Between the Landes forest, the Garonne and the Pyrenees, the Gascony hillsides cover the Gers dePartment and part of the Landes and Lot-et-Garonne departments. The vineyards occupy the same area as Armagnac, a brandy still produced in the region, but whose volumes have declined in favour of vins de pays (now PGI). Under the influence of a mild oceanic Climate, it is fairly wet in the west, drier in the east, especially in summer. In the west, the subsoil of tawny sands is of marine origin, covered with boulbènes; in the east, it gradually gives way to molasse, a rock resulting from the erosion of the Pyrenees.
The soils are either stony and chalky (peyrusquets) or clayey and Deep (terrefort), retaining water well. The Condom region, the driest, has its own name (Condomois). The main Grape varieties cultivated are white: Colombard and Ugni blanc, the varieties of armagnac. Generally associated, sometimes completed by Sauvignon and Chardonnay, they give lively white wines with an exuberant fruitiness.
Pinot noir is an important red grape variety in Burgundy and Champagne, and its reputation is well known! Great wines such as the Domaine de la Romanée Conti elaborate their wines from this famous grape variety, and make it a great variety. When properly vinified, pinot noit produces red wines of great finesse, with a wide range of aromas depending on its advancement (fruit, undergrowth, leather). it is also the only red grape variety authorized in Alsace. Pinot Noir is not easily cultivated beyond our borders, although it has enjoyed some success in Oregon, the United States, Australia and New Zealand.
pink wines from the region of Gascogne go well with generally quite well with dishes of beef, pork or game (deer, venison) such as recipes of cabri en colombo with creole sauce, stuffed squid in the sétoise sauce or wild boar stew marinated in red wine.
Guigal has acquired Château d’Aqueria for an undisclosed fee in a deal that adds to a sense of fresh dynamism in the historic vineyards of Tavel, a rosé-only appellation that lies on the west bank of the Rhône river in southern France. Marcel Guigal, son of Guigal domaine founder Etienne, said, ‘Our family is delighted to join the Tavel appellation and to participate in the promotion of this great gastronomic rosé.’ Château d’Aqueria. Photo credit: Courtesy of E. Guigal. The purchase puts ...
For those unfamiliar with the Vino de Pago qualification, it was created in Spain in 2003 to certify singular estates (pagos) as Protected Denominations of Origin. While not a requisite, it’s generally implemented by individual wineries looking to gain protected status for a single vineyard site within their domain. This is the case for Abadía Retuerta which is an estate of 700ha, of which 180ha is planted to vine. While located within the Duero Valley, the site resides within the borders of Sar ...
Last year, there was much mirth on wine Twitter about a particularly excruciating tasting note. You’re right. The wine trade needs to get out more. But still… this one was a beauty. It began well enough – really quite beautiful, in fact. But before long the imaginative descriptions were getting more ornate and strained. It moved from poetic to meaningless before finishing with a reference to Burnt Norton – the first of TS Eliot’s Four Quartets – that put it firmly in Private Eye magazine’s ...
