french wine a day

Palette

               Sainte Victoire Mountain, near Palette

Dear wine lovers,

Hidden between the Sainte Victoire Mountain and Aix-en-Provence, influenced by l'Arc creek, is a very famous vineyard named Château Simone. This vineyard is also just about the only one in this micro appellation : Palette*.

Celebrated by Paul Cezanne, this area faces North and is situated on a table-land. This location permits the white grapes to benefit from large temperature variations and eventually get more natural acidity than average in the south of France.

The other characteristic of Château Simone is that the vines are very old**. There I saw some white Clairette and white Grenache which are the two major varieties that must be more than 100 years old ! Like many traditional vineyards in France, this Estate has been family-owned by the same (Rougier) for five generations. They produce white, red and rose but for me, the white is just exceptional.

Saying that Château Simone is the only vineyard in Palette is a mistake but the other two, Château Cremade and Domaine du Grand Côté are far behind in most ways.

In 1998, I was in Paris with some friends who took us to a very nice place for lunch. I offered my "expertise" in choosing the wines, having in mind that I wanted to change from the traditional and very expensive Burgundy-Bordeaux deal. I noticed that the wine list offered Château Simone 1994, an average vintage in Provence. The wine was just outstanding and my friend, who is a white burgundy fanatic, could not believe that a Provence wine could deliver such subtle flavors. With aromas of white flowers, honey and quince, the wine went so well with the river fish in white sauce that we decided to have another bottle of the same. The problem was that the sommelier forgot to tell us it was the last bottle (big mistake in such a restaurant) and there was no more 1995 either. So we picked a 1996 which is a great vintage, so good that the wine was completely...closed. It opened beautifully after two hours of decantation which permitted us to be treated to another bottle in the meantime. When I came back to Provence, I got a magnum of this famous 1994 (Download chateau_simone_white_1994_magnum.jpg) and I am still waiting for an opportunity to drink it. Any ideas ?

Cheers,

Jean-Marc Espinasse

Any comments, edits are very welcome at contact@french-wine-a-day.com

*Listen to "Palette" : Download Palette.mp3 

**Old = Vieux

To see Palette on a French wine map (use enlarge icon to see it better) : Download Palette.jpg

Orléans

            

       Old Map of New Orleans, French written in 1728                                                 

Dear wine lovers,

A special edition today as I would like to express the French sadness for the disaster that touched around Louisiana and Mississippi areas.

Louisiana and its capital New Orleans has strong links with France. At the time when the "Louis kings dynasty" and France owned a major part of the current United States, it had been decided to name Louisiana after "Louis" and New Orleans was also named in reference to Orléans* which is a town located south of Paris where the "Bourbon" family who initiated this dynasty was from.

And at this time, wines from Orléans were poured to kings** and were as popular as Bordeaux wines. Then, the French revolution and the phylloxera (enormous vine disease in the 19th century) "cut the head off" these vineyards located mostly around the Sologne River (Download sologne_chateau.jpg).

In 1989, local wines producers renewed with raising grapes and making wine in this area. At this time, there are two appellations that are not still in "AOC" ("Appellation d'Origine Controlée") but in "AOVDQS" ("Appellation d'Origine Vin Délimités de Qualité Supérieure) which is the last step before AOC. These two appellations are "Orléans" and "Orléans-Cléry".

Wines from Orléans are light and fruity. Pinot, Cabernet Franc are the main grapes for reds and roses. Chadonnay and Pinot gris compose the white blending. Clos Saint Fiacre, Saint Avit or Les Vignerons de la Grand'Maison are the wines I know from this area that you should also visit for its beautiful Castles.

Drink these wines with salads or fruit soup as their freshness will match well. They seem serious if you think about history but they are very affordable plus fun to drink...and joy is all people should have, isn't it ?

Cheers,

Jean-Marc Espinasse

Any comments, edits are very welcome at contact@french-wine-a-day.com

*Listen to "Orléans" : Download Orleans.mp3

**King = Roi

To see Orléans area on a French wine map (use enlarge icon to see it better) : Download Orleans.jpg