Wednesday, March 13, 2024

LAPD Distributors French Champagne, Wine and Spirits Trade Show at Grub & Vine, The Norval Foundation

Dane Raath is a wine and other beverages negociant
He and his mother Kathy Raath have a very successful business
He invited us to something different, the LAPD trade tasting of many different French wines,
well known and respected French brands who want to enter the South African market
It was quite a tasting and extremely well attended by the trade
so there was a very good buzz on the Norval Foundation terrace as we all compared notes and recommendations
We began with Laurent Perrier Champagnes and tasted and enjoyed the range
The aged Millesime is so good, especially  if you have a taste for Champagnes with some age

The Whispering Angel rosé from Cuvées D'esclan from Côte de Provence
is a wine that was much talked about at the tasting,  and much enjoyed
It did take one back to enjoying a wine like this when visiting the South of France

Brand Ambassador Anaëlle Hautier of Château Desclans 
with a Jeroboam of their Rock Angel barrel aged Rosé, another success

Many of these wines are familiar to Lynne from her misspent youth
learning about wine in London Wine Bars over 27 years, where much 'sampling' went on
She especially liked this J. Moreau & Fil Chablis from Domaine Billaud-Simon
Their Bourgogne Aligoté was delicious, reasonable and the most talked about wine at the tasting in the trade
 We hope to see this available soon so that we can buy some

Sommelier Marlvin Gweze tasting the Sancerres of Pascal Jolivet
We really enjoyed their Blanc Fumé, a style of wine not seen here much, but very popular in France
Jeff Grier used to make a super one at Villiera

and a pair of Sancerre Pinots with Metis Sauvignon Blanc made at Klein Constantia,
 inspired by Pascal Jolivet and his holistic approach to winemaking in Sancerre
Much richer in flavour with more fruit than in the French Sancerres thanks to the Cape sun

Pascal Jolivet with his wife


Vins d'Alsace from Gustave Lorentz
We tasted so many of these at Vin Expo in Bordeaux a few years ago; they have a huge range
The Pinot Blanc Reserve was complex, layered and crisp
The Pinot Gris Reserve was excellent, a really good wine for food
The Brut, which is a Crémant, also really impressed with crisp fruity layers 


Dane Raath introduced us to this producer at Vinexpo in Bordeaux in 2007
We had an extended tasting of his wines at the end of the show, all varietals, many vintages


Chapoutier, a wine negociant and wine producer, is very well known in Europe
They produce organic and biodynamic wines from appellations across the Rhône region
Most well known and lauded are their Hermitage wines, both red and white
We found their Côtes du Rhône Belleruche Rouge juicy and enjoyable
Their Gigondas Rouge shows its warm country wine character and is delicious and satisfying

We travelled through the Rhône in 2002 and photographed some of the incredibly steep Chapoutier Condrieu (Viognier) vineyards


Harvesting must be hell

The Chateau de Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines  were surprising, sweeter than expected
Is global worming really affecting the vineyards with higher sugar levels?
The Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc was complex with a good nose, full with some sweetness
As was the enjoyable Les Cassagnes from Viognier, very typical of wines grown in the area

Another well known brand in Europe, Chateau Cheval  from Mahler-Besse
A crisp Chateau Cheval Bordeaux Blanc, a pretty nose on the Cheval Noir Bordeaux Rouge, dark and dense
The Chateau Cheval Noir Cuvée la Fer, St Émilion is in another league,
very good with lots of cassis and wood on the nose and palate

Famille J M Cazes were showing some iconic wines from Bordeaux, a treat to taste them
Chateau Lynch Bage, Pauillac is the wine to put into your cellar to age, really excellent,
a bit steep in price, as it is in four figures, but worth it
The Chateau Haut-Batailly from Pauillac has richness on the nose, and needs time
We really enjoyed the more affordable Verso which is much more approachable now

Three good white wines,
two from Billaud-Simon from  the Chablis area and one Chardonnay from Faiveley in Burgundy. Sadly not tasted

Four reds from Joseph Faiveley
A Bourgogne Pinot Noir, Le Framboise(raspberry) from Mercurey, situated just below Burgundy,
and two Pinot Noirs from very well known Bordeaux vineyards,
Nuit St Georges "Les Lavières" and Gevrey Chambertin Vielle Vignes  Much to our regret, not tasted. It was a very busy stand


Southern wines from Gerard Bertrand in Languedoc
The Cigalus Blanc, a blend of Southern Rhône varietals,
 has good roundness on the palate from Viognier, crispness from Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay 

Two good local Stellenbosch red wines from The High Road were included in the tasting 

Four more Bordeaux wines from Mahler-Besse from different areas
Château Picard from Sainte Estèphe, Château Haute Reys from Graves
There were two more wines in the collection which impressed us
The Château Larrieu Terrefort from Margaux was as Lynne put it "Tres Bien!"
Intense flavours on the nose and palate with fine wooding
The Domaine de Cartujac, Haut-Medoc has beautiful notes of violets from the Cabernet Franc
and good breadth, depth, flavour and character

Our favourite wine of the tasting was from Les Vins de Crus Château Teyssier from St Émilion,
an area for which we have to confess that we have a preference
It scored higher than many of the more lauded and expensive wines both on the nose and on the excellent palate
A 5 star wine

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