France Montpellier
VINISUD Exhibition
The Sommeliers are also in first line
The Vinisud Exhibition resolutely turned towards the Mediterranean, reunited more than 1,660 exhibitors in Montpellier last February. It also recorded the passage of almost 33,000 persons in three days. An achievement underlined by the satisfaction of participants who have all, on the whole, made excellent contacts. A success due in part also to the strong presence of professional sommeliers
on the stands, or at the forefront of entertainment, well attended. Overview...
Olivier Poussier Having become Best Sommeliers of the World at ten years interval, Olivier Poussier and Gérard Basset multiplied tastings in order not to pass beside any of the premières cuvées of young domains or to appreciate the millésimes newly arrived on the market. Both also led in turn a master-class.
For the most British of the French, the topic selected was that of the Mediterranean varietals.
“I had carried out a selection of four white wines and eight red wines, in order to propose a rather broad panel and because I could also link some of them to anecdotes.All in all, the wines of Languedoc-Roussillon conquered me a long time ago. They have reached a high level of quality and always offer an excellent value for money. One can have pleasure and recommend them at the restaurant at very reasonable prices, even in England. Moreover one feels a real enthusiasm from the producers who now regard themselves taken seriously.”Gérard Basset also went to meet other visitors by leading a tasting in all simplicity on a stand. He took advantage of his visit to go in situ in order to discover some vine growers in their vines such as Roc des Anges, in Roussillon, and the Domain Peyre Rose, in Saint-Pargoire.
Gérard Basset
Cape on Corsica
Olivier Poussier, for his part, led a master-class on the topic of Corsica.
“I am crazy about this wine region. It is a vineyard which has an extraordinary varietal plurality that participates in an essential way to the diversity of taste. The climate and the soils are also strengthening the mineral character of the wines.”He did not hesitate to share his enthusiasm with an audience of mainly foreign listeners and many journalists.
“Vinisud is an essential exhibition, recognizes the sommelier of the Lenôtre Group, and I am impressed by the concentration of quality vine growers. I would also like to see in the future the development of the space reserved to foreign producers.”He thus took time to wander the alleys and to linger at the stands.
“I wished to see a trend of the new vintages coming onto the market and I note a positive evolution with people who express their will to thwart this Mediterranean climate. They understood that to preserve their character, the wines of this basin needed to propose a concentration full of finesse. And for that, the great winemakers show the example; they harvest the grapes ripe but no longer over-ripe. In a certain way, it is the customers led to this change because they are the one that judge and appreciate a wine, in situ, at the dining table…”
A question of credibility
The professionals were also at work on the vast space reserved for the wines of the Côtes du Rhône. Daniel Chaussée, vice-president of the Association of the Sommeliers of Languedoc-Roussillon – Vallée du Rhône du Sud, was for the third time on the Vacqueyras stand.
“I accompanied the appellation on one edition of
Vinexpo. A sommelier brings an added credit, the knowledge of the product. Here, we present the 45 wines of owners who decided to play the game of the discovery table. Mainly, it concerns the 2009 millésime and I tasted them all in order to prepare comments and arguments. My mission is to energize the stand, to direct the prospective customers according to their research and their centres of interest.”Being convinced makes much simpler to advise the others.
“This appellation has a common thread; it is that the tasting always finishes on a fruity note. In our sunny regions, the first glass does not necessarily call for a second one. Here, it is the opposite! Be aware however, I am not present to sell one particular domain, but to enhance and present the Vacqueyras appellation as a whole.”New Marriages
Remaining in the Rhône Valley, Kelly Mc Auliffe, the most French of the American sommeliers, held an original space. Former from the Ducasse Empire, particularly in Las Vegas, he presented a wine selection of Lirac and Tavel intended to be associated with… chocolates!
“It is an idea of the Inter-Rhône Association that wants to prove that there is an alternative to the fortified wines and we quite simply are making the demonstration.”
Aline Géhant, chocolate maker of Avignon, carried out research and manufactured a certain number of original ganaches, especially for Vinisud.
“We tested them, Kelly says, and found nice complementarities between the wines of Tavel and a chocolate with lavender, another with honey and thyme, and finally a macaroon with red fruits and tea. The wine of Lirac, allows other gustatory approaches. White, it accompanies a lemon ganache. Red, there is more interest with a milk chocolate ganache and another with cinnamon. It is often the percentage of cocoa that determines the association. Tannic reds can also find their place in this kind of exercise, contrary to generally accepted ideas.” Food and wine pairings
Vinisud, just like Vinexpo, also exists on the outside of the exhibition itself. Julien Seydoux chose the Starred establishment of the Pourcel brothers, ‘Le jardin des sens’, to present the wines that he produces at Château des Estanilles, on the Faugères appellation. This dinner allowed him, with the complicity of Yannis Kherachi, the sommelier of the restaurant, to reveal the new vintages, labels and vintages especially coming on the market. Owner of this domain since the end of 2009, Julien Seydoux explained his ambition and his vision of development for Estanilles.
“We make in particular the wager to master the extraction while ensuring a beautiful structure for each one of our wines. And as about half of the domain is planted in Syrah, we benefit from it giving a very airy style to the wines of the domain.”All this is done in the frame of an organic approach. L’impertinent, InVerSo or Raison d’être served on a ‘Royale Veal cut with Truffles’, are the new reference marks of the Château. Le Clos du Fou, remains unchanged like a kind of homage to the work completed during decades by Michel Louison, the winemaker who launched the property to the top.
Daniel Chaussée
The sommelier is charmed.
“I find that he respects this soil of Faugères perfectly, so particular with its schist ground. Of course, Julien Seydoux wants to propose wines less rustic than up until now, he works the wood in a different way. But this will of printing his image on the wine is not made to the detriment of quality. In the same way, he has organized his range in a very readable way. Those first of the range are really wines for pleasure, easy to drink. Then, it passes towards something more elaborate which can be consumed young but can also be directed towards a prolonged ageing. Lastly, its Grande Cuvée underlines the character of great varietals of the appellation, but also the chance that is his to enjoy very beautiful exposures, at mid hills.”
Rendezvous in two years’ time to discover new winegrowers and sommeliers always so enthusiastic in the heart of the vastest showroom devoted to the wines of the Mediterranean.
Jean Bernard
www.vinisud.com 
