I’m in France for Christmas and a family reunion (parents live here). It’s quite a global gathering with sisters from Germany and Texas, and brother and family from the UK. Sadly we’re not all here, my wife and son are back in Australia, while Texan and German grandchildren are yet to arrive.

I don’t think I’ve ever spent Christmas in France before, but I can recommend it; it’s an indulgent place for an indulgent time of the year. Even a trip to the supermarket is an adventure, particularly when you get to the wine aisles.

I’ll never forget a trip to the supermarket in Civray back in 1995 where we came across 1983 Mouton Rothschild for, 12 pounds (I think) certainly a lot less than the $600 a bottle it will cost you these days. We bought two and when we went back the next day the rest of the case had disappeared. Merde!

No such luck this time but I did manage to get a couple of very decent wines that would be a bargain anywhere else. Being France I’ve changed the 20 dollars to 20 euros, which contradicts the original premiss of this site, but hey, it’s Christmas.

First, La Closerie De Camensac, Haut Medoc, 2009, 13.5%, 18 euro. This is a cracker, a great lesson in why Bordeaux is home to the world’s most expensive wine. It’s the second wine of Chateau De Camensac, so in a good year like 2009, a lot of what would have been the first wine ends up in the second. This is what they say on their website, translated by Google, but I find it quite charming:

Eye: beautiful purple dress

Nose: opens so lovely, delicate woodland is very present and red fruits

Mouth: a charming wine, balanced and supple on the palate, combining fruity and elegant

No idea what ‘delicate woodland’ means, but it smelled and tasted like a 60% Cabernet, 40% Merlot wine should, with just enough complexity and polish to make it interesting. We found it was better after decantering and leaving for a while.

Second, Chateau La Caussade, Sainte Croix du Mont, 2013 under 8.30 Euro. Wine-searcher.com reports that this is the third most highly rated Saint Croix du Mont, which makes this poor man’s Sauternes a bargain at $13. The same website suggests it will cost $35 if you can find it here. It was lush, rich, apricots and honey, perfect with Christmas pudding or foie gras! I would say there was botrytis too, but can’t find any tasting notes to confirm it.

There were, of course, many other wines which deserve a mention, but aren’t getting one. The variety of grape varieties and climates is so great that each wine has something to offer, Jurancon, being one of them to watch out for.

Being Christmas, I managed to drink more champagne than usual. I’ve listed them in order of preference:

1. Charles Heidsieck, 2005
2. Taittinger NV
3. Veuve Cliquot NV
4. Mumm NV
5. Alfred Rothschild NV (but at 2 for 35 Euro it’s hard to resist)

 

Happy new year.