Wines from France

Our latest wine tasting with our Scout Leaders was all about French wine. As Hubby and I were holidaying in the eastern Loire we brought back wines from one of the main French Supermarkets, along with a special wine for our dessert.

Our evening began with a traditional French aperitif, Pastis. Very similar to Ouzo and Pernod this clear liquid is aniseed flavour which is diluted with water to taste. Not everyone liked aniseed but those who did really enjoyed the refreshing drink accompanied with peanut flavour puff snacks.

Our wine tasting began with three white wines, one from the Alsace, one from the Loire and our third from Burgundy. Sylvaner has a distinctive tall thin green bottle as with most Alsace wines. It's not as widely known here in the UK as other wines from this French/German area of France.

Sylvaner is a crisp clean white wine that suits seafood and fresh salads; an elegant flavour of green apples with a subtle hint of minerals leading to a dry crisp finish. It was a new wine to everyone and was one of the evenings favourites.

Touraine Sauvignon Blanc is always enjoyed by everyone so this wine was included not so much as a new discovery but as an enjoyment of an old favourite.

Our third white wine however was new, Bourgogne Aligote is a light wine from Burgundy that is sometimes blended with Chardonnay. This was 100% Aligote and although fruity and fresh, with a soft finish it was a little light in flavour. This of course could have been due to have just enjoyed the weighty full flavoured  Touraine.

I have to thank Heather Dougherty for our choice of rosé wine; on a visit to London Fair in 2018 she recommended Tavel a beautiful wine from the Southern Rhone.

Across the river Rhone from Chateauneuf-du-Pape this Grenache Syrah rose is full of flavour, you can taste the warmth of  southern France.

Lovely red berries and wild strawberries with a slight peppery finish makes this one of the nicest rosé wines I have tasted.

Not all our group are rosé drinkers but they all enjoyed their glass of Tavel.

Our next wines were tasted in pairs starting with a superb wine from the Loire Valley. I have been a fan of Cheverny for many years, dominantly Sauvignon Blanc with a small percentage of Chardonnay this white is one of my must buys when in France. Flavours of grapefruit, apple and  white peaches, it is such an elegant, smooth wine with a long lasting length to its finish.

However I have never tasted Cheverny rouge; made from Gamay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc this wine is full of raspberries and red fruit. Everyone really enjoyed this, it was quite a surprise and is now also on our to buy list.



Our second pair were from Burgundy, both single grape wines. Bourgogne Chardonnay had quite a buttery flavour with an edge of vegetation. It was a creamier wine than I expected and I'm sure would be superb with a chicken dinner.

Borgogne Pinot Noir had all the expected characteristics of cherries and oakiness. Its tannins were soft making it quite an easy drinking wine. I do enjoy Pinot Noir but it isn't my favourite red wine; I'm sure it would pair well with a red meat dinner, a thought agreed with at our tasting.


And so to our red wines, four in total from the southern half of France. Beginning with a wine of two grapes the tasting progressed with slight changes, beginning with a glass of Ventoux.

This appellation is on the south east edge of Cotes du Rhone and north west edge of Provence. Mont Ventoux stands alone high above the vineyards and is a challenge to cyclists and hikers, it is often a stage in the Tour de France.

Ventoux is made from Grenache and Syrah grapes. It has a full red berry fruitiness which comes from the Grenache being the dominant grape, followed by a kick of spice from the Syrah. Its a lovely example of a Cotes du Rhone wine that can be enjoyed on its own or with a meaty meal.

Our second red was from the Languedoc area, a Corbieres wine which we have enjoyed on many holidays on the Mediterranean coast. The same grapes as our first red but as Syrah is the dominant there is more spice. As well as Grenache giving fruit it has a small percentage of Carignan which brings out the blackcurrant and blackberry flavours.

Staying with these grapes for our third wine our Cotes du Rhone had, as expected, Grenache as its main grape with Syrah and Carignan. Additionally this rich dark red has Merlot and Cinsault giving it more stone fruit flavours such as plums and damsons. it was interesting to see how these wines changed with the change of dominant grape and the addition of others.

Our final red was from Bordeaux, Cotes de Bourg has Cabernet Sauvignon as its main grape combined with Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Of the four red wines this has the deepest red fruits and the most depth of flavour. Everyone enjoyed our journey through these reds but the favourite was the Cotes du Rhone.

Our final wine was a real treat. You may have read my previous post about our visit to Monmousseau where we discovered the most delicious sparkling red wine we have ever tasted.  Made from Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Carignan it was full of cherries, blackberries and blackcurrants with such an abundance of fine bubbles.

On our visit we had been recommended to pair this with chocolate so I made chocolate profiteroles - the combination was heaven, the perfect way to end our evening of French wine.