Browse Tag

southwest france

Jeff Bézios

Bézios “Domaine la Croix des Marchands” 2007 Gaillac (Southwest France) – A goofy bottle, a goofy wine. Crisp doesn’t really hit the mark here…sharp is closer…with biting fruit full of black skins, seeds, and stems. Pretty insipid, to be honest. (10/09)

Capmartin & Caprowan

Capmartin 2007 Pacherenc du Vic Bilh Sec (Southwest France) – Very aromatic, and in an intriguingly elusive way. Flowers? Whitewashed rock? Herbs? All and none of those things, I suppose; this is not a wine that wishes to be nailed down. There’s just enough structure to give it support, and an interesting crescendo to the finish. Nice. I’d consider holding it for a short while to see if it develops some wax and texture, except that the synthetic closure virtually guarantees a short life. (9/09)

Maurin Povich

Domaine La Berangeraie 2005 Cahors “Cuvée Maurin” (Southwest France) – Impossibly dense and virtually impenetrable, a post-rockfall coal mine of a wine, with smoke, black earth, tar, rosemary, and not-yet-discernable fruit. Do not approach. (9/09)

Moe, Larrieu, & Curlycue

[vineyard]Larrieu “Clos Lapeyre” 2005 Jurançon Moelleux “La Magendia” (Southwest France) – Ripe, sweet, and pure. Lemon and apple paired, with a heart of cool alpine valley sunshine and little drizzlings of fresh acidity over the top. Pretty. (7/09)

Bernede to the ground

Bernede “Clos La Coutale” 2005 Cahors (Southwest France) – Very tannic and muffled, as one would expect at this stage. What fruit is perceptible is dark, stewish, and almost espresso-like, but there are also some intriguing aromatics that struggle through the insulation. There’s little point in drinking this now. (7/09)

Laubade to the bone

Laubade 1964 Bas-Armagnac (Armagnac) – Warm chocolate and caramel fading into a late-evening fire, plus rich brown sugar. Melting and intense. Fantastic. (11/08)

Avril

Lusseau “Château Haut Lavigne” 2007 Côtes de Duras (Southwest France) – Bones and bouquet garni (heavy on the bay), but otherwise mostly about clarity. It’s not watery or thin, but it is light, with its skeleton fully revealed. A summer wine. (3/09)

Lend me your Barrère

Barrère “Clos de la Vierge” 2005 Jurançon Sec (Southwest France) – Beeswax, sand, dried pineapple bereft of all its sweetness, and beige minerality left naked by a great transparency of fruit. There’s some summer sweat, as well, but mostly the wine stands, stark and silent, waiting. Ready? Nowhere near? Wines like this are so deceptive. (3/09)

Etxe fingers

Hillau “Domaine Etxegaraya” 2002 Irouléguy (Southwest France) – Clinging to relevance. Sharp-tongued animate blackberries, a sort of meat residue aroma, some fairly luscious darkness, but it’s all on the verge of drying out. This would likely be much better under another closure than its synthetic cork, and while this is the best-preserved of the four bottles thus far, given the circumstances it would have been better to drink it at release. (1/09)