I am at the stage when little victories bring a pleasing boost to my confidence. Having left it late last week to find my A variety, I had done my research this week to select the B. This one had to be white, so sticking to choosing by variety was going to be a challenge; there aren't many white Bs out there.
I made my first visit to a welcoming City wine shop in New Street, called the New Street Wine Shop (natch) and was greeted by a bearded Frenchman. I asked if he had La Clape. He said he did, in that charmingly proud French way that would seem so wrong if attempted by any other nationality (except, perhaps, an Italian), and nipped up his ladder to retrieve what he thought I wanted.
'Ah, no, actually I want the white, please', I apologetically mumbled. I am English after all.
'I ave the white, but it is not La Clape'. He fetched the bottle. He read the label. A ha! (A.Partridge, 1995).
So, this weeks wine B (2013) is Chateau La Negly, La Brise Marine, 2012. AOP Coteaux du Languedoc, La Clape.
.jpg)
The producer tells me (ok, it's on the website) that it is 70% Bourboulenc, 30% Roussanne and that it spent 3 months on its lees in a tank, and 2% of it has been aged in barrels. That's 1.4cl of my particular bottle, or about one tenth of a decent glass.
The result is excellent. This one I would buy again and at £13.75 from New Street I probably will, as long as I can fit it into my weekly schedule. I may have to ask The One if we can have another party.
It has a slightly oily, rich feel and well balanced, quite intense, apple-peach flavours. Something reminds me of Chablis, which I will put down to the producers claim of an 'exquisite mineral note on the finish'. The finish is good as it encourages my next sip (glass).
La Clape, which is a limestone outcrop on the Mediterranean seashore, is the only appellation for white wine based on Bourboulenc. I am very happy to have found it and will try some different producers in due course, but for now this will do nicely.
So, this weeks wine B (2013) is Chateau La Negly, La Brise Marine, 2012. AOP Coteaux du Languedoc, La Clape.
.jpg)
The producer tells me (ok, it's on the website) that it is 70% Bourboulenc, 30% Roussanne and that it spent 3 months on its lees in a tank, and 2% of it has been aged in barrels. That's 1.4cl of my particular bottle, or about one tenth of a decent glass.
The result is excellent. This one I would buy again and at £13.75 from New Street I probably will, as long as I can fit it into my weekly schedule. I may have to ask The One if we can have another party.
It has a slightly oily, rich feel and well balanced, quite intense, apple-peach flavours. Something reminds me of Chablis, which I will put down to the producers claim of an 'exquisite mineral note on the finish'. The finish is good as it encourages my next sip (glass).
La Clape, which is a limestone outcrop on the Mediterranean seashore, is the only appellation for white wine based on Bourboulenc. I am very happy to have found it and will try some different producers in due course, but for now this will do nicely.
No comments:
Post a Comment