This month I took a trip over to the Béziers area of the Languedoc in southwest France and then down to the Roussillon to check on the progress of our wines with our producer partner, Vignerons Catalans. It was a trip beset by beautiful autumnal weather: the days were bright, clear and sunny but crisp – perfect for reflection on the wines.
The purpose of the trip was mainly to look at the 2010 whites and rosés and see how they are progressing; the reds are not finished yet as most are still going through malolactic (secondary) fermentation.
I was really pleased with the style and quality of the wines. The Chardonnay has good fruit and a really fresh style with less heavy ripe melon characteristics. This will be brilliant for the French Connection Reserve. I selected the components which give the fruit and fresh characteristics, which are ready to clean up for blending. I also assessed the ‘texture’ components for treatments such as lees stirring and oak.
The Sauvignon Blanc is also shaping up well, although we had some really challenging, hot days over the summer. It is a fresh but wonderfully full style. I selected the components to leave ‘sur lie’ (on the lees).
I had a sneak preview of the reds too: the Syrah is the champion of the vintage with fantastic colour and fruit. It’s a fresher style with perfumed top notes and bright blackberry fruit on the palate. Merlot is the most challenging variety this year but I was really encouraged to find a fresh, crunchy style to the fruit – the hallmark of our French Connection style. Richer, fuller ripe fruit components are also available.
I then travelled over to the Roussillon to review the progress on the Vignerons Catalans wines there. The Roussillon blanc and rouge are both good, rich, bright wines and should be of a very high quality this year. The whites will be very fresh but still have rich, exotic flavours and the reds will be nicely full-bodied. I also tasted tanks (cuvées) of Côtes du Roussillon Villages from Rasiguères, Terrats, Vinca, Estagel and Caramany; there is really good quality potential here. Lastly, I sampled wines from Gascogny (sometimes used as components of French Connection Selection and, of course, our Sauvignon Blanc), Colombard, Ugni Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc and Gros Manseng; they are all very bright and fresh and lighter in body than typically and with higher acidity.
I am really encouraged by my trip and look forward to returning to the beautiful Languedoc-Roussillon in a month for the really exciting part - making the French Connection blends.
Nick Butler
