There's a trade tasting of French wines at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham tomorrow, organized by the indefatigable Sopexa Ireland and although we'll be represented by the suave and lofty (as you can tell from the camera angle) Christopher, I'm not going, so I took the opportunity to have a little bit of the tasting come to me.
It was my pleasure yesterday afternoon to welcome Nadine Cattanea, sales and marketing manager of the Vignerons des 4 Chemins (Au croisement... LE PLAISIR!) to the Wine Depot. I'd already said, when we spoke on the phone, that Bubble Brothers really have all they need in the Côtes du Rhône department - but Ms C. was not to be put off, and so we have some very interesting bottles, which you can see between us on the counter, to sample when the opportunity presents itself. What I had suggested we might be interested in were the Côtes du Rhône wines from two named villages on the western bank of the river: a degree posher than either generic CduR or CduR-Villages, which we already offer.
There was a Grenache/Roussanne/Clairette blend from the clayish terroir of Laudun, and a big oaked red from the same village, and also a Chusclan, lighter and more aromatic from its origins on the sandy soils of the area.
I'll try to update this post with our findings when we do open the bottles, though I think it unlikely we'll be able to do business, despite the Vignerons' impressive list and tempting value. I hope this post is a small thank-you to Ms Cattanea for taking the trouble to come and visit and introduce the wines she represents. If you're going to the Dublin event and make some tasting notes on any of the wines, you'd be very welcome to publish them as a comment.
