Château le Tap - Bergerac

1 comment Mar 29, 2007
A day of visits, today. Here are M. and Mme. Olivier Roches of Château le Tap, who were kind enough to come down to Cork to let us taste their wines. We enjoyed an informal tasting, and discussion of what sells and what doesn't, and how to crack the Irish market. I showed them the two Rioja labels (see previous post) and persuaded them to stick with the 'classic' label they currently use, on the grounds that French attempts at 'modern' are by no means always successful outside France.

I liked their wines, though the red, which Olivier considers light, would be astringent by Irish standards. We'll mull it over, and also taste two other Bergeracs recommended to me by Patrick Kelly, an Irish wine agent living in France, who always picks the good ones.

Olivier's brother Didier also makes wine in the little Pécharmant AOC, and you can read about his estate (in French) here. Olivier brought some of his brother's wine with him, and it's what they call a vin de garde, ie one for keeping. We tried a 2002, which is still young - fine stuff, big and structured. We'd have to hand-sell it - no-one's going to ask for a Pécharmant!
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