french wine a day

Saint-Julien

A typical Médoc Château near Saint-Julien

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Dear wine lovers,

Within all the wines of Médoc (left bank of Bordeaux), there is one that often strikes me : Saint-Julien*.

**Planted on the sandy and gravely slopes of Gironde, the vines benefit from a poor soil which also offers excellent drainage. Cabernet Sauvignon finds here a perfect location and is blended with Merlot or Cabernet Franc where the grounds are a bit richer**.

Freshness and fruit caracterises Saint-Julien wines. Young, they express aromas of cherries which will turn later into black fruits and eventually smoked flavors such as vanilla, cacao and coffee (depending also on the amount of new oak barrels used). I personally enjoy them at this stage and will advice you to marry them with this lamb recipe*** made by my friend Leslie.

This area of Médoc is majestic to tour with all the beautiful ancient Châteaux in which you can even sometimes find a room to sleep. Pauillac is a pleasant and peaceful port with great restaurant that try to "food compete"  with the quality of this prestigious wine area.

In your journey, you might run into big names like Beychevelle, Talbot, Gruaud Larose or Leoville Las Cases (get their second wine labels to make a good deal). And in hidden paths, you might also find less famous vineyards like Moulin de la Rose or Château Gloria where you would make even better deals.

Cheers,
Jean-Marc Espinasse

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

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Beautiful pictures of Médoc Châteaux and pertinent comments on their wines are available at :

*Listen to Saint-Julien

See Saint-Julien on a French wine map

**Plantées sur les coteaux sablonneux et de graves de la Gironde, les vignes bénéficient d'un sol pauvre qui offre également un excellent drainage. Le Cabernet Sauvignon trouve ici un lieu parfait et est assemblé avec du Merlot ou du Cabernet Franc là où les sols sont un peu plus riches.**

***Lamb and Dried tomato recipe by Leslie

For 6 people
Ingredients :
2 puff pastry sheets
For filling:
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes not packed in oil (about 2 ounces)
1/2 pound mushrooms
3/4 cup black brine-cured olives, pitted
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground lamb (or equivalent of leftover roasted or braised lamb)
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crumbled
1 teaspoon dried basil, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
1 1/2 cups crumbled feta (about 8 ounces)
1/2 cup grated mozzarella (about 3 ounces)
About 5 tablespoons olive oil
Preparation :
- In a small bowl pour boiling water over tomatoes and soak 5 minutes. Thinly
slice mushrooms. Give the pitted olives a rough chop. Drain tomatoes well
and thinly slice.
- In a large heavy skillet heat oil over moderately high heat until hot but
not smoking and sauté mushrooms with salt and pepper to taste, stirring,
until liquid they give off has evaporated. With a slotted spoon transfer
mushrooms to a large bowl. If using ground lamb, Add to skillet and cook,
stirring and breaking up any lumps, until no longer pink. Transfer lamb with
slotted spoon to bowl with mushrooms and discard fat. If using leftover
roasted lamb, shred or give it a course chop and add to the mushrooms. Stir
tomatoes, olives, rosemary, basil, and red pepper flakes into lamb mixture
and cool 10 minutes. Stir in feta, mozzarella, and salt and pepper to taste.
(Watch the salt as the brine-cured olives can be salty!)
- Preheat oven to 425°F and lightly grease a large shallow baking pan.
- Roll out one sheet of puff pastry or pâte feuilletée (gently stretched into
a rectangle) and spread half of filling in a 3-inch-wide strip, mounding it,
4 inches above the near long side, leaving a 2-inch border at each end. Lift
bottom 4 inches of pastry over filling, folding in ends, and tightly roll up
strudel. Carefully transfer strudel, seam side down, to baking pan and
lightly brush with oil. Make another strudel with remaining ingredients in
same manner.
- Bake strudels in middle of oven 20-25 minutes, or until golden. Cool
strudels to warm in pan on a rack.
- Cut into 1-inch slices with a serrated knife and serve slices warm.

Vin de Pays de la Principauté d'Orange

Vines in "Vin de Pays" planted on a gravely plain near Cairanne

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Dear wine lovers,

In France, wines are classified under three levels that are supposed to express their quality.
The lowest level which has very few administrative contraints is "Vin de Table", the highest with a lot (probably too much) to respect are "Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée" (AOC) and in the middle, you have "Vin de Pays".

"Vin de Pays" vines are planted on grounds that are supposed to be richer with less potential for raising quality grapes than AOC where lands are located on slopes and / or on rocky soils. Note also that any producer that own vines in an AOC area will be able to declassify his wines without any control into "Vin de Pays" if he considers that his wine does not reach the quality level he expects or if they voluntarily don't respect some rules, like for example, mentioning a single grape variety on the label.
Therefore, and even if the regulations of "Vin de Pays" are less strict and that most of the wines produced have minor quality, there are always exceptions that confirm the rule.
One of them is Vin de Pays de la Principauté d'Orange*.

**Located not far away from their big brother of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, some vines still benefit of some flat lands covered, millions of years ago, by the Rhône River. Now, if  these areas have alluviums, they are also full of graves which enables a better draining  and all the assets that rocks can bring to vines**.

With the same base of the powerful Grenache, Syrah, Carignan and Cinsault are bringing fruit and elegance. The wines are usually easy to drink and some "Vins Nouveaux" are also released at the same time as the ones from Beaujolais (third Thursday of November).
Because of their softness and fruity side, these wines can be married with light dishes such as this almond chicken recipe***.

Besides the light and easy wines that you can find at good prices as, for example, Cave de Cairanne or Domaine de Fontavin, there are also some that would beat most of Rhône AOC : Domaine Rabasse Charavin "Syrah" or Domaine de la Janasse which produce this beautiful Terre de Brussière.

Cheers,
Jean-Marc Espinasse

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

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If, like me, you enjoy touring the Rhône, here is a good book :

*Listen to Vin de Pays de la Principauté d'Orange

See Vin de Pays de la Principauté d'Orange on a French wine map

**Localisé non loin de son grand frère de Châteauneuf-du-Pape, certaines vignes bénéficient encore de terrains plats couverts, il ya des millions d'années, par la rivière Rhône. Maintenant, si ces endroits ont toujours des alluvions, ils ont également plein de graves, ce qui permet un meilleur drainage et tous les atouts que les pierres peuvent amener aux vignes**.

***Almond chicken recipe

For 4 people
Ingredients :
2 pounds of chicken breasts
1/3 cup of fresh mushrooms
3 tablespoon of soy sauce
1/2 cup of bamboo shoots
3/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup of celery
1/4 cup of onion
10 water of chestnuts
1 cup blanched almonds
1/3 cup of chicken stock
2 cup of peanut oil
Preparation :
Let macerate chicken breasts with a mixture of soy sauce and salt.
Fry almonds until golden in 1 1/2 cups hot oil. Pour off oil, drain almonds on a paper towel.
Reheat pan; add 3 tablespoons of oil.
Saute vegetables for 1 minute; drain off oil and set aside.
Heat 4 tablespoons oil, saute chicken for 1 minute.
Mix in vegetables and stock; simmer 1 minute. Add almonds.
Serve with rice.

 

Mercurey

"Soutirage" and "remontage" in Mercurey

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Dear wine lovers,

In the heart of Burgundy and inside the "Cote Chalonnaise" is the largest communal  controlled appellation of this famous Region : Mercurey*.

**As usual in this part of France, the vineyard is very "parcelised" in the spirit of distinguishing the best lots, which explains the 1er Cru notion that only the best parcels get**.

Mercurey mainly produces red wines from Pinot Noir and just 10% of whites from Chardonnay. Well structured, the red wines balance with both powerness and finesse. It can be drunk young (with a passage in carafe) and it will then express exploding black fruits or aged, with hints of kirsch evolving to hay and tobacco. That's when I prefer them and they will pair very well with this pigeon chestnut recipe***.

The wines that I like in this area are Domaine Michel Juillot, Robert Size and you might have more chances finding the great "Crus" from Faiveley or, more modestly, the ones from Antonin Rodet that offer a great price / quality ratio.

Visiting Mercurey wineries is easy because the area is very concentrated with lots of small family producers where you can even stay over in their B&B. Some will even take you down to their personal cellars for some unforgettable tasting experiences...

Cheers,
Jean-Marc Espinasse

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

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My preferred book on Burgundy wines :

See Mercurey on a French wine map

*Listen to Mercurey

**Comme d'habitude dans cette partie de la France, le vignoble est très parcellisé dans l'esprit de distinguer les meilleurs lots, ce qui explique la notion de 1er Cru que seulement les meilleures parcelles obtiennent**.

***Pigeon chestnut recipe

Ingredients :
Olive oil
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 red onion, finely chopped
8 pigeon breasts
Pinch of dried chilli flakes
½ tbsp of chopped rosemary
2 fat garlic cloves, crushed
Salt and freshly ground pepper
200 Ml of Mercurey
200g vacuum-packed whole chestnuts
2 sprigs rosemary, bruised

Preparation :
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and fry the carrot and
onion until soft and slightly coloured. Leave to cool completely.
Put the pigeon into a bowl or plastic bag with the onion and carrot, the
chilli, rosemary, garlic, seasoning, 2 tbsp olive oil and the wine. Cover or
seal. Marinate for at least 6 hours or overnight.
When you are ready to cook the pigeon breasts, drain from the marinade. Pour
the marinade into a pan, bring to the boil, then simmer gently for 20
minutes or until reduced by half. A foam will develop initially but this
will disperse. Adjust the seasoning and set aside.
Meanwhile, put the chestnuts in a saucepan, cover with olive oil and add the
rosemary. Heat up very gently until the oil is warm but not hot. Remove from
the heat and leave to infuse for about 15 minutes. Drain with a slotted
spoon.
Heat a griddle pan over a medium heat until smoking. In batches, sear the
pigeon breasts for 3 minutes each side (they should still be pink). Serve
with the sauce and the chestnuts.

Vino Italiano

My collection of Italian wines.
Note that 1967 Gaja Barbaresco that I will surely open next year for my 40th birthday...

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Dear wine lovers,

Even if my knowledge in this country is very low and even if I still have not digested the world soccer final, I have to confess my sincere admiration for Italian wines.

Of course and surely because they are in the same wine category of my dear babies from Châteauneuf-du-Pape (small terroir, powerful, long history.. ), Barolo and Barbaresco located in Piemonte have been the first Italian wines to awake my senses. Then, I have expended my interest to Tuscany, especially after I had the chance to drink a Sassicaia.

More rencently, my friend Chris from Portland who distributes there fine Italian wines has opened my eyes to those beautiful wines coming from the North East and especially the white wines like those aromatic Traminers made in Trentino mountains located by the Austrian border.

*Of course, the list is much bigger but so far and besides some very nice wines coming from Sicilia and Liguria, that's about it for my knowledge*...

Last week-end, I had the chance to visit the Liguria area near the French border. Planted on these steep terraces linking the Mediterranean to the Alps, the Vermentino (also named Rolle in France) was harvested.

In the beautiful village of Ceriana, restaurant owners use to make their own wine with a small piece of land belonging inside the family circle. When we met Dario and its typical car,we helped him carry the grapes to his small cellar and were rewarded by this priceless home cooked mealoffered by Esmeralda**. During this "festino", Dario opened a fruity sparkling red from Barbera and Croatina grapes he made last year and a Chianti much less rustic than these Sangiovese wines I had before.

Another highlight of this trip was this outstanding Enoteca Consani wine bar in Ventimiglia where people from all ages and all origin get together to share a glass of wine. The wine list is impresive and they always come with those so delicious antipasti.

Besides its great wines, Italy definitely has this asset of welcoming people, even the ones they cruelly defeated a few weeks before at the world soccer cup...

Cheers,
Jean-Marc Espinasse

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

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Like me, learn more on Italian Wines with this beautiful book :

*Bien sur, la liste est plus grande et malgrès de jolis vins de Sicile et de Ligurie, c'est à peu près tout de ma connaissance**.

**Esmeralda's Pomodoro Basil Spaghetti recipe :
Ingredients for 6 people :
2 pounds of fresh ripe tomatoes
Italian olive oil
1 chopped onion
Garlic
Chopped fresh basil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pounds of Spaghetti
Parmesan cheese
Basil leaves
Preparation :
Wash, peel and chop tomatoes, discarding seeds.
Heat oil in a moderately deep pan, add onion & garlic and saute until onion is limp.  Discard garlic and add tomatoes, chopped basil and salt & pepper.
Simmer for about 20 minutes over moderate heat. While sauce is simmering, bring a large pot of water to boil.
Add salt to taste and add spaghetti. Boil until spaghetti is "al dente," aprox 8 to 10 minutes.
Drain spaghetti, toss with the sauce and the grated Parmesan cheese.