Bastille Day, Paris
AFP / GETTY IMAGES
If you haven’t drunk a French wine for a while, this Wednesday, July 14, is as good a reason as any to dust off the corkscrew. It’s Bastille Day – France’s national day, which marks the storming of Paris’ Bastille and a key date in the creation of modern France.
We don’t really need Bastille Day as an excuse to uncork some of France’s finest, with a raft of importers bringing in some excellent wines at a range of price points and with the Aussie dollar so strong against the euro at the moment.
I developed a fond affection for Bastille Day at high school while studying French with a teacher who had two passions – the French Revolution and Edith Piaf. He spoke on these two subjects so often it’s a wonder we ever got any work done in class.
One thing I did learn, thanks to constant repetition, is the phrase “un bon vin blanc” (a good white wine), because it uses all of the French nasal vowel sounds. That phrase may also be the genesis of my lifelong wine obsession.
Champagne, previously a once-a-year treat in many households, is available throughout the year at crazy prices, and there is now a huge range available in Australia.
Last spring, both major chains fought out a Champagne price war on top-brand fizz – at one point I bought three bottles of the excellent Lanson Black Label NV for $100 – with the consumer coming out the only winner. I have a feeling it will be on again this year and I’ll be sure to let you know if it kicks off.
Until that happens, I have found some well-priced Champagne to enjoy now, along with a few French wines from the more-affordable price spectrum, which have been imported directly by the major chains.
If you have been eyeing off the cheap imports at Vintage Cellars or Dan Murphy’s, you’ll be pleased to know that some of these table wines stand out as being good value and decent examples of their regionality.
In the past, I’ve found that when it comes to cheap imports, the reds often outshine the whites by some margin, but I was pleasantly surprised to find good examples of both. Watch out for more reviews of these imports in the coming weeks.
So this Wednesday, light a fire, cook up a pot-au-feu and listen to the Little Sparrow while popping the cork from a bottle or two of bon vin français. And repeat after me: “un bon vin blanc, un bon vin blanc”.
Love A Bargain?
M. Chapoutier Coteaux-du-Tricastin 2008 (Rhone Valley)
$12.99; 13%
3½/5
Food match: Pot-au-feu.
This 50/50 blend of shiraz and grenache smells like cherries, raspberries with gamey notes and a hint of liquorice. It is light in colour, medium-bodied and has flavours of plums, cherries and some nice meaty characters. Drying tannins finish off the wine nicely. The Chapoutier range at Dan Murphy’s is always a good bet, and this is fine value. Monsieur Chapoutier also makes wines in Heathcote, which are worth seeking.
TASTINGS \ DRINK THIS
Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Reserve Particulaire NV
(Champagne) $60; 12% a/v
4/5
Food match: Oysters
More bottles of this will be drunk on Bastille Day than any other Champagne – it is France’s top seller. And it’s not hard to see why. This is a mix of 40 per cent pinot noir, 40 per cent pinot meunier and 20 per cent chardonnay and is made from a blend of 200 base wines. It smells of strawberries and brioche with some dusty notes, while flavours include nectarine, hazelnuts and lemon. It’s dry, too, with a fine mousse that fills the mouth and excellent length.
Pommery Brut Royal NV
(Champagne) $70; 12.5% a/v
4½/5
Food match: Caviar and blinis
This wine is making a comeback of sorts in the Australian market. It is made up of equal parts of pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot meunier and is packed with powerful aromas of lemon, rose petals and toasted brioche. It is dry, with a hint of residual sugar and has a luxurious mousse, which is creamy in the mouth, and balanced acid that is well supported by more delicate lemon and brioche flavours. There’s excellent, lingering length.
Saint Cosme Cotes Du Rhone 2008
(Rhone Valley) $19.99; 14% a/v
4/5
Food match: Charcuterie platter
Vintage Cellars does a good range of imported French wines in the $15-$30 price bracket and it is great that wines such as this are widely available. This has all the hallmarks of Cotes Du Rhone with aromas of strawberries, cherries, spice and earth. It is light, smooth in the mouth with a good tannic grip. It has juicy flavours of stewed plums and cherries, with some pepper, tar and meaty characters.
Arrogant Frog Sauvignon Blanc 2009
(Southern France) $9.99; 12%
3/5
Food match: Chevre and herb tart
Thirty-six per cent of white wines sales in Australia are sauvignon blanc. If sav blanc is your thing and you can get past the name, you’ll find this a good alternative to Kiwi examples on the market. This smells and tastes of goosberry and green apple, with some tropical fruits and some herbaceous characters in the background.
It is slightly viscose in the mouth – not too crisp and acidic – but with a good structure. If there is such a thing, this is a good sav blanc for winter. It’s available at Dan Murphy’s.