Gaillac is located in the center of the southwestern French wine-growing region of the same name, from which the sweet wine tasted this time comes. The wine-growing region north-west of Toulouse, on the Tarn – with 9,000 hectares of vineyards and around a third of which are appellations – is characterized above all by its often regionally autochthonous grape varieties and the range of wine styles.
Clay and gravel soils and lots of porous tuffeau, a type of sandstone enriched with sea deposits and with good drainage, dominate the vineyards in Vouvray. In the appellation not far from Tours on the Loire, there is a climate that might be described as cool and
After exquisite Rieslings and various very good Pinot Noir, Hans served a Barsac 1er Cru 2001 from Château Climens at the end. The AOC Barsac corresponds to the area of the municipality of Barsac, one of the five municipalities of the Sauternes appellation. However, the approximately 400 hectares of the Barsac appellation are located west of the Ciron, opposite the four other Sauternes communities east of the Ciron. Barsac, lying flat on a plain sloping towards the Garonne, has in a portion called Haut-Barsac 40 to 60 cm deep, red iron-rich clay sand soils that cover a fossil-rich limestone plateau. In the part that slopes down towards the … Read more ...
I can seldom resist the naturally sweet French Vin Doux Naturel wines, this is only partly due to the wonderful holiday memories of Roussillon, the region where 80% of Vin Doux Naturel is produced and – due to its omnipresence there – also consumed in my opinion. I think my first encounter with a Banyuls Rimage as companion of a chocolate dessert was probably much more formative. That was most probably the reason why we chose this wine style of Vin Doux Naturel for the chocolate mousse. A style with very fruity notes due to
Hans had invited to a small menu, the seven courses of which were accompanied by many very good dry wines and two sweet wines from Domaine Zind Humbrecht.
There are wine cellars in which a lot of old vintages are stored, such as at Rioja Alta, at the Terlan winery in South Tyrol or at Vignobles Touchais on the Loire. There, in their extensive underground cellars, 1 – 2 million bottles are stored, dating back to the early 19th century. It was around this time that the Vignobles Touchais winery, founded in Doué-en-Anjou in the heart of the Coteaux du Layon, began to produce sweet wine from the Chenin Blanc grape variety common on the Loire. Thirty-five of the vineyard’s 150 hectares are used to produce sweet wines. The resulting Moulin Touchais, a Coteaux du Layon, is known for its complexity and longevity. We tasted a Moulin Touchais from Hans’ inventory in 1985 that is a testimonial to this longevity.
Every year thousands of tourists conquer the picturesque villages of Alsace, such as Eguisheim, Turckheim or Colmar. But while the number of guests has increased over 15% in the last ten years, it has probably not improved the reputation and popularity of Alsatian wines abroad. For the second time in a row, Alsace’s wine exports were 10% below the long-term average in 2017, resulting in a reorientation of the Alsatian wine marketing by the CIVA (Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins d’Alsace) in 2018.
Hans had invited to a wine tasting and announced to offer only one or two small courses – however, there were much more courses. Hans just returned from a journey through Roussillon and the Rhone Valley, where he had bought a variety of Vin Doux Naturel. For the dessert, a chocolate cake with honey olive jelly, he opened some of them.
The name Macvin is more reminiscent of Scotland than the French wine-growing region of Jura, where the Macvin production has a long tradition. It is said that there has been a wine named Maquevin or Marc-vin already in the ninth century. The name Marc-vin indicates that Macvin consists of the french brandy Marc and wine, which means that it is a alcohol-fortified wine.
However, this is only partially true, because the Macvin is made from must according to the AOP rules. This does not exclude that the must already may have started fermentation. The Macvin may be red, rosé or white. In the red and rosé versions, only the … Read more ...
Around 1,500 km separate the foothills of the Alps south of Munich and Jurançon in France, but despite this distance, both have a climatic similarity: the Foehn, a dry warm wind from the mountains, always blowing from the south. In wine-growing areas north of the Alps, in the autumn, the grapes intended for the production of a sweet wine can dry and rosinate in the vineyard on the vine, naturally concentrating the sugars. A well-known example of a sweet wine that benefits from the Foehn is a Flétri from Valais.