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30 of our favourites wine producers presenting their wine in Languedoc for Vin Hors Norme, what a great opportunity to take the first Easyjet flight for Bezier and discover the new cuvees froms Beru, Le Casot des Mailloles or Abbatucci.
So we did it, bring with us at least 10 someliers from London, rent a van and...vive l’aventure!
Special thanks to Alex Pons for the organisation.

Two wines from our wine list have been selected by Steven Spurrier in Decanter magazine:

• Cremant de Loire Domaine de Veilloux as "best sparkler".
• Domaine Comte Abbatucci, Ministre Imperial 2008 as "best old world red". Spurrier says: "the best Corsican red I've tasted".

Download the full page by clicking here.

We organised our Annual Tasting on the 13th and 14th of April. The event was a great success with about 300 visitors over the two days. We thank all our producers who came all the way to London to talk with passion about their wines and their work. We also thank everyone who came to the event. We have already had very good initial feedback for the Nicolas Joly Masterclass on biodynamics, for the choice of the venue, for the organisation and most importantly, for the quality of the wines.

Photos

You can see all the photos of the event here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/15562791@N06/sets/72157623735976753/ (by Marion Barral)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicolaidis/sets/72157623941237928/ (by Sebastien Nikolaidis)

Nicolas Joly's Masterclass

Over two hours Nicolas Joly explained his vision on biodynamics applied to viticulture and wine-making. He compared wine-making to music: "When you make wine, you have to think of the instruments, of the musician and of the acoustic". The instruments are a metaphor for the raw material, grapes, which have to be of top quality to produce good wine. Nicolas continually suggests that a wine producer who works well in the vineyards has very little work left in the cellar. The musician is of course a metaphor for the wine producer, a word that Nicolas Joly does not like. He prefers the French word "vigneron" because man is only there to assist nature and not to "make" wine like one would "make" an artificial product like soda. Last but not least, the acoustic is a metaphor for the environment in which the vines grow: soil, topography, climate, etc. In a word, the terroir, which English people like to translate by "the sense of place".    
If you are interested in learning more about Nicolas Joly's philosophy and approaches to biodynamics, you can download his detailed papers here.

Tasting Notes

We asked a few professionals who attended the tasting to give us their opinion about the wines, the producers and about the event in general.

Coz Kampanaos, from Sommelier Cru, says:
"What a pleasure to meet such superb small-estate producers; some of them old friends, and some destined to become new ones. I planned to spend 2 hours finding new wines, but found that the hours passed more profitably than I could have hoped. Listing favourites is always tricky but here goes. For value-for-money Domaine Les Aphillanthes, Cuvée des Galets 2005 was a winner, as was the unlisted Montesecondo Chianti 2007. In the Languedoc Alain Chabanon’s Trelans 2002 shows just what great VDP should be, whilst Domaine La Terrasse d’Elise’s Le Pradel 2006 Cinsault will confound blind tasters for years to come. Finally, for unpronounceable but sublime grape varieties Domaine Comte Abbatucci took the biscuit; in particular his 7-varietal blend ‘Ministe Imperial Collection’ was heavenly. "

Robert Giorgione, wine consultant, wine writer and editor of the FoodWineTravel blog, says:
"I particularly enjoyed the dry and sweet examples of Jurancon wines produced by Domaine de Souch and some quirky, aromatic whites from Savoie and Jura, such as the Roussette de Savoie made by Domaine Prieure Saint Christophe, the Chardonnays and Arbois Ploussards made by Domaine de la Tournelle.
The wines, especially the reds from Alain Chabanon ("The Star of Languedoc") also stood out, were very well-structured, characterful and had potential for longevity. In addition, I enjoyed the plummy, rich and voluptuous Malbecs from Domaine Cosse Maisonneuve in Cahors. Their supple, silky tannins, bright fruit and typical inky colour were balanced up nicely with a savoury edge.
However, my real discovery for the day was when Frederic showed me the line up of four aged Chenin Blancs from Les Jardins Esmeraldins. He explained to me that they were only classified as a "Vin de Table" Genese in the Loire Valley, but they were produced in extraordinary low yields and spent around ten years in oak. My favourite was the 2000 vintage, which was dry, delicate, complex, displayed floral hints and still had plenty of freshness. In December, only 300 bottles will be released. "

Isabelle Legeron, Master of Wine and Wine Consultant at WineLab, says:
"Fred's portfolio is really impressive, both in terms of quality and consistency. His producers are not only respectful of the environment (following organic and/or biodynamic practices) but they make great, true wines with minimal intervention in the cellar. Some of my favourites are Le Casot des Mailloles, La Terrasse d'Elise (Le Pradel), Julien Courtois, La Marele, Clos Ouvert and Olivier Riviere amongst others."

Saskia Van Der Horst, Bar Manager at La Trouvaille Restaurant & Wine Bar, says:
"The event hapened in a generous and authentic atmosphere. Nicolas Joly's Masterclass was a great introduction to the tasting because it allowed everyone to taste the wines with a good understanding of what they are. Three wines particularly blew my mind:
- Fleur de Savagnin Domaine La Tournelle from Arbois in Jura made with a 100% Savagnin grape which is usually used to produce the famous "Vin Jaune",
- Agape, Michel Quenioux: this original 100% Sauvignon Blanc from Cheverny in Loire Valley was a pure expression of both the terroir and the grape variety it is made of,
- and to finish the very delicate Mondeuse of Domaine Prieure Saint Christophe in Savoie.
Many thanks to all the team that organised the event."

Private reception at the Residence de Monsieur l'Ambassadeur de France

We had the huge privilege of being invited by Monsieur l'Ambassadeur de France to his private residence for a private wine tasting. The producers really enjoyed this prestigious reception in a relaxed atmosphere. We would like to thank Monsieur l'Ambassadeur de France and all the staff for the quality of the reception. This was the most perfect way to finish the two-days tasting.

You can see all the photos of the reception here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/15562791@N06/sets/72157623825269901/

Jon's cheeses

During these two days, Jon Thrupp and his colleague Suzannah Watson treated us to their fine cheese selection that you can buy every Friday and Saturday at Borough Market. If ever you are interested in working with Jon's cheese in your restaurant, please do not hesitate to contact him directly.

Contact details:
Jon Thrupp
Mons Cheese
108 Druid Street
London SE1 2HH
Tel: 020 7064 6912
E-mail: jon.thrupp(arobas)mons-cheese.co.uk

Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/15562791@N06/sets/72157623825280433/

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