Reasons to be Cheerful, One, Two, Three.

If anyone is wondering whether to come along to our Tongham Tasters’ wine tasting evenings then our July event gave you at least three good reasons to join us in future.

1. Taste some wines that you might consider buying.  Tonight Sheila chose some wines that a number of us had looked at in Sainsburys and wondered if they were worth trying.  Now we know whether to buy or not.

2. Learn more about wines.   Our July evening showed how Sheila’s taste in wines had moved on in the last two years after regularly attending our group, and at last I am beginning to identify a few more wines when we taste them blind.

3. Have a cracking good evening!

Sheila’s theme for the evening was wines picked from Sainsbury’s fine wine rack during their 25% off promotion.  As she nearly ran out of her £60 budget after 5 wines, the fourth wine was a £4 wine designed if we could taste the difference between the more expensive wines and her “rogue” wine.  Without the special offers, Sheila’s wine would have cost her £94.14 instead of £59.91!

With competition from vacations, weddings, diets and the Olympic Torch procession in Guildford, our numbers were down to just six this month but it didn’t stop us having a fun evening.  

So how did our tasting team rate Sheila’s taste in wines?  Scores shown below are in the order John E, Steve S, Ian, Clive, Sarah and Sheila.

The prices quoted are what Sheila actually paid and include special offers and 25% off promotions. 

The wines, which we tasted blind, were in descending order of preference:

1.  Faustino Gran Reserva Rioja 2001, 13.5% abv Spanish Red, Sainsbury £13.49

Five of our tasting team voted this as their gold medal winning wine of the evening.  This wine had some orange peel in the aroma and a good balance of sweetness, acidity and oak.  I identified it as Spanish but most of the rest of the team thought it was a New World Cabernet Sauvignon.  This mature wine showed no signs of age apart from a nice mellowness.  Scores were 15.5, 12.75, 16.5, 19, 17 and 16.5.  The scores are not surprising as this was a very good year for Rioja, so this is definitely worthy of your consideration unless your tastes are at the very high end.

2.  Henri Dumanois Champagne NV, 12.5% French Sparkling White, Sainsbury £10.50

Whilst only one person voted this as their winning wine of the evening, another four had it in second place.   This wine had a pleasant yeasty aroma and the taste was dry but with enough sweetness in the fruit to make it very pleasant.  Most of us identified it as being a Pinot dominated blend produced by a Champagne cooperative.  Scores were 15, 12, 17, 18, 16.5 and 16.  This was another high scoring wine and worthy of consideration when on special offer.

3.  M.Chapoutier Crozes-Hermitages 2009 Les Meysonniers, 13% French Red, Sainsbury £11.99

One silver medal vote and three bronze medal votes put this is third place.  This dry, smooth red had a very nice distinct peppery taste that helped identify it as a Syrah or Shiraz wine.   Scores were 13-, 12.25, 13, 18, 14 and 14.  This is another wine from a good year and maybe it will improve further, so worthy of your consideration.

4.   Rocca Chianti Classico 2009 Riserva,  13.5% Italian Red, Sainsbury £12.75

Two bronze medal votes and three fourth places meant that the Chianti Classico from yet another good vintage was in a firm fourth place and a cut above the remaining wines.  I thought this tasted like an Italian wine, which it was, and it had quite a pleasant balance of acidity.  Sheila though she detected curry in the aroma but this was probably just a dirty glass!   Scores were 13+, 9.75, 10.5, 17, 11.5 and 14.   Not a bad wine, and one that would accompany an Italian meal well, but I think you could probably shop around and do better at this price.

5. Freixenet 2010 Vintage Especial Brut Cava, 12% Spanish Sparkling White, Sainsbury £6.99

Two fourth place votes were the best our Cava got but it kept it firmly off of bottom place.  The experience started off well with a pleasant yeasty aroma but the taste was absolutely bone dry and not particularly appealing.  The wine also had relatively large bubbles and lost its fizz quite quickly.  Scores were 11, 9.5, 12, 15, 11 and 13.  The bottle frankly looked better than the contents that were inside but at under £7 you might consider this as a reasonably priced sparkler as long as your expectations weren’t that great.  Serve it ice cold with a little orange juice as bucks fizz.

6.  Vega Roja Rioja, 13% Spanish Red, Tesco £4.19

Very firmly in last place, which is where five of our team placed it, was the cheap wine from Tesco.   All of us pretty much identified that this was Sheila’s rogue wine designed to test whether we could pick out a wine priced much lower than the rest.   This was a soft light wine with some spice on the palate but perhaps a little bland.  Scores were 11-, 12, 9.5, 15, 10 and 9.  This wine, which is priced firmly in the value range, might be quite pleasant if chilled to accompany a barbeque on a hot summers day.

Wine and thyme scones proved a good combination

So thanks to Sheila for providing us with an excellent evening with great food, wine and ambiance.   The food included an incredible selection of fish pate, melba toast, German Bratwurst, cheese, homemade thyme scones, bread, crackers, red pepper, tomatoes and more!   We even ended up with some birthday cake.   The standard of our evenings is definitely picking up.

Cheers!

Feel free to join us at our coming events, which are as follows:

Thursday August 23^rd in Farnborough at 8pm.  Theme to be decided.

Saturday September 22^nd in Tongham at 8pm.  Chablis fine wine evening.

Thursday October 11^th in Tongham at 8pm.  6 French Wine Regions.

Most of our evenings cost just £10 but occasionally we splash out more on some fine wines.  We will be having another fine wine evening in September, watch this space for more details.  If you want to join in any of our evenings send John an email at tonghamtaster@gmail.com or call John on 07717876743.  Anyone with an interest in wine, food and good conversation will be most welcome.

Another date for your diaries is Saturday October 13^th, which is the provisional date set our next charity educational wine tasting dinner in Tongham Village Hall.   The theme is an Andean Adventure and will feature some lovely food and wine from Chile and Argentina.

Thanks to Clive, as usual, for the excellent photo at the top of this blog posting.

Cheese board

Wine and Popcorn

Want to add some irreverence to your wine tastings or dinner parties whilst still serving something interesting?  Why not try popcorn!   Not the sweet or salty mixes you get at the cinema but more interesting mixes that you can make yourself.  Here is just one suggestion to make a great aperitif snack.

As an aperitif before a Moroccan Tajine or as a food pairing for a German Riesling, why not try Moroccan popcorn.  All you need is some popcorn, olive oil, ras-al-hanout, lemon zest and salt.  Follow the instructions on the packet of popcorn about how to pop it; some are popped in the microwave and some in a pan with a lid.  Then add some melted butter or loive oil and toss.  Once completed add your flavourings to taste.  I added some good quality ras-al-hanout spice blend and grated some lemon zest and then some sea salt onto the popcorn.  Taste and balance the flavours by adding more of some if necessary.  Serve with a nice cold German Riesling such as the Markus Molitor pictured sold by Fromvineyardsdirect that I can highly recommend. It is really surprisingly good.

For other popcorn ideas search the web or, as I did, make up your own idea. Salt, pepper and Parmesan is just one of many other good combinations. 

Menetou Mentions

Jacques Coeur looking out of his Palace

Following my recent posts on Sancerre alternatives, Reuilly and Quincy, it seems unfair not to give Menetou-Salon a mention.  This is especially true as I tend to drink this wine rather often during my monthly trips to Bourges.   Although, I have only been drinking Menetou-Salon for a little over ten years, this region has been famous for wine for many centuries; Jacques Coeur, who was the somewhat adventurous and allegedly corrupt treasurer of France in the fifteenth century, loved the wines of Menetou-Salon and bought up most of the area.   His palace in Bourges, by the way,  is well worth a visit if in the area.

From a wine point of view Menetou-Salon is really a southwest extension of Sancerre and their best wines definitely hit the heights of its more famous neighbour.  As with most French appellations there is quite a lot of below par wine produced as well; hopefully you’ll find this post helpful in picking up the jewels of the region.

Beautiful window in the Jacques Coeur Palace

The wines of Menetou-Salon, just like Sancerre, are made with either Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Noir grapes, and they produce white, red and rosé wines from those varietals.   The whites are probably the best but I also love the rosé wines produced by Domaine Philippe Gilbert and Domaine du Prieuré, and the reds produced by Isabelle and PierreClément (try the tradition) and Henri Pellé.   The reds tend to be light but can have a beautiful cherry flavour.   Many of the top producers oak their top cuvees, whether red or white.

Menetou-Salon Vineyard

The best area of the Menetou-Salon is regarded as Morogues, which is where Henri Pellé is based, and thus no surprise that he is on everyone’s list of top wines from this region.  Of the vineyards in Morogues perhaps Clos de Ratiers is the best.  Thus if you want to taste one of the best Menetou-Salon whites, go for a Henri Pellé Morogues Ratier Blanc.  Morogues and the other better sites gain from limestone soils.

Me tasting at Henri Pelle

Jane prefers the two-handed approach!

If you are interested in biodynamic wines, then the wines of DomainePhilippe Gilbert are for you.  Many of his wines take a few years to mature, particularly the oaked ones that are named Les Renardiéres.  However, his rosé is good to drink early on and rarely fails to please me.  His wines that need to mature can also be lovely.  I have had a good welcome at Philippe Gilbert over the years so do visit them and buy some wine.

Domaine Philippe Gilbert

So my favourite names to look out for are:

Domaine Henri Pellé (available in the UK from virginwines.co.uk, lescaves.co.uk and also seen in Waitrose in past years)

Domaine Philippe Gilbert (available in the UK from artisanwines.co.uk)

Domaine de Châtenoy, Isabelle et Pierre Clément (available fromNicolas.co.uk)

Impressive door at Henri Pelle

But they are many other good producers as well (use your useful little Hugh Johnson, Oz Clarke or Robert Joseph handbooks to identify these). Shame we rarely get a full range of these wines in the UK, as they are often better value than Sancerre.  Still it’s a good excuse for a long weekend in the Loire Valley!

Inside Domaine Philippe Gilbert's winery

Part of Henri Pelle's range of wines in 2012

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Steve as Bottom

Whilst one of our usual number, Steve Williams, was brilliantly playing Bottom in a Midsummer Night’s Dream, ten of us had a great tasting session of wonderful food and wine combinations in Farnborough. We had seen Steve in the outdoor Lost For Words production at Woking College the night before but the weather wasn’t good enough for us to have a midsummer’s tasting outside at Ian’s place in Farnborough for our Saturday evening get-together.

Ian’s theme for our midsummer tasting was wine matched with food.  First we had two Sauvignon Blanc wines served with goat’s cheese and mushrooms on toast.  Our second two wines were served with a delicious but unusual red cabbage dish. Our  next two wines were served with a gammon and cous-cous dish.   Finally we had some cheese including French goats cheese, Bleu d’Auvergne and Cheddar.

So what did our tasting team think of Ian’s selection of wines that were mainly from The WineSociety.  As usual all wines were blind tasted.  Scores below are out of twenty and are in the order John E, Steve S, Ian, Sheila, John S, Jill, Chris and Andy.  Jane and Kathryn also ranked the wines but did not score.

1. Terroirs des Chateaux Forts, Domaine Rolly-Gassman, 2008 Alsace White, 13%, The Wine Society £10.50.

Our favourite wine of the evening, as it got seven top votes, was a Gewurztraminer dominated blend from France.  Although sweet it was well balanced with acidity.  The aroma and taste is of elderflower and orange peel and the wine has a slight spritz.  This wine was a good pairing for the gammon. Our team scored it 12.5, 12, 17, 13, 13, 15, 14.5 and 13.   A very pleasant wine that would go well with spicy food or be drunk on its own.

2. Saint Cosme, Cotes du Rhone, 2010 Rhone Red, 14%, The Wine Society £9.50

The only red wine of the evening was a very good Syrah from France.  Unusually for a Cotes du Rhone it was 100% Syrah and was dark and earthy. It got two top votes. Our team scored it 13.5, 13, 13, 12.5, 11, 10.5, 11.5 & 10.   This is definitely a wine for consideration and I think good value for a Syrah of this quality.

3. Conche y Toro Corte Ignacio Riesling, 2010 Chilean White, 12%, The Wine Society £8.25

This wine got one top vote and five other top three votes.  Like our winning wine it was quite sweet although this disappeared once we had it with food – an unusual wilted red cabbage dish with shrimps, mandarins, toasted nuts and Parmesan.   Scores were 11.5, 11, 15, 11.5, 13.5, 14, 10.5 and 11.5.  This is a food friendly Chilean Riesling.

4. Concha y Toro Corte Ignacio Coastal Rapel and Casablanca Sauvignon Blanc, 2011 Chilean White, The Wine Society £7.50

This wine got three second place votes and went well with our goat’s cheese and mushrooms on toast.  Although this has a sweet smell it had a very dry sharp fruity taste.  Scores were 11.5, 10.75, 13, 9, 10, 11.5, 13 and 11.5.  An excellent value Sauvignon Blanc. 

5. The Society’s Exhibition Sancerre, 2010 French White, The Wine Society £12.50

I found this wine more concentrated than the Chilean Sauvignon Blanc and it improved over the evening and was more food friendly.  However, it wasn’t as popular with our team.  This wine was made by Serge Laloue in Thauvenay, near Sancerre, and he is a well-respected producer. Scores were 12, 12.5, 12.5, 6, 11, 12.5, 9 and 9.5.  Actually you don’t get better Sancerre at this price in this country.

6. Catena Chardonnay, 2009 Argentinian White, 14%, The Wine Society £9.95

This wine really split the team with four of us thinking it a Midsummer Night’s Dream and six a nightmare.  I thought it was a very interesting wine that developed well over the evening and had fruit, oak and cream.  Others thought it was over oaked. Scores were 12.5, 12.5, 12, 9.5, 11.5, 8, 6.5 and 8.5.  A wine you will either love or hate but good value for the connoisseur of rich oaked Chardonnay.

Unveiling the wines after the blind tasting

7. Cattin Freres Alsace Riesling, 2009 French White, Auchan €4.95

Every other wine got at least three top three votes but this had none.  It was the cheapest wine but proved rather uninteresting, especially for an Alsace Riesling. Scores were 10.5, 10.5, 11, 7, 9, 11, 10 and 10.  A reasonable and cheap glugger.

Gammon Cous-Cous

Last year we managed three summer wine tastings in our gardens but this year the weather has kept us inside.  Despite missing out being outside on a midsummer’s evening we had a very interesting and consistent bunch of wines from Ian and some very good food to go with it.  It is interesting how well sweet wines tend to do in these tastings and how poorly Chardonnay wines perform unless they have bubbles. 

Is Steve's acting career ready for take-off?

Our next Tongham Taster’s evening is on Friday 20^th July at 8pm when Sheila will be serving us six more wines in Manor Road Tongham.  If you want to join us you just need  £10 as contribution to the cost of the wines and food and to call John on 07717 876743.  For more details of our events and future calendar, click on Wine Circle above.  Anyone interested in wine, food and good conversation is welcome.

We had some Chilean and Argentinian wines tonight.  Wines from these two countries will also feature in our Andean Adventure, which is our next educational wine tasting dinner in Tongham Village Hall.  The date is likely to be sometime in October.

Thanks to Jane for the photo at the head of this post. 

A smile from John as we get a red wine at last!

Hope we see you soon.

Postcards from Reuilly

A beautiful Chateau near Reuilly on the wine route

Reuilly is a small appellation in the Loire Valley where most of the wine is drunk locally, but a little is exported and it is possible to buy some at Majestic and other specialist UKwine shops.  We have had them at our Tongham Tasters' wine evenings on at least one occasion.  If you are wondering what Reuilly looks like here are a few pictures I took when visiting there is April 2012. 

Reuilly is west of the Cathedral town of Bourges and South of Vierzon and close to its sister appellation of Quincy   Although relatively far from the Loire it is considered as a Loire valley appellation.  The soil can be gravelly sand, clay or sand and silt, all of which are on top of the limestone base.

Reuilly is quite unusual for such a small appellation in that it produces red, white and rosé wines and grows three different varietals - Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris. 

A vineyard in the Reuilly AOC

The white wines are normally the best and in good years, from good producers (such as Claude Lafonde), can compete with the other better Loire appellations.  I also like the pale rosé wines that some of the producers produce and on a hot summers day a glass of Gris de Pinot Gris (such as that by Valerie Renaudat) can be very pleasant and are unique to this appellation in France.  The reds can also on occasion be good and are a good value easy drinking Pinot Noir at worst.  Last year I tried a particularly good 2009 Reuilly red from Domaine Pascal Desroches, who has his wines made at the local co-operative.  2009 was apparently a good year in the region.  The co-operative, Le Chai de Reuilly, is unusual in that the producers' grapes are not mixed but just vinified at the co-op and then sold under the growers' label.  Many of the top growers have joined this venture which helps keep costs down and quality up. Sometimes the reds and rosés are a blend of Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris but I prefer them to to be 100% Pinot Noir or Pinot Gris respectively. 

April 2012 vine bud in Reuilly

Go tasting at Valery Renaudat

Look out for wines by:
Domaine Bigonneau
Domaine Claude Lafonde
Domaine Jacques Vincent
Domaine Jean-Michel Sorbe
Domaine Henri Beurdin (the white is available in Majestic and is good value)
Domaine Valery Renaudat (often available in the past in French supermarkets)
Domaine Jacques Vincent

Public building in Reuilly

With many of the Reuilly whites it is best not too over-chill as you will kill the good flavours and emphasize the poor characteristics.

In the town of Reuilly on an April day 2012

In terms of food pairings, why not try some of the following:
White - Goats cheese (of course), seafood
Rosé - Foire Gras, local potato pastries,
Red - Game, Roast Chicken

A vineyard on the wine route in Reuilly

Shepherd's Pie at Night, Wines a Delight.

Enjoying the wine and food!

Our May date had to be brought forward which meant that unfortunately a couple of our regular tasters couldn’t make it, and Jane decided she was on a diet and so didn’t join in.  However, we still had a good crowd of eight wine enthusiasts around to see what wines would pair well with English food such as shepherd’s pie and cheddar cheese.  Each of our tasters was asked to bring along a wine that would go well with the food I was cooking for the evening – how good were the wines and how well did they pair on our Friday English Supper Night.

As usual, all wines were tasted blind and are presented below in descending order of preference with scores out of twenty, shown in the order – John E, Clive, Andy, Chris, Steve W, Steve S, Sheila and Sarah.  Prices are what our team paid and may be special offers.

1. Gerard Bertrand Minervois Syrah/Carignan 2009, French Red, 14%.  Waitrose £8.69.

Top wine of the evening was picked by Sarah and was the reliable choice of a Gerard Bertrand Languedoc red wine.   It was a pleasant blend of Syrah and Carignan grape varietals and had a dark red colour.  I thought it tasted quite New World but Steve S disagreed and proved correct about its origin.  This wine got three top votes and everyone had it in their top four.  Despite Clive’s view that it had an aroma of bakelite, it paired extremely well with the shepherds pie.  Score were 14, 19, 13, 14.5, 13, 13.75, 12 and 15.  A perfect match for our classic English lamb and mashed potato dish or the French version a Hachis Parmentier.

2. Lyngrove Collection Pinotage 2010, Stellenbosch South African Red, 14.5%.  Budgens £7.81.

We had not had a wine from Budgens before but it did well in this tasting and was the cheapest wine of the evening as well, so good value.  This was definitely a New World wine and had a concentrated taste with raspberry and a hint of leather.  However, it didn’t pair particularly well with either of our English dishes but got two top votes and another three top three positions.  Scores were 14.5, 20, 14.5, 14, 10, 13.25, 11 and 12.  A pleasant value South African red.

3. Ramon Bilbao Single Vineyard Rioja 2009, Spanish Red, 13.5%.  Majestic £8.74.

This was a Rioja that doesn’t taste much like a traditional Rioja.  We got aromas of liquorice and chocolate from Steve S’s wine.  It went very well with the mature cheddar cheese that we served and scored two top votes including mine.  Scores were 14.5, 17, 13, 14, 9, 13.5, 10 and 14.  A wine to consider for your cheese course.

4. Macon-Villages La Cote Blanche Cave de Lugny 2010, Bourgogne French White , 13%.  Sainsbury £7.99.

Steve W went out on a limb and brought along a white wine to pair with our evening’s food.  It actually went extremely well with the mature cheddar so don’t always be boring and serve red with cheese.  It deservedly got one top vote and two second votes in an evening dominated by red wines.  Someone thought it was “too good to be French!” but there were wrong, as this is a white from Burgundy.  Despite one person’s guess of Sauvignon Blanc this is a Chardonnay and is typical of the Macon region and appealed even to those in our team who apparently don’t appreciate Chardonnay, rather like a Chablis really.   Scores were 12, 14, 13, 14.5, 12, 11.75, 9 and 17.  A good value Burgundy white worthy of your consideration.

5. Domaine Jean Bousquet Malbec 2010, Mendoza Organic Argentinian Red, 14.5%.  Abel & Cole £8.62.

Chris and Andy brought along two wines from the home delivery organic grocer, Abel & Cole.  This proved to be the better of the two and scored four top three votes.   It was a powerful fruity concentrated wine with hints of burnt rubber, liquorice and toast.  As for food pairings, it went extremely well with olives.  Nobody guessed it was a Malbec but it had a slightly sweetish flavor.  Scores were 11.75, 17, 14.5, 13, 11.5, 13, 11.5 and 16.  A wine to pair with green olives at a South American evening. 

6. Malbec Les Comes Cahors 2009 Georges Vigouroux, French Red, 14%. Tesco £8.99.

Sheila brought along the second Malbec of the evening and only one of our team really liked it.  It did, however, improve after a while but didn’t pair well with the cheese.   It was a smooth wine with relatively low acidity and a floral perfume.  Scores were 8, 13, 12.5, 11, 9.5, 11.75, 12.5 and 11.  A rather disappointing supermarket red.

7. Domaine du Faucon Dore La Souche 2010, Cotes de Rhone Biodynamic French Red, 13%.  Abel & Cole £10.50.

Our most expensive wine of the evening actually finished in bottom place as nobody had it in his or her top five wines!  Funnily enough, cheese really improved it and it went well with our mature cheddar.   Scores were 8.5, 13, 11, 10, 9, 9.5, 8 and 13.  A soft French wine but not good value at this price.

Concentration as the wines are scored!

The cheese we served was Ford farm Coastal rugged mature Cheddar from Costco - rather good I think.

…and so ended our twentieth monthly Tongham Tasters’ wine evening.   This was another fun and good value evening.   Next month we will be in Farnborough to try Ian’s midsummer wines on Saturday June 23^rd at 8pm.  Sheila will be hosting back in Tongham on Friday July 19^th and we hope to have Chris and Andy lined up for another Farnborough evening in August.  September and October dates will both be in Tongham with Jane doing the first and Steve S the second of these events to look forward to.  Click on Wine Circle above if you want to know how you can join in the fun –newcomers to our wine evenings are always welcome if they enjoy good wine, good food and good conversation, and remember the average cost per person is only £10.

John’s Top Tips for a healthy and tasty shepherd’s pie –

·      Drain the lamb mince in a colander after browning to reduce the fat content.

·      Add plenty of carrots, celery and onions to the mince to get some of your five a day and to add texture and flavour.

·      Add some chicken stock, herbs, Lea & Perrins, salt and pepper for extra flavour and to replace the lamb fat you discarded.

·      Cook the meat and vegetables in the stock for 45 minutes to an hour, before adding the potatoes, to make it nice and tender.  Remember to taste and add seasoning if necessary.  Let it cool a little before putting on the topping.

·      Add butter, salt, pepper and milk to your boiled potatoes before mashing to ease this process and to add more flavour.

·      After carefully putting the mashed potatoes on top of the meat, go over the top with a fork to create lots of edges that will become brown and crispy when put in the oven at a high temperature.
For other wine suggestions for shepherd's pie -why not try a Cabernet Franc or a Merlot.  Then again maybe a pint of English bitter might be the best match of all. If like Steve, with his white wine, you want to be adventurous why not try a Tavel Rose.

QUINCY

The tasting room at Villa Quincy

Although nearby Sancerre gets many wine visitors each year, most people drive past Quincy without a second thought, which is a shame as it is worth at least a quick visit and a tasting.   Quincy has been one of my favourite white wines for about ten years but I too had never visited it until last month.   With a weekend to kill in Bourges, I at last made the 20 km trip on the D2076 road.

Quincy was, surprisingly considering its status today, the second ever appellation created after Chateauneuf-du-Pape, in 1936.  Apparently it has been known as a wine area since the twelfth century.  The soil is mainly sandy gravel with some flint on top of clay and chalk.   It only produces white wines and it only uses one varietal – Sauvignon Blanc.  It is in the Loire Valley just west of the cathedral city of Bourges and south of Vierzon.  It has another small neighbouring appellation in Reuilly which you can visit on the same trip.

The centre of Quincy village

A chateau in Quincy

The village itself is small but does boast a relatively new small wine museum and tasting room at the Villa Quincy in the centre of the village and open from April to December except on Tuesdays.   There is a small fee of three euros for the museum and tasting.  This is well worth a visit, although the first wine they offered us was the one by Jean-Charles Borgnat that is available in the UK at Majestic!   There is a great selection of wines to buy including those by the better producers such as Tatin and Wilk.    The tasting room won’t tell you the best wines but they will point out those that are minerally or fruity or floral according to your taste.   It is interesting to try and buy a few different ones and understand the difference that subtly different terroir and wine making can bring to the taste of wine.  The Villa Quincy also sells the wines of neighbouring Reuilly and local products such as honey.

Bruno Lecomte quincy

Quincy wines vary from rather basic Sauvignon Plonk to some that rival the more famous Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé, but are usually cheaper at under ten euro.  They are always very dry and often taste of refreshing grapefruit to my taste buds, but you might recognize this as gooseberry.  Overall I find the above average Quincy as very appealing and it makes a nice aperitif wine or something to go with Rabbit Terrine, Chicken, Fish or Goat Cheese.  An earlier blog post describes even how I enjoyed one with a steak!

The Bruno Lecomte wine pictured here is one of the ones I bought at Villa Quincy. Tasted it the other night and it was rather good – lovely bouquet and taste with grapefruit to the fore with a hint of rustic goats cheese in the background.  Fruity but some complexity and high refreshment factor – a good Sauvignon Blanc.  

A fine bottle of Quincy

An attractive bottle of Quincy

Museum Exhibit