By Igor Ryjenkov MW
While not quite the “Wild West” or “terra incognita” of the country, there’s still a lot to explore and discover in South-Western France, a large expanse of land between where Bordeaux ends and Languedoc-Roussillon begins, from the Spanish border to Massif Central. It is the least populated area of France with fewer than 10 people per square mile. It has stretches of nice sandy beaches along the coast, a nice food culture – think cassoulets, confits, fois gras, truffles, fresh seafood, Bayonne ham and Toulouse sausage, a wine world of its own and an unhurried pace of life.
The region is very historic, dating to pre-Roman times and by the 1st century BC was already known for its viticulture, well preceding Bordeaux. By the middle ages, the “black” wines of the Cahors region were famous in Russian and other European royal courts. It was these wines, wines of “Haut-Pays”, of the inland “high-country”, that made the port of Bordeaux an early trade powerhouse. (They, however suffered when Bordeaux itself began gaining reputation as a wine producer in 13-14th centuries, with its port giving their own wines shipping priority.) Gascogne, a part of South-West, is where Duma’s Three Musketeers’ d’Artagnan character is from. And it is also here that Armagnac has been made for hundreds of years.
When trying to place the signature wines of the South-Western France in context, the word that comes to mind is “eclectic” – it is a disparate group of sub-regions that chose their own path of self-expression, sparingly sprinkled in over this vast space. A league of their own, not fitting in with any other. A couple of grapes from here made it reasonably big in the world – not quite Cabernet or Chardonnay “big”, not football arenas “big”, but still big enough to “book” good-sized venues. But the majority of them stayed local in a classic case of a big fish in a small pond.
The region’s diverse range of regions and grapes can roughly be split into two clusters – one is a scion of the Bordeaux family tree, the other – that eclectic cohort based on its local and unique cultivars. Going inland up along Garonne and Dordogne rivers you encounter the first group with blends similar to those just down the rivers – Bergerac, Buzet and Pecharmant AOPs for reds, and Monbazillac for late harvest sweet wines.
However, the grapes here are grown in different conditions – different soils, more inland, thus more continental climate, and different know-how, so they still have their own expressions. But as we move further south from here, we come across the second cluster, the areas that march to their own drum using their own distinct signature varieties.
One of the local but better known grapes from here is Malbec. Responsible as a major blending component for the historic wines of Cahors, it made an international leap, found a new home and, arguably, a greater international renown as a signature grape of Argentina. Another’s claim to fame is a bit more modest – Tannat, the main grape in Madiran AOP, also traveled to South America and is the mainstay of Uruguay’s and Bolivia’s wine trades. However, beyond these two there are many more cultivars to discover in this corner of the country that have not travelled beyond their home base. Let’s meet a few.
Negrette is a hyper-local red grape at the core of the Fronton AOP, often showing floral and feral character. White Gros and Petit Mansengs, also very local, are responsible for distinctive, guava, pumpkin seed, yet fresh wines of Jurançon AOC, usually off-dry to sweet, unless labelled as “Sec”. White L’En de l’El, another local specialty, which along with Mauzac grape, also found in Limoux in the south, is responsible for the whites of Gaillac AOP. There is a red Fer Servadou, shared with Basque region of Spain, that is a blending component in Madiran and a couple of other AOPs. These and several even more obscure grapes find their way into a number of even less-familiar sounding AOPs – Marcillac, Bearn, Pacherenc de Vic-Bihl and Irouleguy – you might occasionally come across these names on a wine list or wine store’s shelves.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is the widely-planted white Ugni Blanc, also grown in Cognac, and known is Trebbiano Toscano in Italy where it comes from. However, here it is not only a key grape for Armagnac, but also a major component in Cotes de Gascogne IGP. Along with Colombard, it makes light, fresh, often naturally low in alcohol whites – 10.5-11%, yet with vibrant, fully developed citric fruit not unlike a nice Sauvignon Blanc.
At this point, it is probably clear that those in search of new wine experiences and discoveries, especially in a well mapped and chartered France, would do well to adapt and follow the early America’s explorers’ motto and -“go west”. South-West, that is.
Toronto-based IGOR RYJENKOV MW was the first in Canada to earn the prestigious Master of Wine credential in 2003. His wine business expertise has been informed by 24 year in the Ontario trade, first in retail, then in key buying positions, and lastly, in projects, most notably, developing the new 5-dot wine style matrix. Igor is one of Opimian’s Masters of Wines.