We have tried a few more wines from the Swedish online wine retailer “Franska Vinkompaniet” (the French Wine Company). Even if you are not in Sweden you might be able to lay your hands on a bottle or two.
Read the previous article here: Wines from the west side of the Rhône: Domaine Marie Blanche and Domaine Mas des Volques.
Alsace from Domaine Henry Fuchs
Domaine Henry Fuchs is located in the small village of Ribeuavillé, one of the gems of Alsace’s many picturesque villages. The property is 10.5 hectares and is maintained by the siblings Paul and Julie, fourth generation Fuchs. The holding is very fragmented. Just over one hectare is found on Grand Cru Kirchberg de Ribeauvillé and 0.11 hectares on Grand Cru Osterberg, also in Ribeauvillé. The Fuchs siblings also have vines in the villages of Hunawihr and Bergheim. The property is organically certified and the focus is on dry wines.
We tried three wines from Kirchberg de Ribeauvillé.
Riesling Grand Cru Kirchberg de Ribeauvillé 2018, Domaine Henry Fuchs, Alsace
A very good, completely dry and grape-typical Riesling with high, razor-sharp acidity. The wine is aromatically discrete, with stone fruit in the aromas, a full-bodied and long taste with a nice smoothness at the end.
~30-35 euro (all prices are estimates based on Swedish retail prices)
Pinot Gris Grand Cru Kirchberg de Ribeauvillé 2018, Domaine Henry Fuchs, Alsace
The grapes come from the top of Kirschberg, where it is most windy. It is a rather unusual pinot gris with an aromatic nose of litchi that first made us think of gewürztraminer. It is full-bodied and complex. The fermentation takes place in oak barrels and the wine rests afterwards on its lees. The acidity is fresh and the taste has herbs and a slight smokiness.
Rouge Comme Renard Pinot Noir 2018, Domaine Henry Fuchs, Alsace
The wine is really delicious with a refreshing fruit of red berries and cherries. Admittedly, it is very easy to drink, but at the same time with good structure and body.
In 1973, Henri Fuchs, Pauls and Julie’s grandfather, planted pinot noir on Kirchberg de Ribeauvillé. It was 10 years before Kirchberg was elevated to the grand cru. In 2003, Paul decided to make a separate pinot noir cuvée from the Kirchberg grapes. The name was Rouge Comme Renard (which means fox). Despite the location, however, it is not a grand cru because that grape is not allowed in any grand cru in Alsace.
~30-35 euro
Château Cantenac and Saint Emilion
The Roskam-Brunot family owns this chateau in Saint Emilion with 19 hectares of vineyards. They work sustainably and received the 2019 Haute Valeur Environnementale (HVE) certification. Merlot dominates the vineyard and is complemented by cabernet franc and a very small splash of cabernet sauvignon. The property celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2020.
Château Cantenac 2016, Saint Emilion Grand Cru
Typical Bordeaux style with tannins, structure and fruit. Dark berries dominate, but there is also some cedarwood. Good balance.
Château Cantenac Climat 2018, Saint Emilion Grand Cru
A selection of the best grapes. Lots of fruit, red and dark berries, a juicy mouthfeel. Aeging for 18 months in oak barrels gives a small and balanced oak character.
Château Cantenac Sélection Madame 2018, Saint Emilion Grand Cru
This is 95% merlot. The wine is quite light and easygoing, in a fruity, generous merlot style. There is also some structure and the overall impression is of a charming wine.
~25 euro
Domaine Jean David in the southern Rhône Valley
Domaine Jean David is a family business with 17 hectares in the southern Rhône valley, near the small and delightful village of Séguret. The winery is organically certified.
Le Blanc 2019, Domaine Jean David, Côtes du Rhône Séguret
Lovely but a bit discreet nose and intense and very concentrated and full-bodied on the palate with a slight floral character, citrus and yellow apples. Good length. Excellent. The grapes are 50% each of roussanne and bourboulenc.
Cuvée Beau Nez 2017, Domaine Jean David, Côtes du Rhône Villages Séguret
No added sulphites in this wine. Nice fruit and at the same time good structure and a bit rustic, but very drinkable with lots of both dark berries and raspberries. The grapes are grenache, carignan and syrah.
Three rosés
Rosé Bandol 2019, Domaine Lafran-Veyrolles
An elegant rosé, beautiful salmon pink, with tones of red berries. Nice intensity in the aromas. A really good rosé.
Mourvèdre, Bandol’s main grape, makes up 70% and is supplemented with 15% grenache, 15% cinsault. The wine is made to 80% with direct pressing and 20% of the must has 24 hours of skin contact. Aged six months in tank.
Le Clos Rosé 2019, Clos Saint Vincent, Bellet
Bellet is one of the smaller appellations in France. The entire appellation is only 55 hectares and lies breathtakingly beautiful above the city of Nice. Clos Saint Vincent has six acres. The grape in this rosé wine is the very local braquet. This is a very good rosé with red berries but also structure and length and a delicious and refreshing dry finish.
~35 euro
Domaine Charvin Rosé 2019, Côtes du Rhône
Domaine Charvin is a family property in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Laurent has 8 hectares in this prestige appellation and 13 hectares in the Côtes-du Rhône. This rosé is very “gulpable” with notes of herbs. Delicious to drink but quite a lot of raspberry cooler.
195 SEK
Here are more information on the importer and on the wines: Franska Vinkompaniet.
