Wine Review: South West France Part 2

After our stop in Bordeaux, we spent a week in the Périgord. There, I got to sample lots of local wines with the local cuisine. I’m going to focus on the appellations we tried with some information about what to do in the region. 

Visiting the Périgord

The Périgord or Dordogne region is basically the area east of Bordeaux, which is highly influenced by the Dordogne River that runs through it all the way to Bordeaux, where it flows into the Garonne.  Depending where you stay, it’s another 1 ½ to 2 ½  hour drive from Bordeaux. It is a lovely place to visit for all types of travelers and makes a nice change of pace after the big city of Bordeaux. 

Starting with the landscape, it’s not flat like Bordeaux. If you love the Tour de France and cycling, this would not be a place for beginners, like the Loire Valley or Bordeaux, where you can easily bike while visiting castles and drinking their wine. In contrast, the Périgord is hilly with lots of white, yellowish chalk cliffs, which you see in the color of the stones they used to construct their houses and castles. With the river and rainy Spring climate, it’s also quite green with forests and vegetation atop the cliffs and in the valley. A must-do is kayaking on the Dordogne with breathtaking views of castles and villages perched upon these cliffs. 

I recommend visiting Beynac castle, which is lovely to see while kayaking on the river but also to visit up top for the views of the whole valley. The castle was controlled by King Richard the Lionheart (of Robin Hood fame), and his mother, Eleanor of Aquitane, was huge in not only uniting European royalty through her bloodline, but also promoting Bordeaux wine across Europe, especially in England. That’s why the English love their Clarets (Bordeaux wine). 

In addition to the river and cliffs, there are caves all over. Some have natural beauty with stalagmites and stalactites forming over centuries from the mineral deposits. Others have prehistoric history such as the Lascaux cave with 20,000 year old prehistoric cave paintings. 

Finally, this is not the region to visit if you want to lose weight. It’s famous for its black truffles and duck products such as foie gras, confit de canard and magret de canard. There are shops everywhere you go to buy these products, but it’s also featured in the restaurants of course. If you get steak, it will often be accompanied with foie gras sauce. You want some beans, then it’ll be served in the heavy casserole dish, cassoulet, with duck meat and sausage. If you want a salad, they’ll serve you a salade de gésiers, with duck gizzards and more foie gras.  If you want a burger, then you can get a burger made with magret de canard and yet again, foie gras. They also make a tasty walnut cake for dessert if you have any room left in your stomach.  

Trip photos below.

The Wines of Bergerac & Other South West Appellations

I already wrote an overview of the South West wine region of France. However, the wines I tasted in that post were from appellations closer to the Pyrenees. Being in the Périgord, we tasted appellations within or closer to this region. Although we did one winery visit, most of the wines we drank could be found in local shops and grocery stores. Most supermarkets in France do a good job of selling wines from the major regions of France while including local wines as well.

If you do want to do some wine tourism in the region, I would either google what’s around you or pick one of the appellations I mention here and look up some of the most popular producers on wine-searcher (this Guildsomm article is also a good source). Then contact that producer. I’m sure the tastings and visits will be a lot cheaper or even free compared to the tastings in Bordeaux. 

In addition, visiting this region, or any wine region, allows you to try types of wines that don’t reach markets outside of the region. Even Cahors, which is well-known internationally for Malbec, also produces whites, rosés, and sweet wines that rarely make it outside of the region. Since Bordeaux overshadows all other South West appellations, tasting most of the appellations mentioned in this post are hard to come by even in other parts of France, so we almost drank exclusively local. It saves you money too since the local wines are way cheaper than Bordeaux, Burgundy, etc.  

Historically, many of these South West appellations like Bergerac suffered from being further east from the Atlantic ports that Bordeaux merchants controlled. All the rivers eventually flow into the Garonne and out to the Atlantic via the Gironde estuary. By the time their wines arrived from the Dordogne, Lot or Tarn rivers for example, they would have been taxed and often held back from export in lieu of Bordeaux wines. Hence, many wine lovers today still don’t know these other appellations while they covet Bordeaux. I didn’t have time to taste all of the appellations either. I missed some appellations like Buzet or Cotes de Duras. Below are the appellations we did try. 

Bergerac

Bergerac makes wines with basically the same grapes as Bordeaux. For the reds, there’s typically Merlot, Cabernet and Malbec. For the whites, it’s usually Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. The summers are hotter, the winters are colder and there’s less rainfall here. There’s still influence from the Atlantic like in Bordeaux though. They have some clay and limestone soil like in the Right Bank of Bordeaux, which is typically good for Merlot. However, it’s a large, diverse region with many appellations within it, so it’s hard to generalize the terroir. Ultimately, the wines here are great bargains for those who like Bordeaux wines, but they’re not going to be as profound, refined or ageworthy. Nowadays, some do make it to export but still at a tiny fraction of what Bordeaux exports.

The town of Bergerac itself is worth a stopover. There’s the river, an old town, wine shops and restaurants with typical South West products. Of course, there are statues of Cyrano from the famous play too. In fact, one of the wine shop chains in the region is called Roxane et Cyrano. 

Tasting notes of some of the Bergerac and other appellations we drank are below. 

Monbazillac & Tirecul La Gravière

The Bergerac region covers some smaller appellations like Montravel, Rosette, Monbazillac and Pécharmant. We stopped in Monbazillac, which is just 10 minutes from the city center of Bergerac. There’s an impressive castle you can visit (that also makes wine), but we came exclusively to visit Tirecul La Gravière, one of the best sweet wines of the appellation, if not the whole South West region, including Sauternes and Barsac. 

Monbazillac is exclusively sweet wines although they do make other types of wines too, but they would be classified differently, as Bergerac or IGP Perigord.  Just like Sauternes, the sweet wines are made of Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle that develop botrytis from the morning oceanic mist. The wines here are similar to Sauternes, but they often use more Muscadelle than in Sauternes, and the wines are said to be a little richer. Like with Sauternes, a traditional pairing would be with the local foie gras. Most importantly, Monbazillac is a lot cheaper despite its similar quality.

However, Tirecul La Gravière is relatively more expensive since Parker gave their Cuvee Madame 100 points a while back, and little is made. Only 1-3 barrels are made of Cuvee Madame, which is only made in good years. That’s only about 1,500 half liter bottles. Tirecul La Gravière is certified Bio. Unlike other Monbazillac producers, they also grow Chenin Blanc. I was surprised that they also make wines other than sweet wines, such as a sparkling, a rosé and reds, some of which are sourced from another property of theirs within the Bergerac region. 

A related side note, two other Bergerac appellations make similar sweet wines. Saussignac and Rosette also produce Sauternes-like sweet wines with the latter being on the lighter, semi-sweet side. Other sweet wines in the South West like Jurancon, are made with different varieties and without botrytis. 

Pécharmant 

Pécharmant is another smaller appellation within Bergerac. Unlike Bergerac, this rarely makes it outside the region. It’s similarly made with Merlot, Cabernet, and Malbec with Merlot usually dominating. During our time in the Perigord, I found it to be generally a step up in refinement compared to an average Bergerac. I’m not sure why it’s not exported more, other than it’s small. It’s all the more reason you need to travel and explore other wine regions. 

Cahors   

Cahors is the most well-known and widely distributed non-Bordeaux South West appellation. It’s the original home of Malbec, or sometimes called Auxerrois or Côt locally. Sometimes there’s Tannat and/or Merlot blended with it. The climate here is warmer, drier and sunnier than Bordeaux, which is better for Malbec. Unlike the previous appellations above, Cahors and the subsequent appellations mentioned here are also influenced by the Mediterranean and not just the Atlantic since they are located further south closer to Toulouse. Unlike the above Dordogne influenced wine regions, Cahors is influenced by the Lot river which also flows into the Garonne. 

Traditionally, the style is more austere, Old World, rustic and tannic compared to Malbec from Argentina. However, the Cahors I’ve had recently have been more fruit-driven and easy drinking. Part of this might be the producer and which terroir in Cahors it comes from. There’s also a trend of Cahors making fruitier and softer wines perhaps to steal some of the Argentinian Malbec lovers and/or to follow the general international trends of making more elegant wines that are approachable young. 

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to visit Cahors which was only about an hour away from where we were. Some of the wineries I had on my list were Chateau de Mercues (which also has a castle to tour, stay at, and dine at), Triguedina and Chambert. I wanted to visit these because of their quality but also their diverse selection. As mentioned above, Cahors also produces whites (under the label Cotes du Lot), rosés, and sweet wines too. Plus, you can find more Malbec options in terms of cuvees, which means being able to taste different styles, winemaking and terroir in the appellation. Although Cahors can be found all over the world, there aren’t often that many choices. 

Gaillac 

I found less of Gaillac and Fronton in the Perigord because they are much further south close to Toulouse. Here the main river is the Tarn which eventually flows into the Garonne as well. Besides being great bargains too, the wines from Gaillac are intriguing because they use less common varieties. Typical blends are made with Fer (also called Fer Servadou or Braucol), Duras and Syrah. Sometimes there’s Prunelard Noir along with Gamay and typical Bordeaux varieties. They use these to make rosés and reds. They also make whites from Len de l’el (or Loin de l’Oeil), Mauzac and Muscadelle. With some of these grapes they also make some sparkling wines such as sweet and dry Méthode Ancenstrale sparklings (sort of like a Pet-Nat). They also make semi-sparkling wines called Perlé.

Fronton 

Fronton is unique because it’s one of the few places in the world where you can find the variety Négrette, which dominates their reds and rosés. A bit can be found in the Loire Valley and some made its way to California a while back. Now, mostly only the rootstocks are used in California with a bit found in Old Vine Zinfandel blends and San Benito. Fronton also allows a mix of other grapes like Malbec, Syrah, Cinsault, Gamay, Fer, Cabernet and Merille (which is different from the Chilean Grosse Merille and also called Périgord). Negrette is said to have been brought to France by returning crusaders. It often has an animal and floral character to it. 

Cognac & Armagnac

Although these are located far from the above appellations, they are within the overall South West wine region. In fact, we passed Cognac vineyards on our way out of Bordeaux to the north while Armagnac is closer to the Pyrenees. Both are types of grape brandy, not too different from Chilean Pisco since Chilean Pisco (and not Peruvian) often use oak and multiple distillations. Of course, the grape varieties are different though. Cognac uses the varieties Ugni Blanc, Colombard, Folle Blanche, Montils, Sémillon and Folignan, while Armagnac uses Ugni Blanc, Folle Blanche, Baco and Colombard. In addition, Armagnac only does one distillation using column stills while Cognac does two using pot stills. Armagnac is often higher in alcohol too. Lastly, Cognac is a lot more internationally popular than Armagnac. Most people know Cognac producers like Hennessy for example.

They both use the same labeling system, however. VS is for at least 2 years aging.  VSOP means it was aged for at least 4 years. XO or Napoleon means it was aged at least 6 years. We drank both Armagnac and Cognac as our digestif, but I’m not including notes below because I’m not at all an expert.  

 

Tasting Notes

Tirecul La Gravière Visit

All wines tasted from Coravin.

Sweet Wines (Except the Le Pins, all old vine Semillon and Muscadelle –Madame uses only the oldest vines from excellent years)

1998 Madame Some ginger, nutty and savory notes. The smoothest and silkiest of all of them. The most elegant. Spiciest. Baking spices. Licorice.  Most length. Cooler vintage so more elegant, fine than the 2001 regular cuvee. 97

2015 Madame – only old vines, still old barrels like the others. Even more concentrated. Still a streak of acidity keeping it fresh. Some savory notes. More than the 2020 regular cuvee. Some honey. 95+

2001 Tirecul La Gravière Evolved dark color.  nutty nose, honey and more savoriness on the nose. Longer. Good acidity. Coffee and chocolate notes. So much more going on than the 2020 which was all about rich fruit. This still has the richness but added decadent  complexity.  Warmer vintage than the 1998 Madame so a richer style. 97 The bottle we bought and opened wasn’t quite as intense and complex. The color was dark, but it was more primary and not hitting on all cylinders like at the tasting. Although they used a coravin, I’m sure that bottle had more air to evolve. Also the one we opened was drunk with a smaller glass, which was less ideal to show off its aromatics and aerate the wine. The one we opened was more like a 93-4

2020 Tirecul La Gravière even more texture and body vs. the Le Pins, with the same candied apricots, less savory nose though. 93+

2021 Le Pins Semillon, Muscadelle with a bit of Sauvignon Blanc. Young vines. Lovely feel and ripeness. Exotic fruit. But not too much. Nose is rather savory, earthy nose though. Tiny bit of barriques used too. 91

Other Tirecul La Gravière Wines

2016 Le Georges Bergerac 50 Merlot, CS 25, CF 25 – 2 ans barriques (mostly used) more spicy oak notes but also herbal from both Cabernets and smoother, silky palate but more tannins too. Brighter than the Bise.Still needs time just like 2016 Bordeaux. 91+

2017 Bise Bergerac – 80 Merlot, 20 CF calcaire and red clay soil. no sulfites, no wood. Spicy nose, a bit of dried dark fruit, plum but palate is fresher, more red fruit. Some tannins. 89

2020 Paulette Blanc De Noir IGP Perigord Calcaire soil from St. Perdoux (Merlot 80 and CF 20) rosé de presse. Stainless steel only. Interesting. Acts more like a white wine. Herbal and floral nose. Medium body for a rosé with medium acid. 90

2020 Andrea IGP Perigord 30 Semillon, 70 Muscadelle from Tirecul. 1 year in barrique. Really round, creamy full body with low acid. Nose is very spicy, baking spice like nutmeg with fruit and floral notes. Although I usually prefer higher acidity in my whites, the nose is so exotic and the feel is so oily, silky. 92

NV ” à Jo” Brut Nature Blanc de Blanc – 90 semillon, 10 Chenin Calcaire soil from Tirecul property, toasty,  bready nose, citrus, fruit. Spicy on the nose. Medium level bubbles. Traditional method. As a Brut Nature, this is more savory and definitely not a sparkling for dessert. 90

 

Other South West Wines 

None of these cost more than 12 euros at the supermarket. 

2022 Château Les Merles Bergerac Blanc – grapefruit, a touch of bell pepper. Very Sauvignon. Fruity upfront with a spicy backend. Medium+ acid. Pleasant white that will work as aperitif or with seafood. 100% Sauvignon Blanc. 90

2021 Vinovalie Vignerons de Rabastens Saint-Michel Grande Reserve Gaillac – collective of 470 producers in Gaillac, Cahors and Fronton. Braucol (Fer Servadou), Duras and Syrah, which is the most classic blend for this region. Expressive fruity nose if ripe red and dark fruit, floral. On the palate, it’s also a soft, fruity wine. Medium-low acid, but still juicy. Not a profound or structured wine for aging, but should be a crowd pleaser with fruity, easy drinking nature. 89

2014 Vignobles Pelvillain Plot 7.9 Inspiration Cahors – nice nose of dark fruit, baking spices and chocolate notes. Reminds me more of Mendoza Malbec to a certain degree  but the palate is lighter-bodied with higher acidity than most Mendoza Malbec. At 9 years old, completely smooth. No hard edges. Mocha and fruit on the palate too. 90

2022 Vinovalie Comte de Negret Grande Reserve Fronton Rosé –100% Negrette from direct press. Nose is rather shy but you get bright berry fruit. The palate had more body though than say an average rosé from Provence. Also fruity with good acidity but a spicy backend. Rather typical for the variety from this region. 87

2019 Domaine du Champ de Mars Bergerac – medium intensity ripe dark fruit nose, very Merlot, with mild savory, herbal spice notes. Similar profile on the palate with a rush of dark fruit on the attack with medium+ acidity. some mild tannins without food, but fine with some meat. A little heat and oak on the backend and the lacking in the midpalate. Not as refined on the palate as the nose. Still perfect with heavy Southwest dishes. 86

2019 Vignobles Dubard Cuveé du Hameau Pécharmant – 40 Cabernet S., 30 Cabernet F., 30 Merlot – More refined than I find with Bergerac reds I’ve had around the same price range. Balance of sweet spiced oak notes and ripe fruit on the nose and palate. Medium acid. No hard edges. Good balance. Couldn’t distinguish this from a good Right Bank Bordeaux at twice the price. 90

2022 Vinovalie Saint-Michel Gaillac Perlé Grande Réserve – Blend of Mauzac, Loin de l’Oeil and Muscadelle. Not much nose at the moment. A bit of white fruit, white floral notes and a bit of salinity. The palate is citrusy, light and somewhat fizzy. Reminds me sort of Txakoli or a fizzy Muscadet. 86

2020 Château Court-Les-Mûts Côtes de Bergerac (Pierre Sadoux) – Cabernet Sauvignon (40), Merlot (40), Cabernet Franc (20). Good and easy to drink, but a touch of heat and the nose a bit shy and lacks precision. 88

2019 Château Les Merles l’Envol Pécharmant – 1 year in new and once used oak. The vineyard is planted to 55% Merlot, 20% Cabernet S., 17% Cabernet Franc, 8% Cot. Continues my assessment that Pécharmant is more refined than Bergerac. Although the ripeness is about the same, this is just more integrated, expressive and elegant on the palate while the Bergeracs I’ve had are good but are less defined and/or have some heat and/or are a bit less expressive. This one has a pretty nose of ripe fruit and sweet oak notes, and it glides effortlessly on the palate with medium acidity. 90