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The enduring wines of France
Sunday, October 26, 2008 By Tomás Clancy
French winemakers have an knack of weathering economic storms.

They have bounced back from the Black Death, the South Sea Bubble, the Hundred Years War, the French Revolution, the Great Depression and Nazi occupation.

So, as the world economy again comes tumbling down, the French are first out of the traps in refocusing their efforts in producing good wines of exceptional value.

However, at a gathering of French winemakers at Sopexa’s autumn French Wine Fair in Dublin earlier this month, it was two sisters from Limerick who stole the show when they unveiled a number of intriguing wines and business ideas.

Karen and Suzanne O’Reilly are at the centre of a ex-pat web of Irish businesses in the Languedoc, where they live with their partners and children. “[In Languedoc-Roussillon], it’s sunny and warm all the time,” saysKaren. ‘‘We can be swimming in the Med in about 20minutes, or skiing in the Pyrenees in about an hour.”

Suzanne settled in France in 2000, after a rollerblading accident left her unable to continue with her job as an air hostess for the Amir of Qatar. She considered a change of career and, with property sales booming, joined a French estate agency. In 2002, she formed the property business bidsinfrance.com with her accountant sister Karen, and they began selling and renting property in the Languedoc-Roussillon region.

Like generations of Irish merchant adventurers before them, it wasn’t long before working with the vine captured their imagination.

‘‘Wine became a passion and we decided to turn it into a business,” says Karen.

The sisters set up the French Tour Company, frenchtourco.com, running English-speaking wine tours around Perpignan, Languedoc and Roussillon.

The company runs daylong Red Berry Tours, which cost from €80 to €100 per person, and three-day tours, which cost €250 per person and include three nights’ accommodation, chauffeur transfers, tours and vineyard visits.

The Why French Women Don’t Get Fat Tour (€95 per person) includes walking, calorie-sensitive fine dining and a spa day. Whereas its Art Tour (€90) involves museum visits and an art class.

In conjunction with their tour business, the sisters are beginning to import wine to Ireland from their favourite wineries.

Their exhibit at the Sopexa wine fair focused on little-known wines of good value.

The pick of the bunch was the Domaine Treloar, Three Peaks Cotes du Roussillon 2006 (91) which is an astoundingly intense and savoury grenache, syrah and mourvedre blend that would shame many a Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

If it were on sale here it would be priced under €20. Let’s hope the O’Reilly sisters find a distributor for it in Ireland.

Elsewhere, the wines shown at the Sopexa fair were mainly the fruit of wineries which endeavour to run green, sustainable and organic businesses and - in the case of Domaine Treloar, Lutte Raisonnée - struggle to work in harmony with the soil and with nature. Here follows a review of the offerings.

French white wines

* Rémy Pannier, Vin de Pays de Loire Sauvignon 2007, €10 (86).
Adequate and accurate, but unengaging.

* Domaine de Clos Roche Blanche, Touraine Sauvignon Blanc No.2 2007, €13.30 (88).
An oily, rich sauvignon, but with a fine cut. Worth trying.

* Chateau de Roques, Sauvignon Blanc 2006, €11.49 / €15 (86).
Cooler style, touched lightly with acidity and complexity.

* Arrogant Frog, Ribet White Sauvignon Blanc 2007, €11.49 (83).
Great name, poor acidity, blunted finish - a dull wine and dear for the price.

* Dourthe No 1, Sauvignon Blanc 2007, €11.49 (87).
Monolithic flavours and a one-dimensional finish. Not bad, but not alluring either.

* Michel Lynch, White 2007, €12.49 (89).
A well-made sauvignon semillon blend, fine cut and good fruit. It has a lighter mid-body than a €40Graves, but at this price it’s a bit of a steal.

* Thomas Barton Reserve Graves, €10 (89).
The Graves-alike sauvignon semillon blend is a hard-fought arena. It runs neck and neck with the Michel Lynch, pipping it to the post on price, if you want the slightly oilier, nutty mid palate.

* Chateau des Eyssards, Bergerac Sec 2007, €9.80 (87).
A dramatically tangy and vibrant take on the same semillon and sauvignon blend, but just a little singular in the finish. Excellent chilled, for everyday dining.

* Domaine de Belle Mare, Picpoul de Pinet 2007, €11.95 (85).
Crisp, but hollow.

* Domaine St Lannes Blanc 2007, €9 (87)
A delicious, viscous but vibrant affair from a deeply unfashionable trinity of grapes, ugni blanc, colombard and gros maseng. Never mind the names, at the price it is thoroughly intriguing.

* Chateau Rives Blanques, Vine de Pays d’Oc 2007, €14.50 (90)
A superb wine of great complexity and charm, full of sensuous golden charm.

* Domaine Nadine Ferrand, AC Macon 2006 €14.49 (89)
Gorgeous oil and toasty affair, with polished Meursault-like notes mid palate. A star in the making at the price of a big-brand, lesser quality Australian chardonnay.

* Chateau Roubard, Cuvee Prestige, Costerie de Nimes 2006, €13 (89)
Another Languedoc-adjacent winery with a white grenache and roussane blend bursting with spice and flair.

* Chateau de L’Orangerie, L’Or de L’Orangerie, AOC Cadillac 2005, €15 (89)
Dunnes Stores has truffled out this outstandingly clean and elegant sweet wine, which will delight anyone who loves Saint Croix du Mont or sauternes, but wants to pay a quarter of the price. The bottle is a work of art in itself.

French red wines
At these prices, it is more difficult to find solid French wines reds than whites, but this list makes an attempt.

* Domaine Vincent Sauvestre, Bourgeois Pinot Noir 2006, €15 (83)
They said cheap and appealing French pinot cannot be done. It can, but not here.

* Michel Lynch, Rouge/Red 2006 (86), €12.49
Alas, this is not a patch on the white counterpart. Disappointing.

* Chateau de Bois de Cadet 2005 (86), €10
It’s hard to feel the warmth in the fruit here. There is better value than this in Dunnes Stores’ other French ranges.

* Arrogant Frog, Ribet Red 2007, €11.49 (81)
It is hard to hate something called Ribet Red from Arrogant Frog. So leave it on the shelf and preserve the relationship of humour and smiles.

* Cave de Castlemaure, Le Castlemaure 2006, €8.95 (87)
A solid wine of discernable fruit, but the next Cuvée up, Les Enfants du Roc(k), is also worth saving for.

* Domaine St Jacques d’Albas, AC Minervois 2005, €14 (89)
A rich and glorious wine with tar and liquorice aplenty, overlying a solid tannic frame and startling fine and complex finish. Outstanding wine at a great price.

* Mount Tauch, Fitou 2007, €11 (88)
Well-sourced Fitou by Superquinn, that is a little too young still. But with a bit of decanting it shows solidly if a bit shorter than hoped. Good value.

* Chateau Camplazens, La Garrigue 2004 €15 (88)
Punchy, ripe fruit in a well-judged savoury, rather than crowd-pleasing soft fashion. Solid, age-worthy wine at a fair price. But in this range, Australian shiraz begins to offer its first glimmers of hand-reared charm.

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