If you are hankering for some fine French wine and food,
why not consider the Rhone Valley region of southeastern
France? You may even find a bargain, and I hope that you'll
have fun on this fact-filled wine education tour in which
we review one the area's best-known wines, a white
Chateauneuf-du-Pape that comes from some of the stoniest
vineyards on earth.
The Rhone Valley ranks second in acreage among France's
eleven wine-growing regions. It's really a question of two
separate areas with very different wines. The narrow
northern Rhone Valley produces only a small fraction of the
Rhone wines. Its major red grape is Syrah, and its major
white variety is Viognier. Traditionally wines in the
southern Rhone Valley are blended. For example, both the
red and the white Chateauneuf-du-Pape AOC wine may include
over a dozen different grape varieties. The white
Chateauneuf-du-Pape reviewed below includes four varieties,
White Grenache, Rousssane, Bourbuolenc, and Clairette. With
the exception of Roussane, these are not considered
particularly high-quality grapes. Many of the other
permitted varieties are also pedestrian grapes. But
Chateauneuf-du-Pape is certainly considered a fine wine.
You will never see it on a $10 wine list. Only once in a
while you will see it on a $15 wine list.
The village of Chateauneuf-du-Pape is home to about two
thousand people and some very well-known French wines.
During the Fourteenth Century seven French Popes made their
home in nearby Avignon and they got their table wine from
the town named new castle of the pope. You may want to
visit the Musee des Outils de Vignerons Pere Anselme (The
Father Anselm Museum of Winemakers Tools) or the ruins of
the Chateau. The nearby city of Orange is home to a great
Roman theatre and even an Arc de Triomphe, much less
visited than its Parisian namesake.
Before reviewing the Chateauneuf-du-Pape wine here are a
few suggestions of what to eat with indigenous wines when
touring this beautiful region. Start with Soupe de
Lentilles Provençale (Provencale Lentil Soup). For
your second course savor Pates aux Coquillages (Seafood
Pasta). And as dessert indulge yourself with Fougassette
(Sweet Bread with Orange Flower Water).
OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review
are purchased at the full retail price.
Wine Reviewed Chateauneuf-du-Pape La Fiole Blanc 13% about
$22.50
Let's start by quoting the marketing materials. Tasting
Note: Pale gold; aromas of mineral and grapefruit, crisp
and dry with a mineral flavor. Serving Suggestion: Serve
with fish or seafood.
In the first sips I tasted honey and minerals. The wine was
mildly sweet. The first pairing was with a Middle-Eastern
dish called kube (or kibbe) consisting of ground beef in
jackets made of crushed wheat, slow-cooked in a peppery
tomato sauce. The wine tasted of grapefruit. It was nicely
long and fairly powerful.
My next meal centered around a barbecued chicken breast in
a caramelized sauce accompanied by potato salad and a
Moroccan style tomato salsa with garlic that wasn't very
spicy. The wine was sweet like many a Riesling. It went
well with the chicken's sweetness. The acidity was light
but increased as the meal went on. The
Chateauneuf-du-Pape's predominant flavor was grapefruit. In
the presence of a sweet but acidic, high-quality French
style lemon pie the wine was round but weak.
The final meal was broiled salmon filet in a soy and honey
sauce with brown rice and zucchini cooked in tomatoes. The
wine's soft acidity was a great compliment to the softness
of the fish. Once again grapefruit came out with the rice
and zucchini combo. The wine's acidity went well with the
acidity of the tomatoes.
The first cheese was a Mozzarella. The wine was round,
forceful, and frankly wasted. With a yellow Cheddar the
wine was fairly tasteless. It just didn't stand up to this
fairly weak cheese.
Final verdict. I would buy this wine again but carefully
watch what I pair it with. Never again would it be wasted
with a pedestrian cheese. My idea of a great wine evening
might be starting with this white Chateauneuf-du-Pape to
accompany a salmon fillet followed by a red
Chateauneuf-du-Pape with a leg of lamb or roast duck. And
live a bit like those French Popes almost seven hundred
years ago.
----------------------------------------------------
Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten books on
computers and the Internet, but would rather just drink
fine German or other wine, accompanied by the right foods.
He teaches various computer classes at an Ontario
French-language community college. Check out his global
wine website http://www.theworldwidewine.com with a weekly
column reviewing $10 wines and new sections writing about
(theory) and tasting (practice) organic and kosher wines.
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Châteauneuf du Pape is a very good wine :)
Highly recommended.
Cathy
Rocket French