Charlemagne Wine Club - 2011 Tastings

Monday 18th July 2011
Pyrenees to Provence presented by John Ducker


It might be as well to give yourself a coating of a high-factor sun-block prior to coming to the July tasting! We take in some of the most venerable vineyards in France from the Spanish border eastwards to Provence, where for centuries vignerons (often great characters themselves) have wrested equally characterful wines from indigenous grapes which bask in amphitheatres of vineyards overlooking the sea. The sea! Thank goodness for the moderating influence of the Mediterranean itself against the region’s baking heat, alongside a modern wine technology that is inexorably rooted in longstanding tradition.

We will taste examples from Basque-influenced Irouléguy, Collioure and Banyuls across to lavender-scented Provence, stopping off at that region’s best-favoured southern corner, Bandol, and even the miniscule appellation of Palette where Ch. Simone holds sway.

Maybe we’ll need a few olives or a little anchoïade to make the tasting totally authentic alongside the wines… and perhaps JOHN DUCKER, a member of the Association of Wine Educators and Circle of Wine Writers, who presents the evening, will be persuaded to bring some along with him to help us celebrate the occasion! On va découvrir.

Wines Tasted :