Muscat Queen

Anne-Marie Lavaysse does everything her own way. She created Le Petit Domaine de Gimios 10 years ago and is now being helped by her son Pierre. Located in Saint Jean de Minervois, in the Languedoc, Anne-Marie keeps lettuce, leeks and other fruit trees on her vineyard. Certified Demeter (bioD), she doesn't add any sulfur or copper on her vines. When she started, she was doing like everyone else she admits, and was using sulfur from harvest to bottling. But rapidly she could not stand the smell and the lack of energey in her vines. She, then, stopped using sulfur and never looked back.
Very low yield, between 10 and 14 Hl/ha, she always harvests early in the morning to avoid having the picked grapes exposed to the hot Languedoc sun.




After trying her 2 reds, Rouge Fruit and Rouge de Causse, I finally got to try her dry Muscat Le Muscat Sec des Roumanis, 2008. Just like for her reds, I'm amazed by the balance and freshness offered by her wines, espcially when you consider this is Languedoc.
This Muscat may simply be the best muscat I have ever had. Very complex nose,with a lot going on: tea, rose, mandarine, orange skin, hint of minerality. There's also a tiny spritz. Very similar palate with maybe more apricot notes. Lively, fresh, really delicious.

Delicious times

The 2009 vintage in Beaujolais is hailed as the very best vintage in recent memories. It will be interesting to see if like in the Loire Valley, wines have maintained a decent acidity level to balance the high sugar content.

This 2009 Damien Coquelet Chiroubles is only my second 2009 Beaujolais (after a Clos de la Roilette) and this was a beautiful and delicious one. Damien's father in law in the great Georges Descombes. No chemical and indigenous yeasts are used by Damien.
The nose is pure and inviting. Nice minerality with bright fruit (cherry, cranberry and plum) with a hint of licorice. Earthy and floral, this is quite complex. Balanced, delicious with good acidity. There's also a slight green touch ( reminded me of green peas). Definitely Beaujolais, the bottle was gone really fast....














Also, after drinking his Patrimonio recently, the 2008 Antoine Arena Muscat du Cap Corse was another delicious wine. Very floral and with some lytchee on the nose, sweet but with enough acidity, this is another wine quite easy to drink. It was, in my opinion, a marvelous pairing with my wife Tres Leche (thanks Mary for the recipe!).



Two nice examples of winemakers working consciously and the result is showing in their wines.