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Howard W. Hewitt

~ … The "W" stands for wine!

Howard W. Hewitt

Tag Archives: Virgile Joly

Languedoc Continues to Impress

04 Thursday Jul 2013

Posted by Howard in Food & Travel, France

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Chateau Le Bouis, Chateau Le Carcarasse, La Hospitalet, O'Vineyards, Virgile Joly

bottles

Two weeks removed from a France trip and still no dedicated blog post! That’s bad! It’s a long one – but hopefully a good summary of a great experience!

I spent eight days in France in early June helping lead an alumni travel trip for the College where I work. The group of 13 spent four days in the Languedoc, headquartered in Montpellier, and had a really great wine experience.

The idea was to expose regular wine drinkers to a variety of wineries and a personalized touch that would help them understand Southern France winemaking.

VirgileDomaine Virgile Joly – Virgile was one of the big, big hits of the trip. We traveled on a rainy Sunday to Saint Saturnin de Lucian and met Virgile in the center of town. He led us to his small cave-like tasting room where he educated, entertained, and charmed the group.

As he warmed up his smile, the French accent, and the detailed knowledge of winemaking, the stop was the perfect start to our journey. Virgile’s Joly Blanc is still one of the great white wines of Southern France. The wine is mostly Grenache Blanc. It has been honored in numerous competitions and is delightfully refreshing.

I first met Joly at the 2012 Millesime Bio in Montpellier. He was clearly a rock star then for France’s organic wine movement and his reputation only grows. His production is still relatively small but he is not shy in sharing his dream is to build his own winery.

Virgile really captivated the group.

Virgile really captivated the group.

Two of the highlights of his wine,  beyond the entry level red and white which make it to the U.S., was his top red Saturne (in photo at top) and his great little dessert Rose’.

After four days in the Languedoc we traveled hi-speed rail to Paris and spent five days there. Our lunch in tiny Saint Saturnin de Lucian at La Pressoir was one of the best meals of the trip. We had a delightfully fresh salad with salmon and duck, beef grilled before us over an open fire, and one of the best chocolate grenache-filled chocolate soufflés one can imagine.

But the lingering memory of our first stop was Virgile’s incredible enthusiasm and charm. Our group held up Virgile as the gold standard for wine stops for the rest of the trip.

le-bouisChateau le Bouis – After a quick morning stop in Narbonne to visit its famous market, we drove toward the Mediterreanean coast. This stop was set up for its views of the sea and a very light lunch.

Our hostess was charming, the crusty French bread was the best of the trip, food was great, and the wines were surprisingly consistent and lovely. The white and Rose’ were particularly good wines.

The large patio and vine covered patio where we tasted is well suited for visitors. It’s picturesque, charming, great food and wine, with delightful views.

Incredible vineyard views of the Sea at Chateau la Hospitalet

Incredible vineyard views of the Sea at Chateau la Hospitalet

Gerard Bertrand’s Chateau La Hospitalet – This stop was one of the most anticipated for me having tasted many of Bertrand’s wines and their wide availability in the states.

It didn’t disappoint but was unlike most stops in the French countryside. That’s best explained by noting it was more like a stop in Napa or Sonoma. To Bertrand’s credit they have the wine tourism thing all figured out. The tasting room looked like any major tasting area at a successful or prominent Napa winery.

Bertrand's modern tasting room.

Bertrand’s modern tasting room.

The wines were consistently good and you won’t have much trouble finding them. The highlight was a walk in the vineyard before tasting. A charming young Brit led us up a small hill to the very windy crest where we had a stunning view of the Medeterreian.  (in photo above). Between the base of that hill and the sea were three small plots of vineyard.

The top wine from the Hospitalet location comes from that spot. It was big rich and age-worthy wine. I bought a bottle of the L’Hospitalitas for 41E or about $55 to bring home and age. (that’s the wine in the top photo, center).

Gerard has seven locations in Southern France and its definitely worth the stop to taste wines you CAN get back home and as a contrast to the many smaller wineries. This stop couldn’t be more different than all the others. Bertrand produces more than 6 million cases of wine at his combined seven locations.

"Ozzy" was a very amiable host!

“Ozzy” was a very amiable host!

Chateau Le Carcarasse – This stop was a bit of a comedy of errors. Our bus driver was given an early itinerary that included this stop. But he was later given updates that noted we were going elsewhere. Since none of us were familiar with Southern France – we ended up here. I scrambled, as group leader, and explained the embarrassing predicament and the staff scrambled.

They put together a delightful tasting and bites of food in about 15 minutes. Our group was a tad confused, our liaison who made arrangements for our other stop was confounded, our bus driver distressed – but it all worked out.

The food was incredible and the wines were darn good. The Chateau is stunning. They do seem to be much more in the condo business than wine business, producing just 1,000 cases, but the wines were solid.

Joe O'Connell talking about his Merlot vineyard.

Joe O’Connell talking about his Merlot vineyard.

O’Vineyards – This place is such a great story of a family packing up and moving from Louisana to Southern France. Their college-age son will someday be viewed as a pioneer in social media in the Southern France wine business.

I met Ryan at the 2012 wine fair and kept in touch. Liz O’Connell is known as quite a cook – a reputation she backed up during our visit. Joe O’Connell the former homebuilder and winemaker walked out group through all the steps of winemaking. That was an experience the group had not had yet since we were fighting downpours during the Joly visit.

The travel group loved it. They got to taste wines from the stainless steel vats and barrel taste Cabernet which was in its 18 month in the oak.

Liz and Joe O'Connell are great hosts!

Liz and Joe O’Connell are great hosts!

Joe’s wines were some of the best we tasted during the trip. We left with quite a few bottles. I carried home a 2010 Merlot which I thought was one of the best 100 percent Merlots I’ve ever tasted. It’s going to get a  little more time in the bottle before I pop it open.

The O’Connells have worked the tourism angle like few others in southern France. If you Google winery visit in Southern France, chances are O’Vineyards will come up even before something like powerhouse Bertrand.

O’Vineyard wines will have a bottling available from California-based Naked Wines very soon.

They are located in a small village near the touristy, walled city of Carcassonne.

Summary – Languedoc wines continue to impress. Much has been written how this area was marred as plonk and boxed wine for years. The reputation was true. But in the last 15 years or so producers have realized their wines can be placed beside many of the great bottles of France.

Talking wine with one of our group members at Chateau le Bouis.

Talking wine with one of our group members at Chateau le Bouis.

I love the earthy and rich quality of the reds and freshness of the area’s whites. They make Rose’ which challenges – almost – Provence.

But the people are so welcoming and genuine. It remains true that you are likely to interact with the winemaker or winemaker/owner if you pre-arrange a trip to the Languedoc.

We had a great trip. If you like Cotes du Rhone wines, Languedoc is a logical progression. Carignan is a funky grape which will be new to many wine drinkers, but it’s prominent in the Languedoc. I’ve grown to love it. It gives the wines a real earthiness many of the Rhone wines lack.

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Floridians Boost Languedoc Tourism

16 Sunday Jun 2013

Posted by Howard in Food & Travel, France

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Chateau Le Bouis, Domaine Joly, Gerard Bertrand, Joe O'Connell, O'Vineyards, Virgile Joly

MONTPELLIER, France – Visiting French wine country is getting easier by the day but it’s still no Napa. Some French winemakers are starting to talk about tourism but few have embraced it.

Grape Sense LogoIt took an American family, and specifically their young son, to kick start tourism through social media in Southern France’s Languedoc wine region. The Languedoc is the largest wine producing region in the world but has never been a tourism destination.

Joe O'Connell

Joe O’Connell

Joe, Liz, and Ryan O’Connell packed up and moved from Louisiana to a small village just outside Carcassonne in the heart of Southern France. While Joe, a former house builder, worked on building his home and winery, Ryan started blogging, tweeting, and doing videos about Languedoc wine. At the time, no one else was doing it.

So far only a few others have joined in. “It’s fortunate for us, but I’d bet most other wineries are five to ten years away,” Joe O’Connell, O’Vineyards, said. “We go to meetings and try to help them and they look at us and say “pfffff!

“I don’t know how to help them any more.”

O’Connell said it has paid off in a big way. Popular travel sites like TripAdvisor have helped. O’Vineyards is the No. 1 rated attraction on TripAdvisor in the Languedoc-Rousillon region.

“You go to Montpellier and Google winery visits, we’re the first ones to come up,” O’Connell said. “You go to Toulouse and Google winery visits, we’re the first ones to come up.”

Joly, Virgile hi-resAnd despite the continual parade of tour buses to O’Connell’s home and winery, others are still slow to buy in. O’Connell tells other winemakers , “anything is interesting to people who want to drink wine.”

Languedoc wines were long the boxed wines, bulk wines, or plonk – as the French would say. In the last 15-20 years the region has emerged as a leader in producing high-quality value wines.

It doesn’t take a Twitter account and Facebook though to achieve success, but it doesn’t hurt. Virgile Joly has emerged in recent years as the face of the organic wine movement and Languedoc wines. He does a personalized visit for those who find his small village of Saint Saturnin de Lucian. His white Grenache Blanc has received critical raves.

Joly is a man of rare passion who has a growing business, fan base, and interest in luring tourists. He uses social media extensively and adds a personal touch with his charm.

Chateau  Le Bouis and Chateau Carasses near Narbonne get it. The seven Gerard Bertrand properties across the Languedoc  all have elaborate tasting rooms and know how to welcome visitors. Bertrand’s Chateau L’Hospitalet, also near Narbonne, has a restaurant and artisan shops for visitors.

Montpellier makes for a great home base to visit Southern France and its wineries. Wine tourism is still taking root but there are plenty of wineries ready to welcome tourists. The experience is often more personalized at the smaller operations. Visitors are much more likely to talk with the winemaker or a spouse than any stop on the U.S. west coast. Most are charging tasting feels now which range 10-15 Euro but that usually includes some bread and cheese or other light appetizers. Montpellier is far less expensive than many other French cities. And Languedoc wines offer tremendous value.

Howard W. Hewitt, Crawfordsville, IN., writes about value wine every other week for 22 Midwestern newspapers.

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Languedoc’s Virgile Joly Gaining Notice

23 Monday Apr 2012

Posted by Howard in France

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Domaine Joly, Joly Blanc, Terre Vins, Virgile Joly

The first time I met Virgile Joly in France at Montpellier, I thought ‘this guy has something that would sell wine’ in the back of my mind.

I’ve always believed a great story or interesting personalty sells wine and keeps people coming back for more.

iPhone shot I took at Millesime Bio

Joly was the focus of a book, Virgile’s Vineyard, that first brought his name and winery, Domaine Virgile Joly,  to prominence. Virgile’s English is pretty good and he makes great wine. He just recently contracted with Paul Chartrand, Chartrand Imports, Maine, to bring his wines to the U.S.

Joly’s name popped up in my email inbox three times this morning.

First, through a serious of communications, Chartrand  expects to have Joly wines for U.S. distributors by early summer.

Second, Terre de Vins magazine just published its list of the top 20 organic wines from a Languedoc tasting and the top wine was the Virgile – IGP Herault, Domaine Virgile Joly 2005. (100 percent Grenache Blanc)

I really found that interesting because for the story I wrote for Palate Press about organic wine, I called the same wine the best white I tasted at the Millesime Bio. Unfortunately, that section of the story was edited but I did post it to this blog.

Third, I get a number of emails daily about wine news and business. One of those featured this link to Ken Payton’s great Reign of Terroir blog and a feature on Joly.

It’s nice to know others are taking notice!

Send comment or questions to: hewitthoward@gmail.com

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Kickoff Dinner with Organic Winemakers

21 Saturday Jan 2012

Posted by Howard in France

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Chateau Du Luc, Domaine Cabanis, Jean Paul Cabanis, Languedoc, Marie Teisserenc, Millesime Bio, Montpellier, organic wine, Plaisirs des Mets, Virgile Joly

The press trip for the Millesime Bio got underway tonight with a dinner at Plaisirs des Mets in the old part of downtown Montpellier.

We had three winemakers join us for dinner and pour their wines. I’m not sure if the dinner was typical French cuisine but the group found it interesting. The group is just as interesting. We have a five Danish journalists, several from Germany, one from Finland, and a British wine writer who splits time between London and the Loire Valley.

Dinner was every bit as interesting as the wines. We started with what most of us thought was some deviled crab in crispy shells – much like an egg roll. It was on some greens with a bit of sauce.Our choice of entree was simple fish or veal. I opted for the fish and it was great. The skin was crispy the white fish was really delicious and the bones were pretty easy to deal with. I didn’t eat the head – just couldn’t to it.

The dessert was off the charts. There were two rolled, crispy pastry shells filled with a chocolate grenache. One was a bit more bold than the other.


There was also a nice small foam and an uber-sweet, homemade vanilla ice cream. Some had coffeee and some did not after dessert. We all had more wine.

The wines were uneven, all organic, but for the most part very nice.

Joining us for dinner was Jean Paul Cabanis of Domaine Cabanis, who sat across form me. Marie Teisserenc of Chateau Du Luc and Virgile Joly of the winer that bears his name. Again, all are producing wines from organically grown grapes.

Jean Paul

These are truly small producers. Cabanais, as example, makes about 8000 cases of wine annually. His Mouvredre-based wine was the best of the night for me and a couple of others. It comes from south of Nimes and the southern most appellation in the Rhone Valley. He does all the aging in cement. The wine had a delightful nose, a bit of tartness on the finish and beautiful balance.

I had Jean Paul’s wine with my fish and it was awesome. The Mouvredre blend also won a silver medal at this year’s Millesime Bio.

Jean Paul got the evening started with perhaps the most unique offering. He poured his white claret wine, a grape almost always used for red wines. It had a nice tartness to go along with a unqiue nose and finish. He sells alot of this wine to Japanese buyers to pair with Sushi.

Joly

Joly had the best white of the night for my taste. His wines were the most consistent of the night as well. His new Grenache Blanc was light and refreshing. It had light citrus and beautiful blance.

Teisserenc’s wines had prominent oak and in a couple of instances too much oak. But her ’09 Vigonier was certainly different than many you’ll find. It’s fermented and aged in oak and comes out an unusually dark yellow for this grape. It’s also an unusually high 15 percent alcohol.

Her best wine was a 2010 Chateau Coulon from Corbiers that was light with a blend of Carignon, Syrah, and Grenache. The grapes are all hand picked and handled in a manner her father started years ago.

Teisserenc

Ok, so these producers won’t be easy to find. But it makes a point I’ve made over and over again. Seek out smaller producers and you often find outstanding wines. The wines we tasted Saturday night didn’t have any of the negative characteristics sometimes associated with organic wines – thin on the palate. Some were certainly better than others. But if I poured most wine drinkers the best of what we had tonight they would never haven known whether they were organic or not.

Send comment or questions to: hewitthoward@gmail.com

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