Delightful Wines from the Beaujolais Region

Delightful Wines from the Beaujolais 

Dominique Morel “Vieilles Vignes” Fleurie (AOP) 2107, 12.5%, €22.99

160, Cinnamon Cottage, Wine Centre and www.wineolnline.ie

Colour is light to mid ruby. Those fairly typical red cherry aromas, mixed with floral notes, soon announce themselves and stay with you to the finalé. Right through the elegant palate of light and bright flavours, delicate yes, but far from weak and that too applies to the persistent finish. Very Highly Recommended.

I was, it seems, getting the best of its floral and refined side; that comes between 6 months and 3 years. Later, from 3 to 7 years, you’ll be enjoying the fully mature wine, all according to the producers website.

This Morel is produced by Gry-Sablon and wine has been made at the domaine for over a century. Gry-Sablon make wine in five of the ten crus of Beaujolais and also in Burgundy. 

The Gamay grape thrives in the granite soils of the Fleurie village in the heart of the Beaujolais region. With its delicate cherry scents and flavours of red berry fruits, this very elegant wine is an excellent partner to a wide variety of lighter dishes. Recommended serving temperature is 15%.

Dishes indicate suitable are Poultry terrines, all delicate white meats, Bresse poultry, lamb chops with herbs, lyonnaise-style veal liver, roast rabbit, old-fashioned pork loin, pigeon, fish, fresh goat cheese , strawberry profiteroles.

The year 2017 was another difficult vintage for producers in the Beaujolais. Spring frost, vicious hailstorms during July and the drought of the summer months all combined to make it so. Fortunes were somewhat retrieved with a welcome rain just before harvest, which brought freshness to the resulting wines. Still much damage was done, particularly by the hail which resulted in a 40% loss in volume.

In the winery, all went well and the wine was aged in stainless steel tanks on fine lees for 5 to 6 months before bottling in the estate. An excellent result then after so many hurdles. 

Frédéric Berne “Pierre Bleue” Beaujolais-Latignié (AOP) 2018, 14%, €21.99

World Wide Wines  and www.wineonline.ie

Colour of this Gamay is a deeper red than normal, close to purple. There are intense fragrant aromas of berries (blue and black), floral notes. Gets even better as the palate comes into play, terrific fruit backbone along with soft tannins. No shortage of acidity either. Finishes well also with a touch of spice. Highly Recommended.

The Latignié terroir, just a short drive from Beaujolais crus such as Morgan, Fleurie, and Chiroubles, has played its part here. Grown on 'Pierre Bleue' soils, the Gamay “gives wines which have deeper colour, fragrant perfumes and soft tannins”, according to the producers. Unlike the western side of Lantignié where the soils are predominantly granite, the grapes used for this wine come from the eastern side of Lantignié where the soils are mostly clay. Frédéric has six hectares between the Beaujolais Villages, Morgon and Chiroubles, and is currently converting all his vineyards to organic viticulture so uses no pesticides.

The year 2018 turned out to be a very good one, despite a very wet spring. Conditions during harvest were ideal, and the vintage produced a good quantity of healthy, ripe Gamay grapes. As a result 2018, for producers in the Beaujolais, is heralded as one of the best for quality and quantity in recent years.

On the label, you may read their “mission statement”: We do not inherit the land from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. I chose the path of natural agriculture to help you discover authentic wines that respect their environment. Breaking away from intensive chemical farming, the team takes care of its vines according to the precepts of agroecology.

Another Frédéric Berne wine to watch is his Morgon ‘Corcelette’, also available via Liberty.

Two Excellent Wines from Macon and Minervois.

Two Excellent Wines

 from Macon and Minervois.

Bourcier-Martinot Macon (AOC) 2017, 13%, €19.95 O’Briens 

If you like Maconnais, as Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald did, then you’ll have love this. Coming from the northern reaches of the Mâcon, it is an unoaked Chardonnay and is  is new to the shelves at O’Briens.

Pale gold is the colour, clean and bright. Apple and lime and a floral touch too in the aromas. On the palate it is crisp and fresh, an array of citrus and melon flavours, nice bit of acidity also, an almost creamy mouthfeel and a good long finish. I’ve always enjoyed wines from this region, this is no exception and is Very Highly Recommended.

Hemingway was quite a lover of these wines as he disclosed in A Moveable Feast. On a drive up from the south of France with Scott Fitzgerald, they enjoyed a packed lunch which included truffled roast chicken and he reported that Scott was very happy when we "drank the white Maconnais at each of our stops".  Later on that day, "At Mácon I had bought four bottles...which I uncorked as we needed them." No breath-analyser in those roaring twenties.

I’ve read this is an excellent wine to serve with oven roasted scallops in the shell with herb cream. Then again, Hemingway’s pairing with truffled roast chicken sounds very interesting as well.

Money was no problem to Hemingway but many of us would struggle to buy some of the better Chardonnays from Burgundy. The Mâconnais, as illustrated here, offers an excellent introduction at a much lower price point than the Côte de Beaune and so on.

Chateau de Girard “Cuvée Arthur” Minervois (AOC) 2017, 14.5%, €19.95 O’Briens

Dark ruby is the colour of this supple unoaked Minervois from certified sustainably farmed vineyards. It is the classic GSM blend:  Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre.

 In the intense aromas you’ll find black fruits (plums, cherry). Soft, juicy, fruity, terrific balance and a long finish. This easy-drinking rather elegant wine, with silky tannins, is relatively new to the O’Briens portfolio. Full bodied and lush, immediately loveable, with a persistent finish and a touch of spice, this is Very Highly Recommended. Pair with paté, roasted meats and pasta. Serve at 18 degrees.

Zorah Making Its Mark. Rebooting Armenia's Ancient Winemaking

Zorah Making Its Mark
Rebooting Armenia's Ancient Winemaking

“Now is the restart of the Armenian wine legend,“ declared Zorik Gharibian, owner of the Zorah Vineyards.

Zorik was speaking at the start of his online masterclass, organised by Liberty Wines, last Wednesday. “We lost the link with our history of winemaking.” He referred to the genocide (between 1914 and 1923) and, more recently, Soviet rule which declared that Armenia would be their brandy supplier, a long period when wine played second fiddle. Indeed, the current World Wine Atlas says that “at least 80% of the grapes.. are still distilled into the national drink”.

Zoric

Armenia may well be perceived as “new” on the wine scene around the world. Perhaps so. But Zorik is optimistic: "We have all the tools needed to be a winemaking country, 100s of native varieties, our high altitude vineyards. Armenia has it all.”

Back in the mist of time Noah, no less, would have had much the same feelings. His Ark landed on Mount Ararat, the country’s holy mountain, and the first job was to plant a vineyard and the wine was used to celebrate.

The Zorah vineyard is in the light green section

And the long history in wine that Zorik is rightly proud of is well illustrated in two of the country’s ancient places, one just “in front of Zorah”, discovered in 2007, after he had already set up his vineyard in the Vayots Dzor region. Right here, in a cave (Areni 1), ancient amphorae were discovered and were dated at 6,100 years ago. “They had used the same techniques as us and the grapes were similar too.

Another site from Armenia’s Golden Age, this close to the capital Yerevan, emphasises the wine connection. Here, no less than 480 large amphorae were found. They were in use some 3,000 years ago, “wine-making on an industrial scale”. Zorik’s slide even showed Sumeric script on the neck, detailing the year of harvest and capacity.

Unruly! Zorah's bush vines

They were buried in the ground, up to three quarter level, with a quarter above, a method unique to Armenia. “I was the first in modern Armenia to believe in the amphora”. And he tried various placements, from the whole vessel below ground to the whole unit above but in the end found that the ancient method produced the best results. The Armenian amphora (known locally as karasi) is longer than others, “the most sexiest amphoras I’ve seen around”.

Another important date in the country’s history is 301AD when Armenia “became the first nation to accept Christianity”. Soon there were monks and vineyards everywhere and even now there are monasteries all over the place, always monks and grapes. “Wine has always “been inside our culture”.

Amphorae

So back to Zorik's start, or re-start, in Vayots Dzor, the smallest and least populated region with the highest altitude. He established the Zorah winery on a plateau at 1,400 metres. “Here, there is a great diversity… grapes and other fruits… no pollution... no industry at all.”

There is “a drastic difference" between day and night temperatures here. "The soil is sandy, with great drainage, and we harvest at the end of October. There are no roads after my vineyard, just the mountain.”

No roads after Zorah

Areni Noir is “king of the red grape varieties here … and has no international relations, unrelated to any other variety". At 200m higher, he came across ancient bush vines (200 years old or so), apples and walnut trees too. Here he makes his Yeraz wine, his best wine of which he is so very proud. But he and his team have to fight hard for the fruit. While the old bushes are very large the yield is very limited. So far, he produces just three wines as “they must be more than perfect before release”. Progress is slow.

Progress may be slow but Zoric is always thinking ahead. One aim now in hand and getting there “little by little” is the Heritage Project. The aim here is to create a collection of wines from native Armenian varieties, not necessarily from Zorah (who would be curators, I suppose). “I think it will be worthwhile for wine lovers around the world.”

And another project is geared at reviving the ancient craft of making the amphora. At present there is a scarcity. “I go village to village, knock on doors.” In one house, and he had the photo to prove it, the old lady had a huge amphora and didn't want it anymore as nobody in the family was making wine. 

The only problem was the large vessel was in the middle of the house that had been extended around it, so Zoric has to pay for the knocking and rebuilding of an old wall. Zoric, who ran a fashion business in Italy, has friends in the wine industry there (some help out at Zorah) and expects to get help from Italian master craftsmen to train the Armenians.

Besides, he hopes that this will accelerate progress in the local wine industry. “I am happy and proud to encourage, including members of the diaspora, entering into wine. And a few are now using amphorae. Armenia surely has a future with our traditional ageing, our indigenous varieties and our highlands, this is what we must push.”

And push he does: “I keep repeating my presentation.. great potential coming up. And not just a story with mystic notes.. the liquid is there! We can put ourselves in a position of prestige."

He sees challenges rather than problems. That became clear in the question and answer session. “Our grapes are thick-skinned, very tough, suited to our environment. Frost and hail we get, but they are naturally here. Frost is an enemy? No, a challenge yes.

Now you know where Armenia is!

And then there’s phylloxera. "In Armenia yes, but not in my region. It recently arrived in a nearby valley where investors were allowed bring in international grafted varieties. Luckily nothing arrived here yet. I’m proud of my terroir, a unique place. So I hope it never arrives!”

You’ll have noticed that the letter “Z” kept popping up in the paragraphs above. And here is one more example. The colourful design Զ at the top of his bottles is the Armenian letter “Z” with a map of the country (in white) included.

Check out Liberty Wines for their selection of Zorah wines here 

For more on Zorah itself, see https://www.zorahwines.com/.

Pics above are slides from the online masterclass.

Back in the 1974/75 season, when Armenia was still part of the Soviet Union, Cork Celtic were outplayed by Ararat Yerevan in the second leg of a second round European Cup tie in the Armenian capital.

A Wonderful Wine from the Golden Mile. Abadía Retuerta “Selección Especial”

Abadía Retuerta “Selección Especial” Castilla y León (IGP) 2014, 14%

A Wonderful Wine from the Golden Mile.

We are on the bank of the Douro river in Spain, just leaving the famous Ribera del Duero winery of Vega Sicilia. The car is taking us west along the N122. A few minutes later, with the river still to our right, we pass another of the well-known wineries here, this called Pingus. We are heading to the winery of Abadia Retuerta in Sardon and we soon arrive there, as close to the river as we have been in the 15 minutes since leaving Vega Sicilia.

We have travelled the “Golden Mile”. Maybe not so golden for some. Abadia falls just outside the DO of Ribera del Duero. And so you’ll find the wines of Abadia and its neighbours just west of the official boundary sold under the IGP Castilla y León. According to the current World Wine Atlas, “local politics rather than geography is responsible for the exclusion”.

Santa María de Retuerta is one of the historical estates in the region. Its beautiful abbey of Santa María de Retuerta is a reminder of a winemaking tradition which faded and even disappeared. In 1996, the Spanish Wine Lover tells us that the financial support of Novartis, the pharmaceutical group, helped to launch an ambitious project which now has 210 hectares under vine in the 700-hectare estate.

“Our winemaker Ángel Anocíbar likes to describe Selección Especial as a compendium of each new vintage in the Abadía Retuerta estate. And the recently released 2014, …., is one that he finds particularly satisfying.”

This is how Abadia introduce this wine and it is indeed a particularly good one, outstanding in fact. But don’t let the Vino de la Tierra of Castilla y Leon on the label put you off - this is excellent, as good as many Ribera and Very Highly Recommended.

The 2014 is a blend of 70% Tempranillo, 17% Syrah and 13% Cabernet Sauvignon. The richness of Tempranillo, the intensity of Syrah and the aromatic elegance of Cabernet Sauvignon have earned it international recognition (according to the back label). I got a few bottles in Karwig Wines both before and during last year’s closing down sale. Don’t think it’s available anywhere in Ireland now.

Colour is a dark ruby. Aromas are intense, of blackcurrant, cherry, vanilla. Fruit flavours are concentrated, a touch of spice, abundant fine-grained tannins a benign factor. Vintage conditions were excellent and this rich wine is a polished expression of the fruit and the year. Eleven months in oak, French and American, help make this a harmonious wine, smooth and easy drinking. An excellent example of the winery’s style and a very special selection indeed.

“Although Tempranillo is the dominant variety, French varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah and Petit Verdot are also meticulously planted in the slopes by the Douro river. As vinification is gravity-led, the winery uses small crane-operated tanks and each pago (parcel) is worked separately. Aging is all done in French oak.”

It seems that the perceived handicap of being outside the Ribera DO is being carried lightly. The less precise limits of the IGP Castilla y Leon allows the winemaker quite a lot of freedom and it is used well. Besides, being in the Golden Mile, with a string of illustrious wineries within a few minutes drive, is quite a selling point for well-made Abadia Retuerta wines.

And not just for the wines. The ruined abbey became the property of the Novartis Group in 1988 and the group has successfully resumed its age-old wine-making tradition through Bodega Abadía Retuerta and, today, Abadía Retuerta Le Domaine has been completely restored and houses a 12th century Romanesque church and a luxurious five-star hotel called Le Domaine. It is in the Relais & Châteaux network and hosts a Michelin-starred restaurant.

Time now to get out of the car, stretch our legs, have a bite to eat in the Refectorio. A glass of that Selección Especial should go well with the De-boned Wagyu rib-eye lacquered in sweet & sour sauce, turnip purée and tender onion.

Look out for this favourite Rioja in the spring promotion at Supervalu.

Pagos de Labarca “AEX” Rioja (DOC) 2015, 13.5%, €20.00 (was 22.99 check) 

Wines from Finca Labarca in Rioja feature regularly on the Supervalu shelves. This AEX is a favourite of customers and also of wine buyer Kevin O’Callaghan. Keven has described this as "a blockbuster" and it certainly lives up to the billing.

Colour is a dark cherry.  Complex nose, intense dark fruits plus vanilla. Smooth and rounded, concentrated fruit, hints of spice and oak, fine tannins, and a persistent finish. AEX, I’m told,  stands for the Spanish Alta Expression, highest expression.

Produced from some exceptional Tempranillo grapes, this is a limited edition of 17,250 bottles. After fermentation in stainless steel tanks, the wine is left 15 days to macerate before malolactic fermentation and ageing on the lees in new American and French oak casks with different levels of toasting to give the wine the aromatic and flavour complexity it demands. After racking off the lees, the wine continues to age in the same casks.

Supervalu have included it in their Specially Sourced Signature Range. Try with beef and good hard cheese and serve at 17-20 degrees. 

A few of the other wines now on offer at Supervalu:

(March 26^th until Wednesday April 15^th 2020)

€12

VACQUEYRAS REMY FERBRAS 75cl

was €20.99

The Remy Ferbras is a handy bottle to have on your table at any time. Colour is ruby red and ripe dark fruits abound in the inviting mix of aromas. There is a great balance between the ripe fruit and spices, plus a hint of liquorice, impressive texture, full bodied and rounded. Pair with lamb and hard cheese. Note too that the Remy Ferbras Gigondas is reduced to €15 from €19.99. Another Rhone Red worth checking out, especially if you have steak in the house!

€20

MONTAGNY 1ER CRU LES RESSES 75cl

was €24.99

Not too much to say about this - just go out and buy and enjoy! This classic Chardonnay has beautiful intense white fruit aromas, peach the most prominent. Colour is a bright gold and there are amazing fruit and nut flavours, some spice too. The acidity too is outstanding. Fresh, with  a gorgeous mouthfeel and a long finish. Great, with seafood, roast chicken and ham.

€20

CHAMPAGNE PIERRE DARCYS BRUT NV 75cl

Was €29.99

This sparkler won IWSC Silver Medal in 2015.  Judges' verdict: “Pale lemon-yellow, steady streams of small bubbles ; fresh, delicate aromas showing green apple and hints of red fruit behind, fresh bread; well-balanced with bracing acidity, richness across the mid-palate and lingering crisp finish. Harmonious wine.”

€10

GRAHAM NORTON PROSECCO FRIZZANTE 75cl

was €12

Lots of bubbles but here they don’t hang around. This is a Frizzante (gently sparkling) not a Spumante (fully sparkling) like the champagne. This calmer bottle is very very pleasant indeed. You’ll also note a different closure on it - use your normal corkscrew to get started.

Film of the 2019 Vintage at Villa Maria. Isolation-friendly!

Check out how the 2019 Vintage went at Villa Maria, Marlborough, New Zealand, in this 80 minute film: Vintage 

Thanks to Leslie Williams who shared the link in his weekly wine column in the Irish Examiner. Anyone with any other isolation-friendly ideas, especially food and wine links, share to cork dot billy at gmail dot com and I'll put them up here.

Gentil and Passetoutgrains: Two Less Usual Blends Worth Seeking Out

Gentil and Passetoutgrains:

 Two Less Usual Blends Worth Seeking Out

You find Gamay in Beaujolais, hectares of it. You also find Gamay in Burgundy; not just the village of the same name but also some Gamay grapes growing. It was once a main grape here but, in 1395, the local duke declared this “disloyal grape” was to be replaced, in the Côte D’Or, by Pinot Noir (source: The Finest Wines of Burgundy).

What little Gamay is nowadays grown here is blended with Pinot Noir to make what the above book terms “a refreshing gutsy wine to drink young”. This wine has an appellation of its own:  Passetoutgrains.

The influential wine writer, grower and importer, Kermit Lynch declares that Passetoutgrains is a word based on old local patois and generally meaning “toss it all in”. Gutsy and toss it all in might put you off but the bottle below has nothing rustic or rough about it at all. Au contraire!

Sometimes hyphenated to Passe-tout-grains , it must contain more than 30% Pinot Noir, more than 15% Gamay, and the proportion of other allowable grapes (Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris) must be less than 15%. Not too sure what the exact blend of our bottle is.

I am much more familiar with the Gentil blend from Alsace, an excellent white wine, and have enjoyed superb bottles from the likes of Hugel and Trimbach. Gentil started, about 100 years ago, as a kind of toss it all in white grape blend. Today, the name Gentil is reserved for AOC Alsace wines conforming to the standards of a blend of superior quality. 

This blend must be composed of a minimum of 50% Riesling, Muscat, Pinot Gris and/or Gewurztraminer, with the rest made up of Sylvaner, Chasselas and/or Pinot Blanc. Before blending, each varietal must be vinified separately and must officially qualify as AOC Alsace wine. Gentil must mention the vintage and may not be sold commercially until after quality control certification in bottle.

This Meyer-Fonné consists of Muscat, Pinot Blanc, Riesling and Gewurztraminer.

Meyer-Fonné Gentil Alsace (AOC) 2018, 12.5%, €18.00 

64 Wine Dublin, Bradley’s of Cork, Greenman Dublin, Le Caveau Kilkenny

By coincidence, I’ve seen (on the Le Caveau website) that the Kermit Lynch mentioned previously is a major fan of Félix Meyer: “ … Félix Meyer still has humility, still has a sense of wonder, and is still capable of self-criticism. He is a seeker and a perfectionist. Quantities are limited because while he makes several different cuvées, the domaine has only eleven hectares of vines. He is a terroirist, and when he speaks of a granitic soil, the wine in your glass tastes of it.”

And this Gentil, a blend of Muscat, Pinot Blanc, Riesling and Gewurztraminer, is really excellent. Light straw colour, green tints. Quite aromatic, citrus to the fore, touch of ginger too. Fresh and bold on the palate, a passing kiss of sweetness. Quite complex really but it is engagingly fruity, spice in the mix too, excellent texture and a long dry finish. A gem at the price and Very Highly Recommended.  

Indeed, many Gentils are pretty well-priced and offer an attractive entry to the area’s wines and this entry level beauty enhances the confidence to go and seek out more wines from this Alsace estate which is run on biodynamic principles. Food pairings? The man himself: “It is a pleasure wine, multi-use from aperitif to meal with friends.” Santé!

Domaine Lacour Bourgogne Passetoutgrains (AOP) 2017, 12%, €16.95 

64 Wine Dublin, Bradley’s of Cork, Greenman Dublin, Le Caveau Kilkenny

Domaine Lacour, with Fabrice and Antonin at the helm, can be found in Burgundy’s Côte de Beaune, about halfway between Meursault and the village of Gamay.

Here, the Lacour family blend Gamay and Pinot Noir, two of my favourite grapes. I was expecting good things. It turned out even better! Mid ruby colour. Beautiful aromas, mainly red fruits including strawberry. Light, smooth, gentle and elegant, it has rounded flavours, smooth tannins, and deliciously long finish. What’s not to like? Very Highly Recommended. Suggested Food pairings: Beef, Veal, venison, Poultry

The Oldest Papal Vineyard in France. And it’s not where I thought.

The Oldest Papal Vineyard in France

And it’s not where I thought.

The oldest papal vineyard in France is not where I thought*. Not in Châteauneuf but near Malaucene in the Vaucluse département of Provence, about 40 minutes to the north-east of the former papal city of Avignon. 

Pope Clement V was elected pope in 1305 and his coronation was in Lyons, not in Rome. In 1309, he moved the papal throne to Avignon (on the Rhone) and also planted this vineyard in the Abbey of Le Barroux under the stern gaze of Mont Ventoux, not too far from the famous Dentelles, in an area where you’ll also find the more famous vines of Beaumes de Venise.

The entire vineyard is, as you might expect, mountainous in nature. Lots of hard work on the slopes including the vintage by hand. On their estate, the monks and nuns have raised their cultivation methods to high levels. “More than a motto, Garde et Service (custody and service) of nature are the two main lines of our conscientious cultural approach, in order to make it possible for our vineyards, for Provençal agriculture and the the heart of men to bear their fruit in due course - today and tomorrow.”

And, thanks to the presence of Gabriel Teissier, Directeur du Developpment at Via Caritatis, at last week’s Liberty Wines Portfolio tasting in Dublin, I got a brief history and also got to taste three of the wines: the Vox Domini Blanc, the Vox Caritas Rouge and the Lux in Domino Rouge.

Gabriel Teissier at Liberty Wines Tasting

The Vox Blanc is a blend of Clairette (90%) with Roussanne and Grenache blanc. They have two Clairette plots, one 40 years old, the other just 11 and it is from this second that the outstanding freshness comes. Soft pressing in the winery is followed by a slow fermentation, and the wine is “then rested on lees for six months, giving a lovely texture to the finished wine.” Very impressive, with excellent acidity as well.

The Grenache (90%) led Vox Rouge is expressive with ripe raspberry and blackberry fruit. On the palate, the wine is ample, powerful and well balanced. Again you’ll note the acidity. The flavours are concentrated and layered with notes of spice and liquorice which linger on the finish.

The grapes were hand harvested and subject to a rigorous sorting process upon arrival at the winery. Fermentation took place in concrete vats which are also used for the Lux rouge below. After malolactic fermentation, the wine rested in concrete tanks for nine months before bottling. Another impressive wine.

The outstanding Lux Rouge comes in a deep red. The nose boasts aromas of ripe black fruits  and a touch of liquorice from the oak hint at excellence to come. And it comes. On the palate, the wine has a rich mouth feel, with silky and opulent tannins, powerful but well-balanced with bright acidity. 

This is one to lay down as the concentration of flavours as well as the excellent structure of the Lux Rouge, along with the “thousand and one skills of the art of wine making” will see it age and develop over the next ten years. Fermentation takes place in concrete tanks and then the wine is aged for 18 months, 80% in concrete tanks and 20% in 500L new oak barrels before blending and bottling.

The day I got to the top of Ventoux! But it was warm and sunny down below.

The history of wine in Europe is deeply connected with monastic life. In 2015, united by a wish to revive their region’s winemaking history and support local winemakers, the monks of the Abbey Sainte-Madeleine du Barroux and the local cooperative, Beaumont de Ventoux, joined forces to create a range of wines from their combined 30 hectares of vineyards. The quality of the grapes and the impressive community partnership attracted the attention of illustrious Rhône oenologist Philippe Cambie, who has since become consultant winemaker for Via Caritatis.

The Dentelles. Sunny here, having come down from foggy Ventoux earlier

The men and women of Via Caritatis (the way of charity) are determined that their terroir will produce beautiful wines for hundreds of years to come. Lots of stirring stiff in their brochure but I’ll leave you with just one line by Max Philipe Delavouët. 

“.. We just need to plant trees, in turn: one day they will bear plenty of fruit for those hands already raised in the mists of time…. Let us go, we will never be rich enough, we who are passing, like those who are coming, to let anything be lost.” Garde et Service!

Read all about the excellent Liberty Wine Portfolio Tasting here

* The first pontifical vineyard  was exactly settled in the place-name "Groseau" (https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapelle_Notre-Dame-du-Groseau) which used to be a benedictine monastery at the time of Pope Clement V and was given by the monks to the pope. This place-name is located on the land of the municipality of Malaucène, neighboring Le Barroux village. When the benedictine monks resettled in the region, they built their new monastery on the municipality land of Le Barroux. Nowadays the place-name of Chapelle du Groseau is in the heart of Via Caritatis vineyard which spreads on the tree municipality of Le Barroux, Malaucène and Beaumont-du-Ventoux.