Wednesday 3rd September is the start of the SuperValu French Wine Sale, running for three weeks through to the 23rd.  Reductions are significant, with many wines having a third knocked off their price.  For the first two weeks there is an additional €10 off any six bottles – so get them while they last!  On top if this there are also ten “special guest wines” which are available on a limited basis only.  To whet your appetite here are a couple of reds from the south of France that are worth putting in your trolley:

Disclosure: these bottles were kindly sent as samples, opinions remain my own

Alma Cersius IGP Coteaux de Béziers 2018

For those not familiar with it, Béziers is located in the Hérault département of the Languedoc, now part of the Occitanie administrative region (formed from joining Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées.)  It is set by the River Orb and only ten kilometres from the Mediterranean.  Wine has been made in Béziers for millennia – it was even exported to Rome.  The town has been the site of many battles and massacres over the centuries, including the Revolt of the Languedoc winegrowers in the early twentieth century.

Up until the end of the 18th century, vines were one of several crops planted in each holding, along with olive groves and fields of cereals.  The turn of the century saw an expansion of the land under vine, with quality improving slowly but surely.  Béziers wines were included in Vin de Pays d’Oc from 1982 and eventually the area was granted its own Vin de Pays designation as VDP Coteaux-du-Libron in 2011.  Even less well known than Béziers, which at least has a renowned rugby team, Libron is the name of a local coastal river.  The common sense change to Coteaux de Béziers came in late 2015.  The IGP rules allow around a hundred different varieties – black, white, pink, grey and red – including several that I’d never heard of.  The main three colours of wine are made: red, white and rosé.

So out of the scores of grapes permitted, which ones make it into this Coteaux-de-Béziers?  The blend sticks to “international grapes”, a term often used for French varieties which are well known; Syrah (50%), Cabernet Sauvignon (25%) and Merlot (25%).  In the glass this wine pours a deep purple, showing its young age.  On the first sniff there’s an intense hit of violets – reminding me of Parma Violet sweets which were around when I was a kid.  There are also blackcurrant and blackberry notes, a hint of red fruit and some spice.

In the mouth this is quite thick, full of sweet red and black fruit with a little dash of umami on the finish.  Cersius Rouge is a juicy, easy drinking style of wine…not that complex but perfect for a Friday night tipple sat in the garden or to crack open at a barbecue.

• ABV: 13.5%
• RRP: €14.75 down to €9.84 from 3rd to 23rd Sept (plus buy any 6 bottles save €10 from 3rd to 16th Sept)
• Stockists: SuperValu stores and supervalu.ie

Georges Vigoureux “Pigmentum” Cahors Malbec 2018

Nearly all of you will be familiar with Malbec and most of you will know its original home of Cahors.  Although made with the same grape as Argentina’s blockbusters, Cahors would rarely be mistaken for one in a blind tasting.  It tends to be a little lighter, with more tannin and acidity, and often a certain earthiness.

Not only does Monsieur Vigoureux have vineyards, he also has a Château – the beautiful Château de Mercuès with lots of magnificent turrets (I bloody love turrets!) – and a restaurant.  There are several important vineyards around Cahors and further out into Occitanie, with the wines being grouped:

• Main Châteaux: de Mercuès (Cahors) de Haute-Serre (Cahors), Leret-Monpezat (Cahors), Tournelles (Buzet)
• Other Collections: Château Pech de Jammes, Crocus, Traditional Familiale, Pigmentum, Antisto, Gouleyant

As well as the straight Malbec we are looking at here, the Pigmentum collection also includes a Merlot Malbec blend, a Malbec rosé, dry whites made from Sauvignon Blanc and Ugni Blanc & Colombard plus a Gros Manseng sweetie.

So how is this “Black wine of Cahors”?  It’s actually more purple than black, but nigh on opaque.  The nose does have plenty of black stuff: black cherry, blackcurrant, blackberry, black liquorice and…black earth!  We’re talking fresh topsoil here.  From behind all this there emerges softly stewed damsons and prunes.

The palate reflects all of the notes on the nose, but rather than being picked out one-by-one they arrive together, somehow integrated.  Pigmentum Malbec has a fairly smooth texture but lively acidity helps it to stay fresh and – as Colin Chapman would have liked – adds a certain lightness, though this is not a lightweight wine by any means.

If you like Cahors or other earthy red wines then go ahead and fill your boots trolley.  If you are a little hesitant then I would definitely recommend decanting this wine to help emphasise the fruit flavours.  Best of all, though, would be to crack open a bottle with a nice rustic cassoulet!

• ABV: 13.0%
• RRP: €14.75 down to €9.84 from 3rd to 23rd Sept (plus buy any 6 bottles save €10 from 3rd to 16th Sept)
• Stockists: SuperValu stores and supervalu.ie

 

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