The WINELOVERS CLUB
Welcome to Theatre of Wine’s April Winelovers’ offer. The format is somewhat different this time as we wanted to give Winelovers first option, and a substantial discount, on new wines that will be arriving very shortly in the shop.
All the producers come from southern France - broadly from the northern Rhone, down through the southern Rhone and out west into the Languedoc, but from some of the less fashionable regions. All of the producers are on the small side and make hand-crafted wines of character that speak of their native vineyards. Individually, our requirements would be too small to envisage shipping any of them, but by transporting their wines together (“groupage” as the French would say) we can take advantage of economies of scale. This is not without its problems - from ordering the wine and it landing in the UK has taken two months. But we believe the results are worthwhile.
The good news is that despite the recent duty increase, the pound’s continuing slide against the Euro and substantial price rises form winemakers, all the wines are very pocket friendly, even at the normal retail price. Winelover’s, however, will be able to buy all or any of the wines at a whopping (and one-off) 15% off! All we ask is that you buy a total of 12 bottles or more, be it mixed or all of one wine. There are only six wines to choose from, so hopefully making a choice won’t be too difficult!
DOMAINE ALBARIC
Domaine Albaric is based south of Carcassonne in the Languedoc. The temperatures here are certainly warm enough to obtain fully ripe grapes, but cool enough that Bordeaux-native merlot can thrive. This is an unoaked, simple, but deliciously lively black cherry-fruited quaffer.
Domaine Albaric Merlot 2006 Vin de Pays d’Oc
normally:£6.10 / winelovers’ price:£5.19
CHATEAU ALANÇON
Chateau Alançon is in the Rhône Valley’s Tricastin appellation, between nougat capital Montelimar and the main Côtes du Rhône district. As with its longer-established neighbour, the reds of the region are a blend of grenache and syrah. Alançon’s mid-weight wine mixes brambly juiciness, spice and a typically syrah floral note on the finish.
Château Alançon 2006 Coteaux du Tricastin
£6.50/£5.53
CAVE de LABLACHÈRE
This small co-operative in the Ardèche region of the northern Rhône valley specialises in good-quality, affordable Vin de Pays. Their tasty, and surprisingly rich, white combines grenache blanc for weight and texture, sauvignon blanc for fresh crispness, viognier for its peachy fruit and a touch of ugni blanc.
Cuvée des Dolmens 2007 Vin de Pays de Coteaux de l’Ardèche
£6.70/£5.70
DEUX LÉZARDS
“Two Lizards” produce modern fruity wines, but with a strong regional identity, from their estate in the Languedoc. The Rouge is full of ripe, warm red fruit flavours and consists (in descending percentage order) of the classic local blend of grenache, syrah, carignan and cinsault.
Deux Lézards Rouge 2005 Coteaux de Languedoc
£7.00/£5.95
DOMAINE GARA de PAILLE
Gara de Paille, located just south-east of Nîmes, produces a typically Rhone-ish wine high in old-vine, gobelet-pruned, hand-picked grenache planted by the grandfather of the family and younger syrah planted by the grandson. Although the grape mix is similar to Alançon and Deux Lézards, the results from all three are different. Gara de Paille’s extra summer heat gives it more fullness than the Alançon but the style is more traditionally spicy red fruit than the DL’s more plump-fruit- forward wine.
Gara de Paille 2006 Costieres de Nîmes
£8.00/£6.80
MAS de L’OCELLE
Arnaud Warnery has only 2.5 ha (about 6 acres) of Alicante Bouschet, a local and now rare grape. Alicante is one of the very few red grapes that actually has red juice (most red wines get their colour solely from the grape skins) and so the colour is rich and deep and its fruit plum and damson-infused. Arnaud keeps yields low - around 35hl/ha - to concentrate all those flavours and ages the wine in oak barrels for 8 months for further richness, although the oak never dominates.
Mas de l’Ocelle 2005 Alicante
£8.90/£7.57
And that’s it. We hope you like them.
The best of health to you.
Paul
