I don't particularly like red red wines from the south west of France, whether
its the best and most expensive bordeaux, a heavy bodied Madiran or a rustic
Cahors.
I have always had a hard time with the tannat grape which grows happily on our
valleys and hills. I get no joy from
its cardboard, masculine taste… but Jean Francois is cardboard and masculine and adores it and there is something about the wine the Riouspeyrous family make that turns a simple tannat grape into a bouquet of berries.....
Irouleguy is one of the smallest wine growing areas in France or maybe
even in Europe. I think that there are not more than 10 growers or thats how many I can count on my 10
fingers. The centre of the wine région is the little village of Irouleguy which
is basically a Church, a cemetary,
a chistera wall and a town hall.
The surrounding countryside is a mixture of
rolling hills and green dales, stretching as far as the eye can see, laden with
ripened vines, their ochre leaves, grazing cows and sheep.
Michel and Therese settled
in the village together in 1989 and began by renting 2 hectares from the local
community, going organic, then biodynamic and building up their vineyard to the
8 hectares of tannat grapes, cabernet sauvignon, petit courbut, gros et petit
manseng that they run today and are now helped with by four fine young men, two of whom are their sons.
Michel was born in Irouleguy to a family of 5 boys but after his father
died at the age of 13, he was sent to live with his grandfather where he slept
above the stable among the animal smells and worked among the vines.
Later he travelled afar to africa and south america but returned to the
village once he had met his lovely and alsacienne Therese.
Instead of soaking their fields with Monsantos famous ROUNDUP, the
Riouspeyrous family treasure the wild
flowers that grow on their hillsides and understand the benefits they
provide to the health of their plants and the distinctive taste they give to
the wine itself. A local
farmer, parks his sheep in the vineyards once the harvest is finished
which keeps the unwelcome weeds at bay and nourishs the soil.
Clover, is their other natural
fertiliser, while the dandelions mobilise iron and oligo éléments in the soil,
and along with the dock plants loosen the earth with their long and winding roots and avoid the need for
digging.
And the wine itself is so good. The red is a blood red-black, tasting of blackberry and currants.
The white smells anise with a taste of lemon and wild flowers…..
Sunday started early for everyone else and by the time we arrived, Alain was bleeding from his arm and bruised on his hand from stray branches while the rest of the small team were crying out for coffee break. Manex, Michel's uncle smiled and laughed as Jean Francois tried to photograph him upside-down and I just relished the taste of the grapes almost candied in the sunshine.
Further down in the valleys the cows munched on grasses while sheep baahed and meyed and echoed over the hills.
Très beau , comme un rêve .EB
ReplyDeleteMerci - cette famille est la plus gentille!
ReplyDeleteI would just like to add that Irouléguy is a tiny appellation in the Basque country. The vines are cut into steep Pyrenean mountains up to 400m above sea level, but being protected against the north wind, enjoy more sunshine than those from most French wine regions. We bring you mountain fresh white Irouléguy from the heart of the Basque country for collectors of arcana. These wines, made from Gros and Petit Manseng and Courbu, are electrifying, tense with acidity, displaying a fine citrus character, with wild flowers, gunflint and crystallised lemons, the taste equivalent of letting your tongue roller-skate down a glacier.
ReplyDelete