There was a time
when I was still teaching, without a thought that I might one day write about
wine, that we would spend most of our six week summer holiday in a campsite in
a pine forest at Faucon just to the north of Vaison la Romaine.
We fell in
love with the area - the villages, the smell of lavender and thyme, the
countryside around the Ventoux and Les Dentelles de Montmiral and, of course,
the wines. Our stay in the campsite was bien arrosée mais avec modération bien
entendu ! Our everyday wine, red Côtes du Rhône came in a cubi from the nearby Cave
Co-opérative de Puymeras. In addition we visited and bought from producers in
Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas and Côtes du Rhône.
Indeed before
we bought our shared house in Touraine we considered buying a place in the
Vaucluse. However, houses in the area was already expensive to buy and in those
days there were no low cost airlines or TGV to Avignon, so the Vaucluse was
neither affordable nor practical being too far from London.
Sadly since
1987 my visits to the area have been rare - just a few press trips including a
memorable Rasteau and truffle weekend. Kindly invited by Valréas to participate
in their In Vino Valréas, my recent three-night stay in Valréas has brought back
memories. It would be good to return to the area and spend more time.
In Vino
Valréas is part of the Valréas 2021 programme.
Valréas 2021
is an operation to both persuade the vignerons of this Côtes du Rhône Villages
to work more closely together as well as promoting the wines so that they
become better known. Initially it was intended that Valréas 2021 would see the
wines of Valréas promoted to a Rhône cru like Gigondas or Vacqueyras but as
only 10% of the production here is sold under the appellation Côtes du Rhône Villages
Valréas there wasn't huge enthusiasm for trying to become a cru. Instead the
vignerons have commissioned a report on the village's terroir and one on
looking at the words professional tasters use to describe the wines of
Valréas.
Emmanuel Bouchard
Emmanuel Bouchard
The tasting sheet with a series of scales
Friday (13th)
saw the third activity trying a find ways of describing these wines avoiding
the traditional terms used in tasting. It was also the opportunity to report on
the studies on the terroir and tasting words.
During the
morning we tasted blind some twenty or so wines. The novel idea was to try to
find a new vocabulary to describe the wines using a number of scales.
For example: ‘Echelle
d’élégance: de la bure de moine à la Christian Dior’, ‘Echelle de persistence
du culcul printanier à une symphonie de Beethoven’ or ‘de la cabane en bois au
Château de Chambord’.
This was an
interesting and challenging idea and took longer than the organisers estimated
as it took a while for us tasters to get our heads around the idea. As this was
not a competition or an attempt to select the best wines it was good to be able
to discuss the wines in some depth as we struggled to find an appropriate
building, animal, piece of music, etc. that fitted each wine.
There may have
been too many scales. It will be interesting to see the results but whether
consumers will find it useful to liken wines to Dior's little black dress, a sheep or a
rhino, structured like an Hotel de Ville or with the persistence of a Jimi
Hendrix solo is quite another matter. I fancy this exercise may have
more resonance in France than outside its borders.
We tasted
seven whites and around ten reds. Although both the whites and the reds varied
considerably in style, they all had a consistent freshness even if sometimes
the alcohol levels were high. The wines had a persistent fresh nature that stopped
the wines from being heavy and encouraged you to take another sip.
The afternoon
was devoted to a presentation of the two reports commissioned as part of
Valréas 2021 – the first into the terroir (five different terroirs were
identified) and the second on trying to identify the traditional tasting terms
that best describe the wines of this Rhône-Village.
Unfortunately
the organisers of the event hadn’t realised the importance these days of
providing good internet access, so that those attending can quickly share news
and impressions of the event. I spent a
frustrating and wasteful time attempting to connect.
Patrick Adrien, Maire de Valréas
The ornate first floor salon of Château de Simiane
In the early
evening we were received by the Maire of Valréas – Patrick Adrien – in
their fine Château de Simiane in the centre of the old part of the town. Part of
the château dates from the mid-15th century and some of the wood-paneled
rooms are similar to those in the Château de Blois in the Loire Valley.
Saturday morning we went to the last truffle
market of the 2014-2015 season at Richerenches. I have been to this market once
before back in mid-January 2006 when I was on a memorably indulgent Rasteau et
truffes press trip.
Adrienne the young truffle farmer
It was fascinating to learn from a young truffle farmer the amount of work involved in their cultivation as well as an explanation of the different types of truffle. This completely dispelled the idea that all you need to do is plant or inherit some truffle oaks, sit around local cafés drinking wine and coffee until it is time to take your dog out to sniff out your truffles, which you will then sell for a large profit in markets like this one in Richerenches.
No – there is a lot of work involved and, like wine, the quality and volume of the truffles produced depends much on the weather in any particular year. Our guide told us that the older generation was very secretive and reluctant to pass on the secrets of truffle farming so there was a danger that some of their expertise would be lost if they don't divulge their secrets.
The afternoon was spent visiting three domaines in the commune of Valréas – Grand Devers, Mas de Sainte Croix and Domaine Mireille et Vincent, which was founded by Bernard Bizard in 1985. I was particularly impressed by the range of wines, both white and red, from Sainte-Croix along with the 2005 from the Bizard family.
Paul-Henri Bouchard
Since 1999 Domaine des Grands Devers has been in the hands
of Burgundians Paul-Henri Bouchard and his three brothers. They have 24 hectares
in production. I was impressed by their 2012 white from the neighbouring
village of Visan. A blend of Viognier (majority), Marsanne and Roussanne, it is
attractively mid-weight with floral and apricot flavours and with a good fresh
finish despite going through malo. Good
value at 9.50€. Paul-Henri explained that the malo allows the wine to age
better. He is looking for a fourth grape variety to add further complexity and
increased freshness.
We tried three
Valréas reds – mainly Grenache with around 20% Syrah. The 2012 had good fresh,
red fruit character with some spice in the finish. The 2007 was more concentrated,
more herbal with a silky texture. The 2004, however, was on its last legs.
Mas de Sainte Croix is high up on a
ridge above Valréas
Jacques Coipel
(above and below)
(above and below)
Jacques Coipel
runs the 25 hectare Mas de Sainte Croix. Their 2014 Friandise Rosé, a blend of Grenache
and Cinsault, is delicate. We tasted four reds and I was impressed by the 2012 and
2011 Tendresse d’un climat – Syrah and Grenache. The 2011 was remarkably well
balanced despite being 15.49%. Jacques likened this more to a Rasteau than the
generally more delicate wines from Valréas. 2012 Passion d’une terre, Grenache
and Mourvèdre, is concentrated with notes of torréfaction but needs a little
more time in bottle.
Unfortunately I
missed most of the tasting at Domaine Mireille et Vincent run by Bernard Bizard
and his son as I went to the Tourist Office where I could finally connect to
the net.
Bernard Bizard
Sharing red Rhône
Sharing red Rhône
I spent three
very enjoyable nights at the Maison d'Anvers (Antwerpen) run by Sigi and
Vanessa, who have made a very similar journey as Vincent 'Le Cuisinier de
Campagne' and Olivia Simon in Bourgueil. Both Sigi and Vincent had successful
restaurants in Belgium before deciding that it was time for a change of scene. Both
chefs place a real accent on fresh food and both are passionate about wine.
Vincent has vines on his property, while Sigi has vines right to the entrance to La
Maison d'Anvers.
Sigi with that côte de boeuf
I had two
excellent meals cooked by Sigi and Vanessa. Sigi is mainly responsible for the
first and main course, while Vanessa takes charge of the desserts. On Thursday
night I started with a lovely dish of Coquilles Saint Jacques very tasty and
perfectly cooked. An equally delicious supreme of pintade with mushrooms followed. The meal finished with a delicate
lemon cream.
The highlight
of Saturday night was the magnificent Côte de Boeuf grilled to perfection over
sarments de vignes by Sigi. He has ordered a Josper grill/oven, the Rolls Royce
of its kind, and is waiting impatiently for it to be installed in May.
The weekend
whetted my appetite to return and rediscover Vaucluse.
