WINESCENE

Riberach Wine Shop, Restaurant and Hotel

I spent the afternoon meeting up with Guillhem Soulignac, one of the partners in the Riberach Cave, Hotel and Restaurant project in the town of Belesta high in the Roussillion Valley. It's an ambitious project, taking an old cooperative, turning it into a hotel, a working winery and a very neat cave (wine shop) that sells not only the wines from Riberach, but also from leading producers in the area. There red wines are wonderful, smooth, long and elegant, while the whites show off what the area is capable of. None of the wines are "pushed" so far to make them astringent or fat, instead there's a finese and fresh quality to them.

Guilhem and I spent about an hour going through the various wines of Riberach, including their stunning rose made from Carignan and then went into the cave to blend. Getting to play wine blender is always fun and I ended up making a wine of Carignan (50 percent), Grenache (33 percent) and Syrah (17 percent) from the 2009 vintage. We also made up one of 50 percent Grenache but the wine ended up far too astringent. A third was made where we increased the Syrah component pushing down the other two fairly equally, but while it made the wine more approachable now, it likely would have the aging of the Carignan (50 percent), Grenache (33 percent) and Syrah (17 percent).

One other note, the vines at Riberach are old, some passing 100 years of age. They are all grown organically, but there is some clearing of the vineyard of grass and overgrown brush. This year the buds are full and look very juicy already, so if the weather cooperates, Riberach may have an exceptional year.

As for the hotel, nothing has been spared. The ecologically friendly hotel has stone floors inside the old vats. Walls are adorned by flat screen TVs, the beds are fimr, and the junior suite offers a second room for working, along with a delightful terrace. The food in the restaurant is quite good and creative, with as you would expect a very well chosen wine list and spot on service. 

As winery stays and hotels go, Riberach is about tops in my book, as their wines make it only even better.

Clot de l'Origine from Maury, France

When one thinks of wines in the Maury region of the Cotes de Roussillion the usual thought is big, full throttle very Rhone like wines that we see so much of. But, all across the Roussillion Valley there's a movement afoot to make lighter, less extacted and more natural wines. At the front of the line of that is Marc Barriot and his tiny garage winery in Maury, Clot de l'Orgine.

I met Marc at an "off" prior to the start of Vinisud this past February and was impressed with his wine, especially, the whites he's making from Grenache Gris, Blanc and Macabau, the latter which is quickly becoming one of my favorite "white" grapes while his reds that are wines made of Carignan, Syrah, Grenache Cinsault and Mourvedre have a quality not usually found in the area. Marc makes his wines organically, and a look at his vineyard and tasting his finished product shows alot. His wines have a very natural character to them, with tastes of herbs and spices. The nuances in his wines are not for those who don't know, as Marc's wines, when tasted very young require a more educated palate to taste through the wines, but once one does, one finds that the wines of Clot d'Origine are more like Burgundy, then the Rhone. They are not cookie cutter wines like in Napa or Bordeaux, where better wine through chemistry is at work. No, Clot d'Origine wines very terroir specific as are many other wines here in the Roussillion.

Having tasted through most if not all of Marc's wines, one can only hope a smart importer in the USA picks up the wines, and sells them through merchants who can talk about the wines, not just sell them based on their price and value. Personally, I've become a fan of his Les Quilles Libres and AOC Côtes du Roussillon Village wine that is made from 80 percent Grenache, with the rest Syrah, Grenache and Cinsault. There's a great quality in the wine that has it screaming for Tomme de Catelan, local cheese that ripe and nutty, or a nice piece of venison.

 

 

2006 Mas Baux Velours Rouge Cotes Catalanes

During Vinisud one of the wineries from the Banyuls-Collioure region was Domain Mas Baux from Canet de Roussillion so while browsing in a local wine store in Argeles Sur Mer for obscurities that are not imported into the USA I saw they had a six year young bottle of the 2006 Mas Baux Velours Rouge Cotes Catalanes, which I recalled from my talk with the winemaker was a year that needed time. Well, given it was on the shelf, I was in the region, I decided for the whopping price of under 10 Euros to give it a go. And go it did, as the blend of Grenache and Syrah which has since changed to Grenache and Mourvedre was stunning. Bright, flavorful, jammy and perfect with the local Tome Catalanes cheese I picked up around the corner to taste along side the local finds.

The wine has a bouquest of blackberry, raspberry and blueberry jam, with nice mineral notes as well. On the palate it's just yummy. Think Cotes du Rhone made in Napa or Sonoma, where the maritime heat brings out more of the flesh of the fruit, layers it with that taste of grape jam we all loved as kids being slathered onto toast in the morning. Well, that's how this wine is. Jammy, ripe, tasty and not at all tarty. The 2010 I recall from Vinisud needed time. It was just out of the barrel and to be candid, the wine was not yet finished. Now having tasted an older, well bottle aged version, I can safely say that Mas Baux makes wines of character and flavor, and is the kind of find you want to keep all to yourself, but know better that wine is for sharing. It was like finding an old friend, and the kind of friend you really can appreciate.

2011 Domaine Vaquer Esquisse Blanc

I have a special love of this winery, as it has been a hidden gem for years. But now that the good folks at Kermit Lynch are bringing in one of their wines, well perhaps it will achieve the notoriety it deserves. FWIW I have tasted the 2001 red vaquer that KLWM has in stock and recommend it highly for those who can receive wine from Berkeley's best known wine merchant.

Last night in Collioure I had the good fortune to find one of their wines on the list, and while I am very familiar with the Vaquer reds, the whites have not been something I'm at all familiar with. The 2011 Vaquer Esquisse is a delight as the blend of Roussanne (34%)  Maccabeu (33%)  Grenache Blanc (33%) has both fruit and minerality that lingers on the palate with lemon, lime and peach flavors. For a Côtes du Roussillon A.O.C. white wine, this is a real gem. The length and finish lingers, and as the bottle opens it only gets better.

 

Les Clos de Paulilles Collioure Wine and Food

Le Ferme Auberge is part of the winery and vineyard complex operated by Les Clos de Paulilles, one of the more interesting locations to see wine grown and made in Southern France. With the vineyards jutting out close to the sea, a backdrop of the Collioure wine growing hillsides even a rainy day couldn't ruin a good meal and solid wines all for 39 Euros a person and all inclusive. In a word, the food and wine experience fantastic.

The starters were two different types of Tapenades, served with the 2011 Les Clos de Paulilles Colioure Rose. The Rose is Syrah and Grenache, and very much a fruit bomb versus the more drier style from Bandol or Tavel. This is followed by their 2011 Les Clos de Paulilles Collioure white wine, made from Grenache Gris and Grenache Blanc tht had been nicely paired with the Piperade of Rascasse, rockfish, red peppers all in a lovely compote. Next up is their red wine, the 2009 Les Clos de Paulilles Collioure Rouge which is made from 80 percent Mourvedre and 20 percent Syrah. I really enjoyed the pairing with the lemon sauce roasted chicken dish right from their farm as the whole preparation actually reminded me of the chicken dishes served at Ferme Gaston in old Lyon.

The meal, which was perfectly served by the female manager  was rounded out by two of their Vin De Natural Banyuls, both which are made from Grenache in slightly different way. The younger Banyuls was paired with blue cheese and a home made cake, followed by chocolate on chocolate and the slightly longer aged in barrel 2009 Cap Bear Banyuls which was a perfect pairing, that was so good I attempted to buy a bottle, but the manager wouldn't let me. She insisted on gifting it to me.  Having looked at the weather earlier in the day I contemplated canceling lunch, but in the end I was very happy that I decided to keep my reservation. Solid wines. Solid service and a great value...with very good farm to table cooking that others try to emulate and never quite.