ROUSSILLON

 

We have worked with Mas Cremat for so long - it was a real pleasure to see Catherine Jeannin-Mongeard on our visit to her "Mas" (Catalan for farm) overlooking the Mediterranean just north of Perpignan. We were also delighted to bump into Olivier Varichon who many of you will remember from his stint at The Winery. Olivier and his girlfriend Emmanuelle Vinci (who worked at the Nicolas on the corner) bought some vines near Mas Cremat and often help out on the estate while they get their own domaine up and running. 

Catherine moved down in 1991 with her husband (who unfortunately died shortly afterwards) from Burgundy - she is part of the Mongeard-Mugneret clan based in Vosne-Romanée. 

 

For several years Catherine has given us big Winery favourites, the excellent value “Les Tamarius” (an equal blend of Grenache and Carignan) and its white partner “Les Balmettes” (white Grenache and the rarely seen white Carignan).

 

white
	Balmettes	2006	6.99
red
	Tamarius	2006	6.99

 

 

VAQUER

Mad. And very good!

In the café-less, bar-less village of Trésseres, barely 10kms from the Spanish border, with a view of the snow-capped Pyrenées in one direction, the sea in another, lives the Vaquer family. Fernand must be in his eighties. We tasted the wines and asked if we could take a photo of him. He disappears for an hour, finally emerging after a “quick” shower and change of clothes! Time moves at a slightly different pace here. His son Bernard died tragically a few years ago. His daughter-in-law Frédérique makes the wine now.

There are three distinct strands to the wines here.

Firstly the old stuff. Back in the early 80’s, an oenologist friend of Fernand’s told him he should keep his wines much longer before releasing them. He did – so he has a spread of vintages back into the 80’s. In our opinion some have aged more gracefully than others, but startling when you taste the 86 Rouge – fully mature but alive and well, a fascinating expression of Carignan (85%) and Grenache (15%).

The second strand is the recent vintages made by Frédérique. L’Exception is a blend of Carignan, Syrah and Grenache, with big, wild fruit. L’Expression is 100% Carignan with a touch of oak. Sleek, with a surge of inky juice and a fascinating lift of freshness.

The third strand is dessert wine and Vin Doux Naturels. Well-known and highly prized in France, but little-known and undervalued outside. Many are made with Grenache and, along with other local wines like Banyuls and Maury, are the perfect partner to desserts involving chocolate. From a breezy, but weighty, Muscat Rivesaltes to Préface, an Ambré style (purposely oxidised, like sherry) all nutty and crème-brulée. Then there’s the tawny-style Post-Scriptum and L’Extrait a juicy, thick, late harvest Grenache Noir whose fermentation was stopped with spirit (Muté sur Grain). Finally a fabulous Vieux Rivesaltes, made from vintages up to 22 years old using Grenache Blanc and Rouge and Maccabeu. You can find these listed in the dessert wine section.

 

white
	L’Esquisse	2006	10.99
rose
	L’Ephémère	2006	8.99
red
	Cuvée Bernard Vaquer	2004	10.99
	Les Aspres L’Exception	2005	13.99
	Cuvée Fernand Vaquer	1991	13.99
	L’Exception	2001	16.99
	Vaquer Rouge	1986	22.99
sweet
	Muscat de Rivesaltes	2005	12.99
	L’Extrait Grenache Noir	1999	14.50
	Préface (Ambré) 500ml	1993	16.99
	Vieux Rivesaltes	NV	17.99