Bruno Paillard Champagne Première Cuvée MV Maison Bruno Paillard is an independent, family-owned Champagne house based in Reims, founded only in 1981, with its first vintage in 1985. At the time this was the first new Champagne House to be created in over a century. Bruno Paillard was just 27 years old when he set it up. Now his daughter Alice …
Mas Llossanes, Côtes Catalanes, Southern France
Mas Llossanes Solenn and Dominique Génot own and run the small biodynamic estate of Mas Llossanes. It’s about 40km / one hour west of Perpignan, in the Roussillon region of deepest Southern France. For over ten years they managed the Caiarossa Estate in Tuscany, whose superb biodynamic wines I have followed closely and written about here. Having decided to create a domain …
Mirabeau: Rosé from the Côtes de Provence
Mirabeau: Rosé from the Côtes de Provence This article is about Provençal rosé and the wines from one of its leading companies, Mirabeau. Mention the word “Provence” to virtually anyone, and that will invoke an immediate response, accompanied by a smile. Such is its resonance. The images and memories it conjures might be of chi-chi glam locations; of Aix-en-Provence or the …
Book Review: Bordeaux Grands Crus Classés 1855
Book Review: Bordeaux Grands Crus Classés 1855 The Bordeaux Grands Crus Classés 1855 gave official recognition to the best wines of the Médoc and Sauternes. Some 163 years later, it’s still a compelling listing, though hardly without flaws. This handsome new book about this classification claims to be the essential reference for wine aficionados. Does it live up to this billing? …
Legendary wines from Gérard Gauby
Legendary wines from Gérard Gauby Domaine Gauby, Calce, Agly valley, Roussillon, France Domaine Gauby is on the slopes of the rugged Agly valley in southern France. It’s inland from Perpignan, near a hamlet called Calce. This valley does not possess a specific wine appellation. Instead, it relies on the vast Côtes du Roussillon for red wines or the Côtes Catalanes …
Corks Out! Diam Bouchage fights back
Corks Out! Diam Bouchage fights back. Hands up, who has had a bottle of corked wine? Ok, that’s most of you. And I don’t mean wine with a few bits of cork floating in it. It’s the awful smell and taste of musty or mouldy cardboard. The culprit is TCA, short for 2,4,6-Trichloroanisole. It forms when airborne bacteria and fungi …
The secrets of Champagne Billecart-Salmon
The Secrets of Champagne Billecart-Salmon Billecart-Salmon is in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ in the Montagne de Reims, in the heart of the Champagne region. They make excellent Champagnes down on the rue Carnot and are most famous in the UK for their Rosé. As their labels proudly state, the House dates back to 1818, created by Nicolas-François Billecart. It’s still family-owned, one of …
A fabulous visit to Domaine Orenga de Gaffory
A fabulous visit to Domaine Orenga de Gaffory Domaine Orenga de Gaffory covers 56 hectares in the appellation of Patrimonio in northern Corsica. This family-owned wine estate is also undergoing organic conversion. It owns many small plots in five different communes. It means they have a broad range of red, rosé and white AOC Patrimonio wines. They also make the nearby …
Une Table Corse – authentic eating in Corsica
Une Table Corse – authentic eating in Corsica Une Table Corse is a restaurant perhaps like no other. In an ancient and isolated farmhouse, Pauline Julliard, its owner, provides one of the island’s most fabled dining experiences. You’ll eat authentic Corsican cuisine in small converted dining rooms. Pauline learned all the recipes from her mother and grandmother. She is now …
Losing My Extra-Virginity in Corsica: Oltremonti Olive Oil
Losing My Extra-Virginity in Corsica: Oltremonti Olive Oil I love Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, (or EVOO for short). However, I knew little about making it and less about how to taste it. Losing my Extra-Virginity was overdue. Hence I visited Domaine Oltremonti recently. Oltremonti is near Bastia, in northern Corsica, between the wild high Maquis and the coast. The Domaine has 35 …