Thanks due to ace film makers Jon and Jess…

I had become aware of the mysterious Philippe Gimel owner of the Ventoux winery Saint Jean du Barroux via some Danish guests who spoke highly of his efforts. As our season had slowed down I finaly found the time to seek the man out, hear his story, and taste his wine. And what a truly fascinating story it is….I feel a tad embarrassed that we have only just caught up with this neighbour of ours, he is a genuine one-off… but at least now we know each other.

Philippe’s background was in pharmacy in the Lorraine area – a training in chemistry that has proved extremely useful as a wine maker. After taking an Oenology qualification in Toulouse he entered the wine business and learnt his craft via internship and later full time employment with two of Chateauneuf du Pape’s finest domaines Beaucastel and Jannesse. With ambitions to make serious wine himself he set about acquiring a vineyard with a terroir capable of emulating the quality level of his mentors…but at an affordable price. In 2003 he purchased 16 hectares of land (12ha of terraced vines) to the north of the Malaucene – Barroux road on the lower foothills, 300m-400m, of Mt.Ventoux. Philippe explains its advantages “ The vineyards not only have elevation they face mainly north providing a cooling counterbalance to the fierce summers. The soil which is stony clay is likewise cool whilst providing superb water retention properties. The terroir here may be humble Ventoux but in terms of its geology, elevation and aspect it is a potential match for Chateauneuf du Pape.” The existing vines were around 30 years old at the time of purchase, the grapes being sold to the co-operative. The usual Ventoux varieties are here- a majority of Grenache amongst the reds plus Syrah, Carignan, Counoise and for the whites Grenache blanc, Bourboulenc and Clairette. Philippe is proud of the bio-diversity in his vineyard…small terraces interweave with brambles, cherry trees, oak woodland and garrigue brush. I wasn’t surprised to hear the farming is fully organic and the domaine carries the Ecocert stamp though no great play is made of this in the promotional material or on the bottle. Yields here are dramatically lower than the norms for the appellation…around 20hl/ha..and these are achieved naturally via the poverty of the soil rather than any greenharvesting intervention. The vineyard is a gorgeous place to stand..even on a cold November day…the terraces here enjoy a panoramic view, looking across to the Dentelles and the monastry of La Madeleine…..there is a smaller chapel/farm of Saint Jean just across the road from which the wine takes it’s name. I asked Philippe about the style of wine he was aiming to achieve – he told me it was about using the natural resources available to make a great Ventoux wine, a wine that not only gave great expression to this special terroir but defys expectations of the appellation. On returning to La Madelene yesterday I looked up the Ventoux entry in the Oxford Companion to Wine, normally a reliable guide: it’s summary of the quality level available: “ the reds…lack substance and real interest”. On the evidence of my tasting yesterday Philippe in just 5 vintages has aleady achieved much of his ambition in that he is producing wines with tremendous concentration and power yet balanced with an elegance and a complexity that I havent yet encountered elsewhere in the appellation.

So far so fascinating…but the knock out for me is to find that Philippe doesn’t yet have a winery…he is renting a corner of a shed from a farmer in the valley just the other side of Malaucene from us. Here a jumble of mostly second hand concrete cuves and other wine making equipment – a few barriques in evidence but in principal Gimel is not a big oak fan- purchased from his Chateauneuf contacts form the basis of his operation for the time being. And whats more he manages everthing on his own..the viticulture, the wine making, the administration at his home in Caromb and a vigorous marketing campaign…he had just returned from Denmark when I met him yesterday. Amazing energy!

The wines: in truth the range is somewhat complicated to get your head around…partly because of the difficulty of managing a small production whilst being totally reliant on export sales. As a consequence some decisions seem to be driven by specific important customers – notably the Rhone/Ventoux loving Danes, there is a bottling made with a lighter style exclusively for their market. It was a bit too chilly to show the wines at their best but we persevered: I tasted the the red Oligocene 2004 (dark fruit, pepper, superb ripe tannins and a long long velvet finish, ready to drink), the 2005 (a little closed in the cellar but the bottle I took home to enjoy with my Magret de Canard last night had opened out wonderfully…lovely garrigue herb/pepper aromas), a super concentrated 2006 and a stunning white - the 2006 – white flowers, melon and a delightful melange of dairy fat and minerality on the palate. These wines are not cheap…if you can find them they will be around €17-20, ex-domaine prices….but the quality level is what can I say?…remarkable. Thank you Philippe.You can read more about this winery at Philippe’s web-site: http://saintjeandubarrouxfrance.spaces.live.com

Living Wine Tours

The following is a piece that I wrote for Brighton’s community newspaper The Whistler:

In the past few years French wine sales have taken a battering in the UK. Australia has now been joined by California as the most popular supplier of wine to the Brits. The attraction of New World wines is obvious: the consumer knows what to expect from varietal labelling (chardonnay, shiraz etc are recognizable brands in their own right); the wines deliver consistency- just as a true brand should; and in these tough times promotions discounting wine to less than £4 is clearly attractive. But those who wouldn’t tolerate sliced white bread in their diet would do well to apply their discernment more often to wine – for only a few pounds more you can savour artisanal products that ooze character, flavour and satisfaction…not just a quick fix alcoholic fruit bomb.

This is where France really comes into its own – in the mid range price bracket £7-£12. Why are these wines generally superior? For one the typical French winery is a small family business where the focus is on driving quality and reputation before profit, on average 2/3 family members and 2 employees farming just 25 hectares of vineyard. Compare this to Australia where 15 giant wineries now make 86% of the wine produced.

Take one example of the difference a focus on quality can make…hand vs machine harvesting. I recently helped pick the harvest at Domaine des Anges here in the Ventoux and even this year when the fine summer had left the grapes in great condition we were still leaving about every 10^th bunch on the ground, rejected for showing some signs of minor rot. A harvesting machine – ubiquitous in Australia – can make no such discernment, all the bunches go into the hopper together and in order for off flavours not to appear in your glass “corrective” procedures are then necessary in the winery. When the French talk loftily about the importance of a wine “expressing it’s terroir” its too easy to scoff…what they really mean is they aim to reduce intervention (chemicals, modern techniques for softening tannins, wood substitutes etc) in the wine making to an absolute minimum. The result is wines that are as infinately different from each other as the terrain is different from farm to farm  – its what makes wine drinking such fun, the continual discovery of different nuances of aroma and flavour from different producers.

So my top tips for characterful wines from our area, available in the UK, in that price bracket? At Majestic the 2006 Clos de Mont-Olivet Cotes du Rhone, £8.99 (or at time of writing £6.99 each if you buy two) big, savoury and warming. As an aside Cotes du Rhone level wines from Chateauneuf du Pape producers are a great source of bargains. From M&S the earthy, spicy Perrin brother’s (another CNDP house) Rasteau 2007 at £9.99; and finally fom the Devon wine merchant Christopher Piper, but available on-line, the Cotes du Rhone Villages Visan 2005 from Roche-Audran at £11.16, a bio-dynamic wine of great complexity and character that will convince you your extra pounds have been wisely invested.

The 30^th November issue of Wine Spectator gives James Molesworth’s new scores for hundreds of Rhone wines including most of La Madelene’s french wine tours partners. Amongst those who came out of this review with flying colours was Florent Lancon’s Domaine de la Solitude. …and as I bought a magnum of his Barberini 2005 from him a few weeks back I’m glad to see WS’s endorsement of my good taste!:

DOMAINE DE LA SOLITUDE

Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2006 92

$46

Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cornelia Constanza 2005 94

$108

Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Barberini 2005 93

$76

Châteauneuf-du-Pape Secrète Réserve 2005 95

$177

Châteauneuf-du-Pape White 2007 91

$46

Châteauneuf-du-Pape White Cuvée Barberini 2005 92

$76

Last night we were joined by friends Tonita, Tracy, Chuck and Stephen for a fabulous end of season feast….around the log fire. Tonita had brought fresh Pansotti from Liguria (yummy parcels of fresh pasta containing ricotta cheese and borage, cooked simply in butter, sage and pine kernals). To accompany a red 2004 Vacqueyras “Clos du Caveau – Carmine Brillant” from Henri and Janet Bungener’s organic domaine and an exceptionally fine white Lirac , the 2005 Chateau d’Aqueria, beautifully golden and full flavoured, floral nose, honey and apricot on the palate with lovely freshness and a mineral backbone….put a recent Clos du Pape 2000 opening to shame! Noticed on their website that they recommend up to 4 years cellaring for their white Lirac and on this evidence I would agree…perfection. Nice night.