Bordeaux still seems to enjoy its status as the sovereign of the quality wines (although Burgundy seems to be challenging the status quo vintage after vintage). But as the prices of the best Châteaux of Bordeaux have risen above the monetary pain threshold of normal consumer, people have started to turn their focus away from Bordeaux in search for more affordable alternatives – to the dismay of the Bordelais. Some people have realized that you can find tremendous value from the "satellites" of Bordeaux – those small, relatively unknown appellations outside the esteemed four-piece heart of Bordeaux, Médoc, Graves, Saint-Émilion and Pomerol – whereas others have given up Bordeaux completely in favor of other wine regions more in vogue. After all, Bordeaux has not been "trendy" for a few decades, no matter how valued their best wines might be.
The region most people forget when thinking outside the box that is Bordeaux, is Le Sud-Ouest, the southwest corner of France. Sure, many people might recognize the best-known appellations of Cahors or Madiran, but this vast region is teeming with small, completely unheard-of little appellations, many of which make – and have been making for decades, if not centuries – very Bordeaux-like wines of both tremendous quality and value. In modern times, when it is harder and harder to differentiate Bordeaux wines from similar style of wines made in, say, Napa Valley or Western Australia or Colchagua, it is always really nice to taste wines that actually speak of the place; wines you can instantly recognize that are coming from Bordeaux or very nearby. Although there are many producers making really bland and boring modern wine with no real character in the Southwest France, there are still lots and lots of producers making wines that are not about extended hang time and excessive new oak, but instead bright fruit, good structure and terroir. If you are looking good but affordable alternatives to Bordeaux, Côtes du Marmandais is one terrific region that comes into my mind.
Côte du Marmandais
As a wine region, Côtes du Marmandais is a curious one: of its 1300 hectares of vineyards, the local co-operative, Cave du Marmandais, owns well over 90% via its growers; the remaining 100 ha are shared by some 10 small growers – many of them considered to be among some of the best producers in Southwest France. This aforementioned co-op, however, is not one set on churning anonymous bulk wine, but instead quality wines of real character. Unlike many other co-operatives, Cave du Marmandais actually allows its members to vinify their grapes separately so that they can also produce single-grower wines in addition to the co-op's own wines.
The vineyards of Côtes du Marmandais are spread over the commune of Marmande and 26 other villages, on both sides of the river Garonne – the very same river that flows past famed Sauternes, Barsac and Péssac-Leognan appellations just 20–30 kilometers downstream. As the Côtes du Marmandais wine region borders the outskirts of Bordeaux, its presence is felt heavily in the wines that are often made from the classic blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc with occasional Côt (Malbec) or Fér Servadou thrown in the mix. The whites – though rather rare at only 10% of the whole production – are also very Bordeaux-like with Sauvignons Blanc and Gris, Sémillon and Muscadelle. There are, however, some things that set Côtes du Marmandais apart from Bordeaux: you can occasionally encounter wines also made from Gamay or Syrah – grapes totally unheard of in the prestigious neighboring region. Furthermore, there is one special grape variety grown in Côtes du Marmandais that is very rarely found outside the region: Abouriou.
Abouriou
Abouriou is an early-ripening red variety that used to be a widely spread variety throughout the northern part of Southwest France wine region in the past, but little by little dwindled out by mid-1800's. It was thought to be an extinct variety when a breeder presented it again in the late 1800's as a chance seedling found growing up a castle wall some 40 years earlier and replanted in a local vineyard.
After its rediscovery, Abouriou planting started to grow again, reaching its high point of up to 600 hectares (1500 acres) in the mid 1900's. Currently there are about half of that left, of which a great majority planted in the Côtes du Marmandais region with some sparse plantings also in the neighboring appellations and in the Loire valley.
Abouriou, "early" in the local dialect, reflecting its tendency to ripen fully quite early, is a tannic but low-acid variety. It used to be favored for its good resistance to pests and diseases and its early ripening – the grapes could be safely picked long before unpredictable autumnal weathers arrived. Historically it was rarely used in making varietal wines, as Abouriou wines tended to be rather rustic with hard, aggressive tannins and very low acidity, resulting in unbalanced, short and dull wines with angular, astringent character. Instead, the variety fared well as a blending component – either it was used to give color and firm tannins to softer wines, or then just lighter and more acidic varieties were added to give Abouriou wines more life and to soften them a little. With modernizations in winemaking and vinification equipments, it is now possible to see 100% varietal Abouriou wines in the market, but they are still rather rare to come by, as they often are quite coarse and tannic wines.
The wines
I encountered these wines a few years ago when I was attending a small wine fair where Cave du Marmandais, the local co-operative, was presenting their wines. I was poured five different wines: three of them were single-producer wines from two members of the co-op, whose grapes are vinified separately and one a regional blend by the co-op. The final wine was a tentative one, not yet released and only labeled with a hand-written label with the text "AOC Côtes du Marmandais 2013". I didn't catch the specifics, but I have a vague memory telling me that this one was not a single-producer wine, but instead a co-op's own blended wine. Here are my notes on these wines so close to being Bordeaux, yet still worlds apart.
Cave du Marmandais Rosé 2012
AOC Côtes du Marmandais
- Cave du Marmandais
- Country: France
- Region: Southwest France, Côtes du Marmandais
- Grape(s): Merlot (70%), Cabernet Sauvignon (20%), Cabernet Franc (10%)
- Tasted on: February 4th, 2014
Very pale, luminous pink color.
Sweet and fruity nose with pronounced strawberry notes and a hint of melon.
Dry, refreshing and quite light-bodied palate with flavors of ripe berries, namely raspberry with lighter cassis notes.
Dry, positively taut and refreshing finish with flavors of acid-driven red berries like red currants and cranberries.
85/100
Summary: An enjoyable basic-level rosé wine. Good balance, structure and refreshing character, but pretty little of any character. Tasty stuff, but nothing special to write home about.
***
Château Côte de France Rouge 2012
AOC Côtes du Marmandais
- Cave du Marmandais
- Country: France
- Region: Southwest France, Côtes du Marmandais
- Grape(s): Merlot (70%), Cabernet Sauvignon (30%)
- Tasted on: February 4th, 2014
An organic grower wine by the region's co-operative. The grapes for the wine are sourced from Château Côte de France, run by family Simonnet – farmers in the region since 1959. This winery was founded in Beyssac, the northern end of the Marmandais region by Jean-Jacques and Francoise Simonnet, the second generation of farmers. Currently the winery is run by the 2nd and 3rd generations of Simonnet family. The production has been certified organic since 2012 and this wine here is fermented and aged completely in stainless steel.
The wine has a concentrated, youthful purple-red appearance.
The nose feels rather muted and slightly reductive at first with understated fruit and notes of gunpowder smoke. However, the reduction blows up quite quickly, revealing a lovely nose with aromas of tobacco, crushed cassis, smoke, some sour cherry and hints of red currant.
On the palate the wine feels quite dry and medium-to-moderately full-bodied. It has good focus with bright, fruit-driven flavors of cassis and red currant with some herbal notes and a hint of pipe tobacco. The acidity is moderately high, but the pronounced tannins really call for something fatty on the plate.
There are flavors of tart cranberries, sour plums, smoke and hints of cassis in the aftertaste. The wine finishes with a tightly wound and tannic note, coating and drying the insides of your mouth.
88/100
Summary: A nice, positively simple red wine, that combines lovely rustic roughness with modern, fruit-forward character. The fruit is, however, more about freshness, structure and balance, than about ripeness and extraction. I'd give the wine a few more years just to resolve the tannins a bit, but not much to keep that bright fruit alive. Let the wine breathe to blow away the reduction.
***
Château Côte de France Rouge 2013
AOC Côtes du Marmandais
- Cave du Marmandais
- Country: France
- Region: Southwest France, Côtes du Marmandais
- Grape(s): Merlot (80%), Cabernet Sauvignon (20%)
- Tasted on: February 4th, 2014
On the paper, the newer vintage of the Château Côte de France does not differ much from the previous one, only having more emphasis on Merlot than Cabernet Sauvignon.
The wine's appearance is as opaque and concentrated as was the vintage 2012.
The dry and very intense nose does not show reduction per se, but it feels still quite smoky, with vibrant aromas redcurrant, blackcurrant and fresh red fruits.
Unlike one would expect from a wine with even higher proportion of Merlot, this wine even more tannic than the previous vintage. Though quite tough with very tightly strung tannin structure and moderately high acidity, this medium-bodied wine feels surprisingly balanced with lovely, fruity texture. That is all because of its pure, vibrant and intense fruit full of plummy sweetness, cranberry tartness and peppery spice. Even though there is some obvious ripeness to the fruit, the wine itself feels very dry with its acid brightness and mouth-drying tannins.
The wine finishes with a dry, bright and juicy aftertaste of peppery spice, redcurrants, some ripe cranberries and a hint of tart, red plums. The structured and grippy finish is quite persistent, as are the clen fruit flavors.
90/100
Summary: This wine was very much like the previous vintage, but with even more fruit, structure and intensity. Very impressive wine for a "simple" basic-level red – because of its unforgiving tannic grip, I'd let it relax some years in the cellar before approaching it again. Not the easiest of wines, but I like this very much.
***
Cave du Marmandais AOC Côtes du Marmandais 2013
AOC Côtes du Marmandais
- Cave du Marmandais
- Country: France
- Region: Southwest France, Côtes du Marmandais
- Grape(s): Merlot (70%), Abouriou (30%)
- Tasted on: February 4th, 2014
This is the wine I had no idea what it actually is – if I remember correctly, it was not bottled / released by the time I sampled it and I was not provided an actual name for the wine. It is a Merlot-based red wine blend, where Abouriou is used to add color and tannic structure. I have nothing on the vinification.
Deep, concentrated purple color.
Deep, concentrated and fruity nose with lovely rustic character: there are aromas of red fruits both sweet and tart, some violet floral nuances and hints of leather and sous-bois.
In the mouth the wine feels rather full-bodied and very rich and fruity at first, but then come the tannins a-rumbling, drying your mouth completely and making the wine appear a lot more spicy with pronounced peppery character. There are bright and quite concentrated flavors of sour plums, ripe cherry, brambly blackberry and wild strawberry along with hints of peppery spice and leather. The acidity is rather high, keeping the wine from tasting dull or unbalanced.
The high acidity becomes even more prominent in the finish, where the concentration of the fruit disappears, leaving behind bright, dry flavors of cranberries, raspberries and sour cherries along with rustic hints of saddle leather and farmyard. The wine leaves a long-lasting, rough and very tannic aftertaste, that is not as forbidding as it is delicious.
93/100
Summary: Well, this wine might actually be more of an acquired taste – I've never been afraid of tannins, if they are in balance with the fruit. Some might say that this wine is lacking balance, with its pronounced tannic character, but I don't; the tannins might be prominent, but they don't feel excessively astringent nor any green, and I feel that with good, hearty food the wine can be stripped of most of its tannins, leaving behind a wine of lovely purity, focus and concentration. Easily one of the best and most characterful Merlot-based wines I have tasted. I just wish I knew what this wine was!
***
Château Bazin 2012
AOC Côtes du Marmandais
- Cave du Marmandais
- Country: France
- Region: Southwest France, Côtes du Marmandais
- Grape(s): Merlot (60%), Malbec (20%), Cabernet Sauvignon (15%), Abouriou (5%)
- Tasted on: February 4th, 2014
Another one of those grower wines from the Marmandais co-operative: though produced by the co-op, the grapes are sourced from only one single supplier, Château Bazin. This winery –considered to be the crown jewel of the Marmandais co-op – is currently owned by family Simonnet, the same people who founded Château Côte de France. This winery is located in the village of Magdelaine, some kilometers away from the hamlet of Marmande, and its 9 hectares (22 acres) of vineyards are farmed organically. This particular wine is made in close-but-not-quite Bordelais fashion from a Merlot-Malbec-dominant blend (you knew that Malbec is an allowed variety in Bordeaux, right?) and aged for 12–15 months in oak barriques (one third of the barrels new, one third 2nd use and one third 3rd use).
The rich color of the wine is red-to-black opaque, most likely thanks to Malbec and Abouriou.
The nose is ripe and rich, but with a looming sense of tightly-knit structure and spice. There are aromas of dark-toned, plummy fruit, brambly blackberries, chokeberries, some savory aromatic oak spices, a hint of peppery Abouriou spice and a hint of sweeter oak chocolate.
The wine is plush and full-bodied in the mouth, but there is quite a lot of underlying, tightly wound structure to counter the opulence of fruit. Flavor-wise this powerful wine is dominated by notes of blackberries, cassis, peppery spice, some plummy dark fruit and sweeter hints of oak, but underneath these flavors there is a kaleidoscope of different nuances. The wine is high in acidity and even more so with ripe but very grippy and ample tannins.
The finish is long and complex with rich, savory and slightly bitter flavors of blackberries, blackcurrants, peppery spice, leather, some sour plums and hints of cloves and dark chocolate. The grippy, somewhat astringent tannins add much to the power and intensity to the aftertaste.
93/100
Summary: This is really an impressive red, easily overshadowing many of the better Bordeaux reds from the vintage 2012 – but still I am not sure whether I like the mysterious "AOC Côtes du Marmandais" red more. This is flavor-wise more "classic" Bordeaux-style wine with more spicier, more brooding and more concentrated character, whereas the previous one was definitely something more unique, speaking more about the unique local style than something Bordelais. This, however, is only a matter of personal preference – both of these wines were tremendous examples of the local style and they definitely had one thing in common: the tannins. Just like the previous wine, also Château Bazin requires something really heavy on the plate to soften up the wine. If I had this wine in my cellar, I'd let it sit for at least 10 years before planning on opening it – not because it wouldn't be ready now, but because the wine just shows incredible potential for cellaring. The current vintage (2013) is now selling at 14,95€ at the winery, making this wine a real bargain.
No comments:
Post a Comment