France: Terroir & Trends
Our contributor, Kim Mead @agalandaglass gifted me with a ticket to the seminar France: Terroir & Trands held during the Vancouver International Wine Festival.
The panelists:
Mariélène Auclair, Key Account Manager Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Charles Bouthillier, Consultant – Senior Executive – Board Member Pincourt, Quebec, Canada
Romain Chevrolat, Œnologue – Responsable technique au Domaine Laroche, Chablis.France
Marie Pinceloup,Responsable Export Multi-Zones Maubourguet, Occitanie, France
Nicholas Villalon, GM | SVP | Wine & Spirits – Luxury – CPG, Montreal
Rebecca Yates-Campbell, Luxury Sales and Marketing, Public Relations Oakville, Ontario, Canada
The panelists provided an introduction to the following wines tasted:
DOMAINE LAROCHE Bourgogne
Grand Cru Chablis “Les Blanchots” 2022
100% Chardonnay
The Queen of Grands Crus, renowned for its finesse.
Chablis Grands Crus embody the soul of the Chablis terroir. Elegant and structured, they blend power and aromatic finesse. Aged in our historic 9th-century cellars, each wine offers a unique and rare experience, reflecting Laroche’s expertise and Chablis’ prestigious reputation.
Fish in Hollandaise sauce, lobster salad, aged goat cheese
A light, clear colour in the glass with notes of citrus and melon.
In the background stonefruit sorbet. High acidity with intense minerality and salinity. As it sits the stonefruit is more pronounced. Very expressive in the mouth. Light but complex also very fresh. Some pineapple, spice and tropical notes on the finish. Nicely lingering.
The year presented an earlier harvest and a shorter growing season.
CLOS DE L’ORATOIRE DES PAPES Rhône
Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc 2015
Grape varieties Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Bourboulenc, Roussanne
A rich golden colour with legs showing in the glass. With serious notes of caramel, honey and red apple scents.
In the mouth stewed fruit, apple and some plum. Intense minerality and mild acidity leaving a harshness.
Mistrals and global warming effects a ripening blend where up to 13 varieties are allowed and aged. Super spicy on the palate.
CHÂTEAU DE NAGES Rhône
Michel Gassier Embruns de Viognier 2023
On a terrace overlooking the Camargue and the Mediterranean, our organically farmed vineyard is refreshed by sea breezes. The highly calcareous terroir, covered with rounded pebbles, imparts considerable tension and minerality to our wines. This Viognier boasts an ethereal balance, where aromas of fresh fruit and white flowers mingle. An excellent aperitif, it also pairs wonderfully with grilled fish, sushi, and Thai cuisine.
APPEARANCE
Yellow with golden highlights
NOSE
Explosive, with aromas of apricot and mandarin.
PALATE
Rich and smooth, it develops powerful aromas of fresh fruit: apricot, peach, and citrus. A long finish of fruit and freshness.
Produced by a caring family known to “have heart in the glass”. The wines are certified and regenerative.
Opening with lovely, delicate stonefruits, as it sits more flavours are exposed. Mandarin orange and apple slices.
Light but with a typical sweet component. Some notes of Viognier, slightly harsh and unpleasant, underlying a heavier body. Less flavourful than it’s colour and nose would suggest.
PFAFF Alsace
Gewürztraminer AOC 2023
Pfaff – passionate about Alsace
Located at the heart of the vineyard of Alsace since 1957, Cave des Vignerons de Pfaffenheim has developed a taste for quality and innovation in line with its traditions and values.
Deep peach notes with quite lovely stonefruit followed by apricots and lychee, a somewhat tropical sweetness and intense spice. Good acidity, about halfway between the characteristics of wine 2 and 3. Similar tastes as a fruit salad but quite heavy on the spicey finish.
ANTOINE MOUEIX PROPRIÉTÉS Bordeaux
Château Capet-Guillier Saint-émilion Grand Cru 2022
APPELLATION: Saint-Emilion Grand Cru
LOCATION: Commune of Saint-Hippolyte. 60 meters above sea level
CLIMATE: Temperate with oceanic influence
VINEYARD GRAPE VARIETIES: Merlot (85%), Malbec (10%), Cabernet Franc (5%)
TERROIR: Fronsac molasse, clay-limestone and sandy soil
AVERAGE VINE AGE: 25 years
CULTURAL PRACTICES: Elimination of herbicides and insecticides, mechanical weeding, conversion to organic farming, biodynamic practices
HARVESTING: Manual harvesting with sorting by density and mechanical harvesting
VINIFICATION: Concrete tanks and conical wooden vats
AGING: In French oak barrels for 12 to 16 months
In the glass dark ruby red. Aromas of stewed cherries with plum torte and bundt cake, very beautiful. Blackberry notes and very expressive with rich, delicious scents.
On the palate delicate flavour, lighter than expected. The fruit does not follow to the mouth surprisingly. Good acidity but with heavy tannins. Still the seats are heaven, incredibly spicey underneath. It seems lean in the mouth.
Apologies, it should be noted the wrong image was mistakenly provided in the QR presentation. I have substituted with an image from the winery website.
A. BRUMONT-CHÂTEAU BOUSCASSÉ South-West
Jardina Philosophique de Bouscassé 2017
Rich wines with intense and complex profiles
The wine presents as a bit stinky, barnyard, earth and wet clay. A bit of stonefruit with limestone notes. Aromas similar to a fortified wine or port as it sits in the glass.
The wine has nice structure with hints of minerality and pronounced salinity, very aromatic.
A. BRUMONT-CHÂTEAU MONTUS South-West
Madiran 2019
Rich wines with intense and complex profiles
Very pleasant dark fruit scents and a touch of dust. The scents are excellent and are slightly subdued. Best described as a sophisticated wine.
Rich and ripe on the palate, with medium body, good acidity and approachable tannins. Ready to drink now.
The following paragraph, provided by the Festival, summarizes the seminar:
When it comes to French wine, place is everything. The concept of terroir, the deep relationship between a site’s natural environmnet and its wine, reaches its fullest expression in France.Explore benchmark wines from six storied regions, and discovee their sense of place, while also discussng whether talking about terroir helps or hinders French wine sales.
Wine notes courtesy of the winery websites, bottle shots provided by QR code at the seminar. My note (in italics). With thank to Kim Mead for providing my ticket to the seminar held during the Vancouver International Wine Festival.
Feature image: MyVanCity