The marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine to Henry II of England brought Aquitaine into the Plantagenet Empire. A flourishing wine market developed from the port of Bordeaux. The winegrowers of Bordeaux obtained the Bordeaux privilege from King Henry III of England in 12416: wines from the high country could not enter the port of Bordeaux before Christmas6. By then, navigation was more difficult and many ships had already left loaded.
This privilege allowed the Bordeaux winegrowers to sell their production. The King of France became the suzerain of Bordeaux after the battle of Castillon in 1453. To gain the respect of his New subjects, he renewed the privilege. It was finally Louis XVI who settled the conflict more than five centuries later in 17736, by setting up a mediation between the wine growers.
Fer or Fer Servadou, which means "easy to keep" in Occitan, or Mansois in Aveyron or Braucol in Gaillac, is a black grape variety grown in the southwest. It owes its name to its shoots and wood, which are "hard as iron", with medium-sized bunches and firm, juicy berries, and is characterized by its herbaceous taste (which is also found in Cabernet Franc). Iron is a grape variety resistant to frost and disease. Its buds come out late, but its growth accelerates and it matures quite quickly. For a good production, it prefers long pruning. Iron is used alone for the AOC Marcillac wines and in blends for the wines of the Gaillac, Madiran, Béarn and Fronton appellations. These wines have a deep colour, expressive tannins, they are round and fruity (blackcurrant, raspberry and green pepper...)
pink wines from the region of Haut-Pays go well with generally quite well with dishes of beef, lamb or spicy food such as recipes of piglet shoulder with melting baked apples, navarin of lamb or royal couscous (lamb, chicken, merguez).
On the nose in the region of Haut-Pays often reveals types of flavors of peach, oak or smoke and sometimes also flavors of watermelon, minerality or tropical fruit. In the mouth in the region of Haut-Pays is a with a nice freshness.
The W/O (standing for ‘without’) Frappato 2020 – an organic Sicilian red – is packaged in a bottle made with ‘wild’ glass (the name bottle manufacturer Estal has given to its 100% recycled glass). The launch, which forms part of the company’s pledge to become Net Zero and halve its carbon footprint by 2030, marked a ‘UK first for wine’, according to the online wine merchant. It follows a recent audit commissioned from EcoAct – a specialist company advising on sustainability, which sh ...
France’s 2022 wine harvest is likely to be between 42.6 million and 45.6m hectolitres, up by 13% to 21% on the frost-hit 2021 vintage and more in-line with the country’s five-year average. One hectolitre is equivalent to 100 litres. Yet drought could impact on yields in the coming weeks, adding extra uncertainty in several regions, said the French agriculture ministry’s Agreste statistics unit. Expected vintage quality isn’t covered by the preliminary outlook. It added the 2022 growing season is ...
The liqueur – famed for its use in making Crêpes Suzettes, but also a classic cocktail ingredient – has created a new Exceptional Range, beginning with the launch of Grand Marnier Quintessence. Quintessence combines rare old hors d’âge Cognacs from the Grande Champagne sub-region with the essence of bitter Citrus bigaradia (Seville orange) peels, double-distilled to intensify their flavour. The blend was taken from an old recipe found in the Marnier Lapostolle family archives by Grand Marnier ma ...
