France – Aspects of the South
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Just one of the vineyards that make up the 50
hectares of Domaine de Nizas
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France's southern wine regions are broadly split into
two camps. The south west incorporates the
Cabernet-based Bordeaux-alikes clustered east and
south east of that city, as well as everything else
from there to the Atlantic seaboard, the (red) wines
becoming wilder and earthier the further from
Bordeaux one travels. And then there’s Provence
and Languedoc-Roussillon i.e. everything on France's
Mediterranean coast and inland there from.
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It is the wines of the latter region that are more
widely known, the south west being overlooked for one
reason or another: the Cabernet-based wines are often
poor imitations of claret or simply poor; the Cahors
and Madirans are just too earthy and chewy, a problem
stemming from the traditional varieties of these
appellations and one that some proprietors are
starting to circumnavigate by altering their wine
making practices.
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The Mediterranean-influenced south east makes sunnier
wines, influenced by the benevolent climate. Here
also one can find wines touched by the influence of
Bordeaux, wines with Cabernet and Merlot in their
blends. But these varietals are the exception and,
where found, are partnered with others more typical
of the region - Carignan, Grenache, Mourvèdre
and Cinsault - that macerate the blackcurrants and
sprinkle them with exotic spice. The wines on this
offer both come from here.
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The Wines
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2006 Les Armières, Domaine de la Garance, Vin
de Pays de l'Hérault,
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Murielle Clavier et Pierre Quinonero’s ideas
about how to make fine wine give one heart. Their
vineyards are densely planted and are harvested in
numerous passes through the vineyard so as to ensure
that only the best fruit is picked. The wines are
given a light fining with egg white and are bottled
without filtering, preserving as much character of
the vineyard in the finished wine as possible.
The result? These are quirky wines of the highest
quality. The red is an absolute classic, the white
nutty as a fruit bat.
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N.B. I am hopeful of bunging the white wine from this
domaine - named Les Claviers - out with The Daily
Drinker. It is an anachronism, if not an atavism.
It’s made from Ugni Blanc, one of the worst
thought of white varietals around, plus Sauvignon
Blanc and Terret and I absolutely love it, at least
partially because it would give Australian wine
makers the screaming ab-dabs.
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2004 Côteaux du Languedoc, Domaine de Nizas
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There's been considerable wine culture at this estate
since its change of ownership in 1998. In that year
the property was bought by an American called John
Goelet who already had wineries in the Napa Valley in
California (Clos du Val) and Victoria and Tasmania in
Australia (Taltarni and Clover Hill respectively) in
his portfolio. He also had the assistance of Bernard
Portet, son of the erstwhile director of
Château Lafite and a man who had driven the
success of Clos du Val in the 1970s.
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