotta strawberries and all washed down with Beaumes de Venice.

A very happy six gentleman returned to Le Chateau, to some rather less pleasant bouquets, (merci Stuart)

With wine food and company as good as this;
Days may be cloudy or sunny
We’re in or we’re out of the money.
But we’ll love you always, we’re with you rain or shine.

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April 18, 2011
by WanderCurtis Leave a comment

Barrel tasting in Bordeaux

My French became fluent after a 1967 St Estephe a 1974 St Julien and a 1999 Pomerol raided from my Aunt’s cellar in Castets-en-Dorthe to celebrate her 60th birthday. The red wine has kept her young – she’s not looking a day over 40!

Exquisite foie gras/magrets du canard, saucisson, fromages of every type, baguettes, masses of decanted Bordeaux reds, a rampant log fire and the party was on. A delight to meet Jean-Luc Magnac, local winemaker of Passavant – a port style wine made from Merlot. This was beautiful, normally aged 18 months, but he reckons the 2010 vintage is so good it didn’t need the ageing.

The following day, I drove to local vineyard to barrel taste the magnificent 2010 vintage. Tried cab sav/merlot and malbec from the barrel – great colour depth and concentration. The cab sav was a little green peppery, but was assured this is a whopping vintage. Another year to dig deep for the en primeur sale.

The wine flowed all weekend and finished with a harmonica blues duo in cercle du concorde in Castets.