MY FRENCH PROPERTY
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FRENCH VINEYARDS - Principal Regions |
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GASCONY - Discovering the wines
WINE Madiran encompasses the area around the village of Madiran. Madirans red wines are produced ffrom the tannic and earthy Tannat grape. Château Bouscassé Château Montus, Laffitte Teston, Laougue, and Domaine du Crampilh are a few of our favourites. The wines are based on Tannat grapes sometimes blended with Cabernet Sauvignon or Cabernet Franc to soften it. White wines in the area are labeled Pacherenc du Vic Bilh. Gros and Petit Manseng produce a juicy, spicy wine that is excellent with foie gras. Jurançon, in the foothills around the town of Pau, produces only white wines; they are similar to those of Pacherenc du Vic Bilh, but more flowery. Varietals are Courbu, Gros Manseng and Petit Manseng. The wines are generally dry, but sweet if affected by Botrytis cinerea. Domaine Cauhapé, Domaine Larredya and Clos Uroulat are our favourites. Buzet is next to Armagnac. It produces primarily robust, aromatic reds pressed from the grapes of the Bordeaux which offer good value. The Armagnac region has three appellations, Bas-Armagnac (where the most delicate, fruity brandy comes from), Tenareze and Haut-Armagnac. First distilled as a medicine in the 13th century, Armagnac, a single-distillate (in contrast to Cognac, which is a double) is the oldest brandy in France. Four varieties of grapes are commonly used: Folle Blanche, Ugni Blanche, Colombard and Baco. When Folle Blanche is used in high percentage and aged for 15 years, it has fine texture and flowering fruit. But it’s hard to grow and sparsely employed. The hybrid Baco is the other star grape. Aged, it tastes like prunes and nuts; however, the AOC board has decided hybrids will no longer be allowed after 2010. But as most Armagnacs peak between 18 and 30 years, there should be plenty of product around. Cotes de Gascon wines and Cotes St Mont are produced in this area, easy drinking red wines and fruity white colombelle are favourite summer choices. With foie gras dishes, drink a golden-white Domaine du Tariquet.
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| L'Alsace - A wide variety of white wines from dry to sweet to dessert with high rich natural sugar content. | |
| Le Beaujolais - light and fruity reds in the South and more generous in the North. To some extent a victim of the success of the increasingly ordinary Beaujolais Nouveau released the 3rd Thursday of November. | |
| Le Bordelais - this is the largest fine wine territory in the world. There are two main regions. Le Libournais which shelters St Emilion and Pomerol and its famous Chateaux, Cheval Blanc Pétrus to name a few. On the other side of the Garonne we find the prestigious chateaux Haut Brion, Yquem - Médoc, Graves and Sauternes | |
| La Bourgogne - reputed reds and whites. Exceptional quality "Premier Cru" and "Grand Cru"- these are classed according to the parcels of land known as "climats". | |
| Champagne - principally white sparkling wine, some still white wine and a few reds and rosés. | |
| Le Languedoc-Roussillon - the largest vineyards of France. Enormous efforts in this region resulting in surprising good wine. | |
| La Vallée de la Loire - Extending from the Atlantic to the Massif Central. L'Anjou produces the rosés such as the Cabernet d'Anjou and the king of this region are the whites, dry or dessert. Saumur - red fruity wines. La Touraine - the big whites of Vouvray of varying types, dry, semi-dry, sweet, still or sparkling. Sancerres - the celebrated Pouilly and Sancerre. | |
| La Provence - known mainly for its rosé wines offering a large variety of table wine and "vin de pays". | |
| La Vallée du Rhone - the northern region produces generous, strong reds and the southern regions rich and full-bodied wines. This region also produces whites and rosés of Tavel. | |
| Le Sud-Ouest - The Madiran - known for its strong reds and the whites of Jurançon - sweet and dry. | |
| Le Jura et la Savoie - two mountainous regions producing typical "vins jaunes"and "vins blancs". | |
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96 place de la Libération
65700 Maubourguet
France
tel UK:
08717174109
France : 05 62 96 94 27
Portable: 0607800621
le-bonheur@wanadoo.fr
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