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| If I were asked
to explain the wines of France in just two words, my response would come
as no surprise: Terroir, terroir. To experience a French wine, visit its
producer. To understand a French wine, visit the vineyard.
Exploring vineyards was as enlightening for me as the tasting of their fruits. Slopes so steep they must be terraced, earth so rocky that one wonders how anything could grow in it. Roots plunging through the ceilings of cellars tens of metres below. Orientation, exposure, drainage, soil, subsoil, climate. Terroir. Louis Jadot provides an excellent example. Two of its top Grand Cru Burgundies are made from the famous vineyards of Echazeaux and Clos Vougeot. Vinification of the two wines is essentially identical; the differences arise purely from terroir. In its youth, Echaezeaux shows rich cherry fruit with hints of rose, while Clos Vougeot has deeper, darker characters of licorice, cherry and raspberry. The two vineyards lie right next to each other. Terroir changes very quickly in many areas of France. This produces glorious character, intensity and structure, ultimately creating some of the greatest wines in the world. France, I salute you.
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 Introduction |
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| My
Rating System |
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| Chablis |
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| Burgundy |
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| Red Burgundy | ||||
| White Burgundy | ||||
| Alsace |
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| The
Rhone Valley |
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| Cote Rotie | ||||
| Condrieu | ||||
| St Joseph & Cote du Rhone |
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| Red Hermitage | ||||
| White Hermitage | ||||
| Crozes Hermitage | ||||
| Chateauneuf-du-Pape | ||||
| Bordeaux |
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| St Emilion & Pomerol | ||||
| Sauternes | ||||
| The Medoc | ||||
| Pessac-Leognan | ||||
| The
Loire Valley |
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| Champagne |
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| Concluding
Remarks |
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By the same author:
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Text may be freely reproduced, on the condition
that the author is acknowledged.
Images may not be reproduced without the written permission of the author. |
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