One of those slightly surreal evenings last night – playing lotto in aid of Lily’s school in the village of Malaucene. Earlier in the day we were met with bemusement as we tried to buy tickets in advance- confusing lotto with a tombola, how stupid. The proceedings kicked off just after 8pm as the MC called the numbers from the Marie. Like most of the players we were in one of the 4 bars in the village receiving the event across the airwaves from the Marie and relayed by loudspeakers into the bar. The idea of the Mayor being able to address the village’s drinkers in such an intrusive way struck me as somewhat bizarre, not to mention the sight of 20 or so kids, including Lily,  gambling happily in a bar at 9 o’clock at night. What would the Daily Mail make of it? Needless to say famille Reddaway came away with no winnings…though that could have been the result of trying to keep 10 lotto cards monitored after drinking two glasses of Grimbergen biere de Noel!

The following is part of a series of short pieces I write for Brighton community newspaper the Westhill Whistler:

 If you’re new to wine writing and you come across the acronym GSM you’d be forgiven for assuming it was something to avoid in your wine or at least treated with suspicion – in the same category perhaps as GM or MSG. In fact it’s accepted short hand for the classic blend of “Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre” that dominates red wine production here in the south of France and is increasingly popular in parts of the New World. The minor player and least well known by far of this triumvirate is the Mourvèdre. Its origins are Spanish where it’s known as Monastrell. To add to the confusion surrounding it the wine makers of California and Australia generally call it Mataro. If I add that this grape variety’s popular name in France is “estrange chien” (strangle a dog) due to its fierce tannic properties when under-ripe, you might further wander what place it has in the classic GSM blend and why I have entitled this piece Marvellous Mourvèdre?

The fact is that when fully ripe this is the variety that contributes many of the flavour and aroma components that I find most compelling. Its main friut character is blackberry but in truth fruit is not it’s forté – young Mourvèdre is all about garrigue herb, grilled meats and just a touch of animal barnyard. In full maturity it develops rich leather and game flavours.  These properties account for its key role within the GSM blend adding interest to Grenache’s fruity and Syrah’s spicy character. In short Mouvèdre is often the key to real complexity.  Most Mourvèdre ends up in a blend but if you want to explore the variety solo that’s certainly possible – I would recommmend you seek out the french appellation Bandol. The wines here contain up to 80% Mourvèdre, they are big tannic wines but not without finesse and with an ability to age for several decades – top names are Pibarnon and Tempier.

With global warming allowing better ripening conditions for “difficult” varieties, and demand growing for rich red wines with high alcohol, my forecast is Mourvèdre has a great future and will become increasingly visible to the wine buying public.

How best to experiment? My “best buys” would include the Spanish Castano Monestrall 2006 Yecla availble from Avery’s at just £6.29 per bottle. A wine packed with damson and black cherry fruit, sweet vanilla as well as spice and game, this is a veritable bargain – wines from this property regularly gain scores of 90+ from Robert Parker making its “cost per Parker score” rating unbeatable. If you’re minded to splash out, go for the sublime Bandol Domaine Tempier 2006 vintage available from the Wine Society for £19.00 a botttle, or if you believe the only way through the recession is to persue hedonism with abandon why not invest in one of the finest wines in the world, the vintage 2000 Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape available from Berry Brothers at just £51.85 the bottle – a wine with a significant 30% Mourvèdre content and a wine to lose yourself in! Cheers

To Chateauneuf yesterday to meet Daniel Stehelin, vigneron and father to Manon , who as girlfriend to Florent Lancon had been our guest for lunch a few weeks back. The property is a grand chateau just outside of Bedarrides. The place was built in the 18th century as a mansion for the Marquis de Vaucroze. The name Mont Thabor was given by Don Pernety, the founder of the sect of Illuminés of Avignon: At the property he planted trees coming from the Israeli mountain, Mont Thabor.From 1840 the place became “Relais de Diligence”, a place to stay for travellers on the road between Paris and Marseille.In 1881 the property was purchased by the Swiss Fritz Stehelin. He changed the stables and garages into rooms for wine making. Luc Stehelin (from 1940) expanded the wine production from the fields around the castle (Cotes du Rhone). Daniel Stehelin, a man with twinkling eyes and a classic french outsized moustache, took the reigns at the property from his father Luc in 1971- his father is 93 years old, blind, but still it would seem able to take a stroll around the front garden.This is truely a micro-production outfit - the property has just 4 ha. of Chateauneuf du Pape, well situated ( a neighbour of La Nerthe on the south side of the appellation) and 7 ha. of Cotes du Rhone adjacent the chateaux. Chateauneuf du Pape is made from 80% Grenache, 15% Syrah and Mourvedre and 5% Cinsault. The average age of the vines is 70 years. Daniel is experimenting with his white Cotes du Rhone, the latest trial being a barrel fermented version - we tasted the 2007 version from the barrel in the wine-making cave converted from the old stables. Further tasting in the salle de degustation revealed a very animal red CDR, a muscular tannic 2005 CNduP and a rich 2004 - ripe fruit, grilled meats and pepper on the finish - a delightful mid-weight CNduP. I couldnt resist a case. Nice wines made in almost “garage” proportions, delightful proprietor and a wonderful place to visit…watch this space for our tour itinerary!

The highly influential US wine critic was in the region this past autumn to taste the 2007 vintage - his conclusions: this was a stellar vintage, a “vintage of a lifetime”:  ”Throughout the southern Rhone, 2007 is the greatest vintage I have tasted in my thirty years working in that region…Nearly every producer has attained largely unprecedented levels of quality.” The wines contain an “aromatic dimension and freshness that I have rarely witnessed” combined with “super depth of fruit!”. There has been some speculation that Parker’s huge market influence could precipitate a Bordeaux style hyper-inflation in prices - it would be a shame if it were the case as Parker himself once stated in his seminal 1985 book on the Rhone, the region offers: “”the greatest quality/price ratio of any top red wine region in the world”. Here are some of the scores achieved by the top wines at Chateauneuf du Pape, all of these special cuvees:Clos Saint-Jean Chateauneuf du Pape Deus Ex Machina (98-100)Clos Saint-Jean Chateauneuf du Pape la Combe des Fous (98-100)Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape Hommage A Jacques Perrin (98-100)Clos des Papes Chateauneuf du Pape (98-100)Domaine du Pegau Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee da Capo (98-100)Pierre Usseglio Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve des Deux Freres (98-100)Domaine de la Janasse Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Vieilles Vignes (98-100)Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape Roussanne Vieilles Vignes 97+Chapoutier Chateauneuf du Pape Barbe Rac (96-100)Domaine Roger Sabon Chateauneuf du Pape le Secret de Sabon (96-100)Pierre Usseglio Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee de Mon Aieul (96-99)Domaine de la Mordoree Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee de la Reine des Bois (96-97+) Domaine de Marcoux Chateauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes (96-98)Domaine de la Janasse Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Chaupin (95-99)Paul Autard Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Juline (95-97)Les Cailloux Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Centenaire (95-97)Domaine du Clos du Caillou Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve le Clos du Caillou (95-98) Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc 95Domaine de Cristia Chateauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes (95-98)Domaine Grand Veneur Chateauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes (95-97+).

About 10 cms of snow fell and settled around La Madelene this morning. Not as unusual as you might think in this part of the Vaucluse. Looks stunning though makes driving on the country roads around us a perilous activity. Time to hibernate in the warmest room with the biggest open fire - the kitchen and sip warming full bodied red wines, good thing we happen to be in the right place for those!