If there is the tiniest sliver of a silver lining for me in being stuck inside a small apartment with a toddler for a week now, it´s that I´ve finally caught up with everything enough to rejuvenate my writing! Oh, how I´ve missed you.
I hope everyone is well. These are crazy times we live in and I intend to give a bit of a personal update over the weekend and what I´ve been trying to do over the last few months. However for now, a focus on something more practical! If you´re reading this from Barcelona; my commiserations. Like me, you probably love your apartment but weren´t planning on spending quite so much time here. Day 7 of the lock-down and life is equal mixtures boring and terrifying; a very unhealthy and unnatural combination at the best of times.
I started to think about how I could do something productive and it occurred to me; no-one is going out to buy wine at the moment. Barcelona has become a thriving hub of wine merchants, importers and distributors in the last few years, so it´s a real shame not to have access to them aside from the few who are still running deliveries. Staying afloat over the coming months is going to be a real challenge for them all as the hospitality industry shuts down and wine sales dry up. One of my favourite distributors in town is Caskadia, a small importer bringing in some of the best wines in the city directly from France and Italy, with a smattering of Spanish and German wines to boot. They do very limited private sales but I buy a great deal of wine from them and they also happen to be lovely guys.
A Taste of France
I´ve put together a mixed case of wine (6 bottles) from their selection and set it up so that including delivery, this will arrive to your door for €99, which includes a 10% discount off normal prices. Whilst they have a really great selection of Italian wines, I wanted to showcase their real strength; wines from France. Tom and Arthur go on several buying trips every year to France, and discovering their selection revolutionised my drinking habits over the past 18 months; they´re bringing in the sorts of wines that would be more at home in the wine metropolises of New York or London. These are all wines I´ve enjoyed myself, they´re often wines I´ve included in tastings and on occasion, even wines we´ve included into our WSET Courses. As a disclaimer: I´m friends with both Tom and Arthur. However, there´s no commercial involvement from my side, just an opportunity for my readers to try some amazing wines and hopefully, add a little adventure into an otherwise quite immobile existence during lockdown!
If you´re interested in ordering this case, contact Caskadia directly and ask for the “Taste of France Case” by emailing Tom at tom@caskadia.es
The following wines hail from the Jura, Burgundy, Bordeaux, Beaujolais, The Loire Valley and the Southern Rhone.
Guillaume Overnoy Cremant de Jura NV
Sparkling wine is made all across France, using different methologies, grapes and with varying levels of fame and distinction. If you see the words “Cremant” on a bottle of French sparkling wine, they’re made using the traditional method (just like Cava and Champagne) and can often offer amazing value! Guillaume Overnoy is a young winemaker, still in his 20s, battling the harsh climate of the Jura under the tutelage of his father, organically farming 5.5 hectares of scattered land. If you´ve never had Chardonnay from the Jura before, this lovely, broad yet lively sparkling wine is a great introduction! There´s remarkable depth here for an affordable wine, which figures as it spends at least 3 years on its lees before disgorgement!
Robert Denogent “Les Sardines” 2017
If you´ve follow me on social media, you´ll know what an enormous fan I am of this wine; one of the Macon´s very, very best producers. We had the pleasure of visiting the Robert brothers a few months ago and what they´re doing is quite amazing; clean, fresh, vibrant Chardonnay from this relatively unappreciated part of Burgundy, with enormous depth and persistence. Les Sardines is their iconic, entry level wine; how about that label as well?! The key to its success is high quality grapes from 40 year old vines on limestone soils, hand harvested and allowed to slowly unfurl over 18 months in old oak barrels, then bottled unfiltered. A favourite in our house!
Chateau Rahoul Graves Blanc 2015
I have a soft spot for White Bordeaux; everytime I put my nose in the glass and get that gorgeous mixture of herbal Sauvignon Blanc, pithy Semillon and smoky oak, it transports me to my time in Bordeaux in 2019. It´s still a relatively undiscovered part of the world for most wine lovers and fortunately, Caskadia have an absolute gem in their collection to share. Part of the UGC (Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux) Chateau Rahoul has a long, historic past and only came under new management in 2007. Whilst their red wine is lovely, it´s their white I get particularly excited about. Semillion dominant (74%) with the rest made up of Sauvignon Blanc and Sauvignon Gris, this is a peachy, slightly tropical wine owing to the warmer climate, but sacrifices no freshness in the process. Textured and delicious, with the sort of mid-palate weight and softness that ripe Semillon is famous for and hints of smoky oak. A delicious wine!
Jules Desjourney Beaujolais 2018
If you know Beaujolais, you´ll know a few of their most famous names; Lapierre, Foillard, Guy-Breton and Thevenet, the so-called “Gang of 4”. Yet there are so many brilliant producers in the region, including the brilliant Fabien Duperry of Domaine Jules Desjourney. Having worked as a merchant in Burgundy for some time, Fabien knows wine, having had privileged access to the likes of Leroy and DRC for long periods of time, yet he has such a natural touch with Gamay. Made in a Burgundian style (Little to no carbonic maceration, just traditional ferments with some whole-bunch), this entry level wine is classic Gamay; all fresh red fruits, herbs and violets. Firm and fresh, exactly the sort of wine I wish I had a lot of sat around the house!
Domaine de la Butte “Le Haut de la Butte” 2018
Most wine-makers tend towards a certain style of wine; very few are excellent producers of both red and white wines, for example. Jacky Blot isn´t much of a normal wine-maker though, having essentially galvanised the appellation of Montlouis with his brilliant Chenin Blanc, whilst also being a top producer of red wine in Bourgeil! What makes his wines interesting on the red side is that he bottles them according to the location of the vines. This is one of his top bottlings “Le Haut de la Butte” meaning “The Top of the Hill”, with brilliant exposure to sunshine on the right bank of the Loire river; very important in cool regions like this! Jacky´s Cabernet Francs are so classic in style, full of fresh red fruits, green pepper, graphite and smoked meat, and from the warm 2018 vintage, this is set to be an absolute beauty.
Clos du Mont Olivet Cotes du Rhone Vielles Vignes 2016
The top producers of the Southern Rhone are starting to stand apart from the competition more and more so as the years pass; with the warming years, only the very best can bring out the best in their Grenache without the wines becoming too powerful and alcoholic. Clos du Mont Olivet are one such producer, and the 2016 vintage in particular was one for the ages. 80% Grenache, 10% Carignan and 10% Syrah from 40 year old vines, with just enough whole-bunch fermentation to add a herbal lift to this gorgeous, traditional wine. If you love Chateauneuf du Pape, this is a wine you´re going to really love and an ideal way to say goodbye to the winter in Barcelona