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Wines for cheese
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This weeks feature
| A look at some wines with a recommended travelling companion!
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Beaujolais
Forget the raw reputation of Beaujolais Nouveau - try one of the ten cru village wines that top the quality table in this region, north of Lyon. Good value is the Beaujolais Villages appellation, 100 per cent Gamay and lighter in colour and power than neighbouring Burgundy reds. Some white and rose wines are available locally.
Beaujolais Villages, Les Roches Grillees
Fleurie, Domaine Paul Bernard 2000
Cheese choice: Gaperon |
Monbazillac
An ideal sweet white wine to set off cheese, from an area around the hilltop Chateau Monbazillac, near Bergerac. Made from grapes starting to develop botrytis mould (noble rot), which concentrates the sugar. A bit cheaper than Sauternes, made in the same way, but closer to Bordeaux, with a climate a little more favourable to the noble rot. Nearby, the appellation of Saussignac offers even better value.
Chateau Vignal Labrie, Monbazillac
Cheese choice: Pie d'Angloys |
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Fronsac
A good-value Bordeaux area on the banks of the Dordogne, neighbouring the better-known and pricier appellations of Pomerol and St Emilion. Fronsac and Canon Fronsac produce only red wines, which are powerful in flavour and, in the past, have been quite a hard taste; more Cabernet Franc is used than some areas where Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot have a higher percentage. Recently, the winemaking has smoothed out some of the hard edges without the wine having to age so long.
Cheese choice: Livarot |
Cairanne (Cotes du Rhone)
You can almost feel and taste the power of the hot Provence sun in this premier village appellation of the Cotes du Rhone. The effect is soft and warm, a smooth, spicy drink that is usually good value against some of the better-known and bigger producing areas of the south of France.
Cotes du Rhone Villages Cairanne 2000
Bouton d'Or
Cheese choice: Coulommiers |
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Cotes de Castillon
Further from the heart of Bordeaux, on the opposite side of St Emilion from Fronsac, the area offers a similar deep, full-bodied, Bordeaux-style red that doesn't compete on upper-end quality but is great value. Sold as Bordeaux until 1989, when it earned a separate appellation. Stored for five years or more, it becomes smoother without losing its deep colour and fruit flavour.
Chateau Robin, Cotes de Castillon 1998
Cheese choice: Camembert |
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