Southwest by Southwest
June 6, 2012 § 1 Comment
Wines from France’s Southwest (OK: sud-ouest) are quirky. Not trying to be anything else. No huge marketing campaigns, no ads in the mags. The names of the subregions are unfamiliar: Marcillac, Gaillac, Jurancon, Millau, Irouleguy. So are the names of the grapes: Manseng, Tannat, Fer Servadou, Len de L’ehl and more…
But the wines themselves? Oh, so approachable! So generous, so delicious. And so expressive of place. They have acidity, structure, heft or delicacy depending. Today’s column gives special thanks to Wine Traditions, an importer of small, family-run wineries in lesser-known regions of France, especially the sud-ouest. Trust these guys!
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How timely! A friend and I are headed to Southwest France in a week and looking forward to experimenting their wines. Do you have any tip or recommendations on a vineyard/winery we might visit?
thanks,
David