FrenchDuck’s databank

John & Carolyn Scallon offer comfortable Bed & Breakfast (Chambre d’Hote) accommodation in Burgundy either for stop-overs en route south or for short or longer stays. At Sens-sur-Seille (71 Saone-et-Loire, Bourgogne).
This would be an opportunity to explore some of the lesser known parts of Burgundy with the additional bonus of experienced advice from your English hosts who can help you plan your itinerary to get the best from your day - and recommend vineyards and restaurants.

Just 90 minutes from Geneva or Lyon airports this area abounds with small villages, individual cuisine and lots and lots of really fine wines.

“We’re biased. We live in a small village in the extreme east of Burgundy, right on the border with the Jura Department and we love it here” say John & Carolyn Scallon at www.bandb-burgundy.com who offer excellent accommodation (4 individually decorated bedrooms with en-suite facilities) in the heart of south Burgundy at Sens-sur-Seille (71 Saone-et-Loire, Burgundy) east of Chalon-sur-Saone (see map)
For more info and for suggestions on visiting the vineyards of Burgundy see www.frenchduck.co.uk

The French House, is a large British-owned 4-bedroom house on the banks of the River Yonne, within a few kilometres of Auxerre, Chablis, Irancy, St Bris-le-Vineux and Clamecy.
We’ve visited the area several times in recent years, and it has many attractions - not only the easy access to good vineyards. Nearby the Canal du Nivernais connects the Yonne to Nevers (58 Nievre, Bourgogne) through some wonderful unspoilt and tranquil countryside - and even if your not a boating enthusiast, the towpaths provide access to countryside which is often inaccessibe by road.
The French House is at Vincelottes (89 Yonne, Burgundy - see map) just 12 kilometres south of Auxerre. Away from the bustle (and facilities) of Auxerre, Vincelottes is truly rural, surrounded by farms, orchard and vineyards. Within 15 minutes are vineyards with everything from honest “Grand Ordinaire de Bourgogne” to the finest Premier Cru Chablis. Personally I find the reds in this northern part of Burgundy a bit thin, but the whites including Chardonnays from Chablis and Sauvignons from St Bris.can be magnifique! There are also numerous restaurants (this is Burgundy after all!) and evocative villages replete with history. And it is all within 4 hours of Calais.

The Accommodation - the house has a large multi-purpose living room with a well-fitted kitchen (including dishwasher), a dining area which seats 10 people and a spacious lounge, English TV and radio are available and the room’s three windows overlook the river.
On the first floor are a bathroom and 4 bedrooms, three doubles with river view and a fourth twin-bedded room which faces the internal courtyard. Guests also have the use of a fully-fitted laundry room and garaging for 2 cars.
Terms are £500 pw. - or £250 per 3-day short break. The fee includes all services. bed linen and towels. Changeover day is Friday, but can be adjusted by arrangement.

Recommended vineyards include Jean-Marc Brocard at Chablis and Domaine Felix at St Bris-le-Vineux.

For more info on te French House see
Contact the owners, Jill Tounsend (jtounsend@aol.com) T: 01455 292298

The winemakers of Anjou and Saumur offer to brighten up February with a weekend wine Festival on 24 and 25 February 2007 at Challonnes-sur-Loire (49 Maine-et-Loire, Val de Loire - see map). This is not be be confused with the Loire Valley Wine Fair in Angers at the end of January, which is a trade event. This Fete des Vins d’Anjou sounds much more fun with an opportunity to taste wines from the 29 appellations in Anjou/Saumur (no - I could not identify all of them) - and an exhibition on wine, Anjou wine tasting and a tour of the cellars, an exhibition of agricultural and wine-growing equipment, “a wine brotherhoods parade complete with enthronements” (i.e. mainly men dressing up in strange garb and indulging in some quasi-historical ceremonies) and a contest to find the “Best Anjou Tasters”.
The region does offer pretty much the whole gamut of red, white and rosé wines, dry, medium, dessert; still and sparkling - you might be surprised at the quality of some of the Cabernet Franc reds!
Not sure if our friends from Domaine Leduc-Frouin will be there - we used to stock their wines and miss the chance to taste them as regularly as we used to. But I hear recently that they had a good write up in the “Revue du Vin de France”, France’s most serious wine magazine - their red Anjou Rouge AV 2005 was rated at 17.5/20 and an impressive 19/20 for their stunning dessert Chenin - Coteaux du Layon AC Nectar 2002.
For more info on the domaine and their wines see www.leduc-frouin.com
For more info see www.fetedesvins-anjou.fr (site incomplete at time of writing).

Chateau d’Aydie and the Laplace family are widely regarded as one of the foremost quality producers of Madiran. Frédéric Laplace was recognised as one of the pioneer winemakers - first to bottle Madiran wines and to sell them under his own name when the appellation was created in 1948 - when there was just 50 hectares of vineyard under production, compared to the 1650 hectares which now produce Madiran wines.

The whole venture is very much a family affair - the three grandsons and granddaughter of Frédéric run the estate between them - Francois in charge of the business side; Jean-Luc is in charge of wine-making; Bernard manages the vines; and Marie presides over the office, whilst their father Pierre is in semi-retirement but still very much involved.

In his new book “The New France: A Complete Guide to Contemporary French Wine (Mitchell Beazley Wine Guides)” Andrew Jefford says of Chateau d’Aydie “Everything is impeccably clean, minutely organised, deeply considered, exhaustively refined…. a range of model Madirans”

It is always a sure sign of excellent wines when the top restaurants in the region include them on the wine list.
Madiran has been in the headlines recently due to a new book by Richard Corder “The Wine Diet“, which extolls the health-giving benefits of the Madiran wines from South West France.

We imported 2 superb Madirans from Chateau d’Aydie and a couple of excellent Vins de Pays. The key difference between the Madirans is the percentage of the Tannat grape used.
The top cuvée is the Chateau d’Aydie - made from 100% Tannat grapes - a “grand vin” - greater power and energy with considerable fruit character (blackberries and blackcurrants), with hints of mushroom and tobacco. Aged in new oak for 12 months. (The 2001 vintage was recommended in the Guide Hachette des Vins 2003. “..intense and complex nose…fruit, menthol and woodsmoke..well balanced flavours mingled with vanilla and toast.“)
The next cuvée is Madiran AC Odé d’Aydie where the proportion of the Tannat grape is 80%. The Odé d’Aydie is made from top quality vines and aged partly in new oak barrels and partly in large oak vats. This produces a “sweeter” and richer wine than more basic Madirans, with suggestions of plums and tobacco. (Recommended in the Guide Hachette des Vins 2002. “”elegant in its deep, bright blackness, the Odé d’Aydie leaves in its trail intensely smoky aromas, fragrances of vanilla and menthol, notes of balsam…full-bodied, velvety and structured.”)
The Vins de Pays des Côtes de Gascogne carry the label “Aramis” indicative of their origin in 3 Musketeers country, and are excellent quality easy-drinking wines.
See map

Armagnac is a brandy from Gascony with similarities to Cognac which is made 100 miles to the north in the Charentes.

Armagnac pre-dates cognac by about 150 years but never seems to have been as commercially successful or available, tending to be appreciated more by restaurants, connoisseurs and the locals.There are 3 Aramgnac producing areas - Bas Armagnac, Tenareze and Haut Armagnac - of which Bas Armagnac produces the best brandies - “Bas” means low, but that refers to the altitude, not the quality.

Armagnac is made from distilled wine, four grapes are commonly used: Folle Blanche, Ugni Blanc, Colombard and Bacco, not dissimilar to Cognac’s grapes. But the distillation is quite different - the Armagnac “alambic” still is a continuous distillation process, which produces a higher and purer concentration of spirit than Cognac’ double distillation process.

Bottle labelling can be a bit confusing. 3 stars indicates a minimum of 2 years ageing; VSOP or Réserve, a minimum of 5 years; Napoléon, Vieille Réserve or XO, a minimum of 6 years; and Hors d’Age, which must be at least 10 years old.
A viintage Armagnac e.g.1967 must contain Armagnacs made in the named year, but it is actually the year of bottling which is more important, as maturation does not continue after bottling - it only matures in the wooden vat.

Tasting Armagnac (and Cognac) is a little different to the technique for tasting wine, essentially because the alcohol level is so high (40-43%). Small tapered glasses are better than the traditional brandy balloon. Contrary to common practice, warming the glass is not recommended for tasting, as this releases the alcohol rather than the flavour.

Ideally a “good” Armagnac should be wonderfully balanced between the fiery or even fierce impact of the alcohol and the delicacy of the fruit characteristics, overlaid with the oaky, woody tones from the maturation process. Too much tannin from the wooden vats will dry out the spirit, but get it right and you can find wonderfully nutty, woody characteristics.

The best Armagnacs will be smooth, rich and warming, with great persistence in the mouth. There is a world of difference between cheap Armagnac and the best vintage or well-aged versions.

Domaine de Lauroux in the Gers produces some excellent Armagnacs and is run by Karen and Nick Kitchener, an English couple.
For more info see www.lauroux.com

For more on Armagnac see www.armagnac.fr

Some of you may have seen in the press the supposed “mistake” which Threshers (the UK wine merchant group which includes BottomsUp, Wine Rack & Haddows) has committed by making available a 40% discount voucher available on the web. Although intended for suppliers, the voucher’s availability is widely known and does not include any restrictions other than it is confined to wine and champagne up to a limit of £500. All you have to provide is your name and email address and use the voucher by 10 December 2006.
voucher download here - can be used at Threshers, Wine Rack, BottomsUp, Haddows and “the local”

Situated amongst the Languedoc vineyards (and owned by a talented wine maker) Les Montels is a self-contained house with its own pool near the village of Roujan (34 Herault, Languedoc-Roussillon - see map).
In total tranquility about 2km from the village, the villa has panoramic views over the countryside - this is a large stone-built villa very quiet, entirely restored and re-decorated, surrounded by a large Mediterranean garden (9000 m² of enclosed gardens). The villa is situated close to a village, midway between the mountains and the sea. It only takes about 20 – 30 minutes by car to reach the busy Mediterranean resorts and beaches, or the peaceful foothills of the Cévennes mountains to the north.
A very light and airy veranda, which opens onto the pool and has views over the
surrounding countryside.

The Accommodation comprises: 3 double/twin bedrooms; shower room with WC; 3 toilets; fully fitted kitchen; large living/dining room; terrace with BBQ; mezzanine with television and sofa bed. (The villa can take up to 8 people or 10 at a push); Utility room with washing machine and drying cabinet.
Mountain bikes are available for guests.
Central heating for winter rentals
And somebody can come and cook and/or clean for you!

For more info contact the owner

For wine you can try the owner’s (Helene Mir) own Clos Montels, Coteaux du Languedoc AC - see www.clos-montels.com