Chateau Coupe Roses

Name of producer.......Chateau Coupe Roses
Owners: Pascal et Francoise Frissant Le Calvez

Hectares under Vine: 45 hectares.

Appellation: Minervois AOC. Small parcels located at the top of the hills. A dry and relatively cold climate. the soils are stony over a clay, limestone base.



Grape varieties:
Red: Syrah, Grenache Noir, Carignan, Cinsault, Mourvedre and Lledoner Pelut
Whites: Marsanne, Roussanne, Viognier, Muscat Petit Grains and Grenache Blanc


Styles of wine produced: Very fruity, but with a strong structure and soft tannins. Well balanced.




Web Links: www.coupe-roses.fr

Fires in the Minervois

I recently returned home to the Minervois after a very busy week in the United Kingdom. The drive through the centre of France takes about 11 hours, so by the time I get home I am usually quite shattered.


I went for an early evening walk through the vineyards before planning an early night.
The countryside around our house is magnificent.






At about 9pm I took the bin out and thought that the sky seemed rather bright!!!

The reality was that I could also see flames above the tree tops.....too close to my house. The countryside was on fire and our house was directly in the wind path.











On closer inspection the fire was raging on the hilltops. There must have been at least 50 fire engines and many fire fighters trying to control the blaze.

At one stage we started to pack our bags and plan an evacuation!





Fortunately the wind calmed down and the fire was contained, but the loss of wildlife, the devastation and the general destruction was immense.
Apparently ...according to local gossip....the fire was started by local hunters who had a grudge against another local hunt. I find this totally reprehensible. If a hunter has any respect for nature and the beauty of the land he would never ravage the countryside like this.
There were over 300 hectares of wild garrigue, vines and forest land that were wiped out. Fortunately nobody was hurt.






Sometimes it is difficult to understand humanity.

Food and Wine Matching in South of France

We recently had a delightful group of 8 clients on a Bella Wine Tour.
This trip was a day trip to explore the wine and food culture in the south of France.
The clients were local characters who have homes in the area, so they know a bit about the history and life here. So I wanted to show them some 'off the beaten track' producers and wine and food experiences.

First of all I had to get some excellent fresh goats cheese from the herd of goats at Combebelle, high up in the garrigue hills near St Chinian.






I also got some ripe Roquefort (blue cheese) some Scottish wild smoked salmon, some strawberries, some Comté cheese (hard cheese) and various milk and dark chocolates.

We started by tasting a superb range of wines made by the charismatic couple John and Nicole Bojanowski at Clos du Gravillas.
The wines develop and extend your sensory perceptions as soon as you try different food types. It was great fun.


We then popped in to see Pascale Frissant at Chateau Coupe Roses in the charming village of La Caunette (the village is built in to the hillside).
Pascale and his wife Francoise run this immaculate property in the hills of the Minervois. They have 40 hectares under vine, 10 hectares are located within the La Liviniere Appelation. The wines are good fruity styles, with excellent depth and minerality, which seems to come from the varying vineyard sites. The main problem for Pascale is the abundance of wild boar crashing through his vineyards and scoffing all his grapes.








The beautiful labels of Chateau Coupe Roses.











After all this hard work tasting and chatting we adjourned for a delicious lunch in the stunningly beautiful village of Minerve at Restaurant Chantovent.
It was a great day of food and wine matching.

What is Wine???

A couple of weeks ago I sold a case of Chateau Lafite Rothschild 2010 for €12600. The wine was sold 'En Primeur' ie it is still in a barrel and will not be bottled until next year, then transported to the customer.
In the same week I sold 56 cases (12 bottles in each case) of Domaine Moulin Gimie Merlot 2009 for €1545.60.(for 672 bottles) The wine is an excellent award winning merlot (Gold Medal in Paris for the last few vintages).
The one case of 12 bottles Chateau Lafite Rothschild 2010 costs eight times the pallet (56 cases) of very decent, ready to drink Merlot. They are both red wines, they are both created from quality vineyards and cared for by people who actually give a damn. Put it this way the Lafite Rothschild is 456 times more expensive than the Domaine Moulin Gimie Merlot.

I love wine and I love the wine trade. I have worked in and around the wine business in Australia, South Africa, Germany, Portugal and France for the last 24 years. But the gap between the rich and poor is becoming even larger. Perhaps this is a reflection on global society in 2011? Perhaps the top Chateaux in Bordeaux are being too greedy?

The reason for this post is that I live in the wild hilly countryside of the south of France. An area called the Minervois within the Languedoc Roussillon. We are close to the beautiful Mediterranean sea, we are surrounded by magnificent olive groves, vineyards and wild aromatic garrigue. We benefit from over 300 days of sunshine per year. We are very lucky.
But the vignerons and wine producers are finding it very tough here. There are constantly mergers between the large un viable state supported Co Operatives. Some of the smaller growers have to find a very specific niche to sell their wines. There are more and more patches of vineyards that have been abandoned, which is a great shame.



Whilst I live here in the Minervois with my family I seem to do more and more work in the Bordeaux region (a 4 hour drive). Bordeaux has the historical connections with Northern European trading markets. Bordeaux has the old advantage of the port (unfortunately no longer used for wine). Bordeaux has many many beautiful Chateaux that produce stunning wines that will age for 20,30 or even 50 + years. Bordeaux has the class and structure to support their existing market and to further develop this market.

I adore both areas, but it is increasingly evident where the money is!

Rainbow in Minervois

I would love to think that the crock of gold was at my house!!!

Minervois hills

This is a wild view from our house. The little building tucked in the garrigue is the Chapel of Sainte Leocadie. The pine trees, small scrubby oaks, thyme, rosemary, olives and sage all add the character and heart of this stunning wild corner of the Minervois.

Autumn Vines

Fantastic colours in the vineyards. Every small area of vines seems to be a different shade of green, yellow, golden, brown.

Aigne

We live just outside an amazing village called Aigne in the Minervois. The Church is at the centre of the village and the houses are built in a snail shape around the Church ...originally to defend the Church.
1000 years of history.
Nothing seems to change around here. It has a humble charm and very slow pace of life.
The frenetic energy of the grape harvest has just come to an end. And now the vineyards are filled with men in bright orange jackets proudly holding their rifles. Yes 'La Chasse' has started.

Purple Cauliflowers and Storms in France

Well, what a weird 24 hours. Sue and I popped in to the Corbieres region yesterday and just needed to grab some fruit and veg for lunch. On entering a small veg shop in a small town you suddenly appreciate the French attitude towards food. I have never seen a veg shop with a selection of 3 different colors of cauliflower. Maybe it is global warming, maybe there is a nuclear plant nearby...I don't know. But it does make eating a bit more fun.

On another important note we had major storms in the Minervois last night. This is a crucial time for the grape growers as the white grapes are being picked and the reds should be started next week. The storm swirled in from the Montagne Noir and after masses of dramatic lightning the heavens opened. The folk down in Narbonne looked to take the brunt of the storm, but we still had a lot of rain over a two hour period. We have certainly needed rain in this area over the last few months and it is not a major issue. The critical period is over the next couple of days. If the humid/damp weather remains there could be a risk of rot in the grapes. If the cleansing vent du nord strikes up then we could be saved. The other key issue is that many of the soils around here have a clay base.....so it is a nightmare maneuvering a tractor with clogged wheels. Think of a swan trying to take off from an icy lake with too heavy wellington boots.

I had to stop cycling this morning to take this snap. Sometimes the natural environment confounds you. 5 minutes later the sun was shining and the lights were on! The camera says 6.02am..but I can confirm that it was 7.02am in France. This picture is looking East (as we are northern hemisphere!) towards the rocky outcrop of La Clape and the coast beyond. The mediterranean sea is about 30 km as the crow flies. Summer is drawing to a gradual close.