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.
Originally from Bordeaux, Sauvignon, or Sauvignon Blanc, is reputed to be one of the best French grape varieties for white wine. It is a white grape variety, not to be confused with Sauvignon Gris and its pale yellow color, or with Cabernet Sauvignon which produces red wines. Particularly famous thanks to Sancerre, Sauvignon Blanc is cultivated as far as New Zealand, where it produces great wines whose reputation is well established.
wines from the region of Haut-Pays go well with generally quite well with dishes of beef, lamb or poultry such as recipes of veal shank with mushrooms, canned cassoulet or chakchouka.
On the nose in the region of Haut-Pays often reveals types of flavors of oaky, grass or leather and sometimes also flavors of honey, citrus fruit or raspberry. In the mouth in the region of Haut-Pays is a powerful with a nice balance between acidity and tannins.
French national appellation authority (INAO) representative Alexis Sannier told decanter.com that a committee had ‘validated’ in September their ‘admissibility as premier cru climats and commissioned a group of experts to determine their delimitation’. Official recognition for 2024 ‘seems realistic’, he said. The request for the four climats – Les Mûres in Pouilly-Loché and Les Quarts, Les Longeays, and Les Pétaux in Pouilly-Vinzelles, which account for about one-third of 84 hectares from the tw ...
When I have some time to myself in the southern Rhône, my favourite place to relax is the peaceful village of Gigondas. I had even more reason to visit this June, as the growers’ syndicate was celebrating the 50th anniversary of the appellation. Over a meal at Domaine du Clos des Tourelles, we had the opportunity to taste wines spanning five decades, including a remarkable 1971 that was still very much alive and kicking. Gigondas has long been recognised as an exceptional site for winemaking, bu ...
Recent figures have provided more evidence of major players in the fine wine trade developing their presence in the rare whisky market. Auction houses Sotheby’s and Zachys have reported record spirits sales for 2022, while UK-based merchant Bordeaux Index said in January that the secondary market for rare whisky remains ‘exceptionally strong’. Fellow merchant Goedhuis & Co also reported whisky sales up by 20% in value in 2022, led by Scotch. The reports come as a new Decant ...
