My little Tour de Vin was a grand success. Drinking nothing but French wine for a month once again reminded me that I don’t drink enough French wine. There are so many different wines to try, I felt like I was just barely scratching the surface, so of course I’ll continue to incorporate French selections into my regular wine-tasting column.

For a study in contrasts, and as a foreshadowing of what may be Lance Armstrong’s Tour de France victory next year on the new RadioShack team, I’m going to go all-American in August – tasting wines and cheeses from the good ol’ U.S. of A. But before I embark on the new voyage, I’m making one last stop in Burgundy – after all, we are still in July.

The Château du Cray Mercurey 2006 ($19) is much lighter in color than the Pommard that I tried earlier in the month, with very fragrant floral and shitake mushroom aromas, along with some pencil shavings and a dash of cinnamon. The flavors are classic Burgundy: some good strawberry and cherry fruit, but also intriguing minerals and a wisp of hickory smoke. I found the finish a bit abrupt, but that doesn’t take away much from what is an excellent value Burgundy.

Quaffability Rating: 89

Labels: Burgundy, Tour de Vin

Spanish rider Alberto Contador cycled into Paris still wearing the yellow jersey to take his second Tour in France. So in homage to Contador’s victory, I’m ending my Tour de Vin tasting adventure with a Spanish wine and pairing it with a delicious Spanish sheep's cheese.

The wine: Fuentes Priorat Les Mines 2005 ($15) is a bold wine at 14.5% alcohol. The Grenache blend exhibits aromas of dark chocolate, dark fruit and spices. The name Les Mines refers to the terrain of the winery, which is built on an old mining territory with a slate and quartz mix, producing wines with intense mineral flavours and deep fruitiness. I liked the wine’s plum and bitter chocolate flavours, and its satisfying richness.

The cheese: I paired the Mines with a Don Heliodoro Romarin sheep’s milk cheese with rosemary rind. This fragrant cheese is a bit like a Manchego, but less crumbly. The texture is soft enough that you can slice it easily, but dry enough to create a nice, slight crumble in your mouth. It has a little kick to it, but it’s overly powerful. The rosemary rind infuses the whole cheese with a herbaceous flavor that melds well with other fruity and floral notes. The Romarin tastes good on its own, but its dryness begs it to be washed down with some good Spanish wine, which is exactly what I did with the Mines. The spicy, rich red takes the rosemary flavors of the cheese to new heights and the floral flavors of the cheese round out the boldness of the wine.

Cheers to you, Alberto.

Labels: Tour de Vin, wine and cheese pairing

So far, I’m enjoying this Tour de Vin, tasting nothing but French wine for the full month of July during the Tour de France. I normally favor Californian and Italian wines, so it’s a good excuse to push me into trying new things. And drinking wine is so much easier than cycling 2,200 miles.

For today’s wine, I splurged a bit and spent $30 on a red Burgundy: the Duvergey-Taboureau Pommard 2006 ($30 US). The Pommard region produces Pinot Noirs that are on the heavier side. You can tell this one’s going to be a more robust wine as soon as you pour it into the glass. It’s not quite as dark as a New Zealand Pinot, but it definitely has dark cherry hues. I sniffed out tart cherry and cedar on the nose. My first swig revealed more cherry, raspberry and pepper, and other taste brought out damp forest leaves and some hickory smoke. The wine’s racy acidity could use some smoothing out with a few more years in the bottle, but it does have some backbone of complexity that makes Pinot Noir such a special grape. It’s a palate-pleaser, but I expected more magic for this price. Try it with roast pork.

Quaffability Rating: 88

Labels: Burgundy, red wine review, Tour de Vin

I’m running a bit behind the Tour de France race with my wine tasting tour. The cyclists are on Stage 12 and I’m still puttering along on my third French wine review, but I’m not far behind in location. Today’s wine and cheese combo features an affordable red from Côtes du Roussillon, at the southwest edge of France near the Spanish border. The riders climbed the Pyrenees here a few days ago en route to Barcelona. The appellation’s dry, hot summers can produce some equally dry and spicy wines, but the Château de Jau 2006 ($15 Cdn) is an uncharacteristically lightweight red with a bit a thin taste. It does have the advantage of being it approachable, but this bland blend of Syrah, Mourdevre and Grenache Noir didn’t do much for me.

I paired the Jau up with a Chaumes cheese, which is also from the southwest of France. My four-year-old daughter went crazy for this cheese, saying “Mmm, it’s like goo.” Chaumes is a very soft – and yes, gooey – cow’s milk cheese with a distinctive orange rind. The delicious fattiness of the Chaumes combined well with the dry Roussillon. The wine and cheese were both somewhat blah on their own, but together they brought out the good aspects of each. The cheese improved the finish of the wine and the wine injected some flavor to the cheese's creamy texture.

Labels: Tour de Vin, wine and cheese pairing

Wine Review: Domaine Galevan ‘Paroles de femme’ Côtes du Rhône 2007 ($15)

As the Tour de France heads west into Spain, I’m going to start my own Tour de France of wine – which goinig to dub “Tour de Vin” – in the Rhône region in the southeastern region of France. The famous bike race passed near this area in the first and second stages – and the dramatic second-last stage of the race runs up the brutal Mont Ventoux, along the northern edge of the Rhône region. The area is very exciting for those who appreciate wine, with many different styles of wines packed into a small viticultural area.

The Domaine Galevan ‘Paroles de femme’ 2007 is from the major Côtes to Rhône region that produces.mainly rich reds from Grenache, Mourdevre, Cinseault and Carignan. For some reason it's called “Paroles de femme,” which translates roughly as "woman’s words." I don’t know the story behind that one, but the wine itself is just plain good. Violet aromas grow out of the glass and a swig quickly shows deep cherry, woodsy and herbaceous flavors. It’s not a stunning bottle, but for $15, it’s great to sip on its own on a warm summer day, or as a barbecue wine.

Quaffability Rating: 87

Labels: Cotes du Rhone, Tour de Vin