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November 19, 2010

Golden Barrels – Gascony’s Liquid Gold

 

In July this year we took a group of customers down to Gascony to visit one of our producers by the name of Plaimont (you may have already seen my colleague James version of events, in his blog post Plaimont and all that Jazz…)

Among their wines that we represent, one of our firm favourites is the Pacherenc du Vic Bilh, a late harvest sweet wine based on the Gros and Petit Manseng, Petit Courbu and Arrufiac varietals.  What we’ve always found appealing about this wine is the harmonious balance between its sweetness and natural acidity that makes for a wine that can be enjoyed at the start or end of a meal in equal measure.  If the truth be told it has also found its way into the middle of a meal on occasion, such is its popularity.

It was during one such lunch that we were introduced to the concept of the golden barrels that found me making a return trip on 14th November with Scott Hunter, owner of the award winning  Princess of Shoreditch pub and dining room in London.

Each year the individual growers select what they consider to be their best grapes, vinify them separately and submit their golden barrel to an auction held at the Chateau de Crouseilles in Madiran.  This light hearted event has been running for the last 9 years and brings together local people and buyers from all around France to bid for their golden barrel, the proceeds of which go towards maintaining and promoting the appellation.  Indeed such is the community spirit here that the barrel that fetches the highest bid is used specifically for a local project, whether it be fixing the Church roof or mending a bridge.

The Princess of Shoreditch have been long time supporters of Pacherenc and it was the opportunity to bid for a barrel and have a personalised label for the restaurant that caught Scott’s attention and prompted our return trip.

We arrived with the ever sweet and charming Fanny Sucre of Plaimont at Toulouse airport on a cold and miserable Sunday afternoon and immediately made our way to the more warm and cosy surroundings of our Chambre d’Hôte in Riscle.

After a good tasting and very warming dinner, including a very enjoyable chestnut soup, at the former Monastery in St Mont we were briefed for the following day’s activities and retired to bed.

So, this year 14 barrels were submitted and for the first time there was a dry wine included.

The day starts at 9AM when bidders are invited to meet the growers and taste their wine on offer.  I have to say tasting sweet wines at this time of day is a lot better than tasting acidic whites or tannic reds, and with the flavours of ripe melon, marmalade and honey that can be found in Pacherenc, it was a bit like having a liquid breakfast!

2009 represented a warm, dry growing season in the main producing grapes with good structure.  October was cooler, allowing for prolonged ripening and the all important acidity to develop.  November was slightly more difficult due to rain, which somewhat diluted the fruit, but this turned around towards the end of the month and the beginning of December, when early frosts regained the concentration and complexity.

It was advised that Scott mark 3 or 4 barrels he’d be willing to bid for just in case he was outbid at any point.  Judging by the interest in the room, this seemed like sound advice and we got to meticulously tasting and scoring the barrels.

It was interesting to see how many different styles are made.  While there were varying degrees of residual sugar, there were also varying characteristics within the flavour profiles from lemon curd and fresh melon through to butterscotch and caramel.  In addition to the element of richness, pretty much all the wines had an underlying freshness and acidity that cleaned the palate and avoided any cloying, which made the wines eminently more enjoyable and easier to taste from one to the next.

Once we finished tasting we compared notes and found that our scores were all quite similar.  The top 3 that Scott decided upon in order of preference were;

Lot 3 from Roland Podenas

Less unctuous than many on show, complex with very good acidity, length and freshness

Lot 5 from Regine, Jean-Jacques and Loic Dubourdieu

Complex, medium bodied with a good balance between sweetness and green, fresh fruits

Lot 10 from Sylvie and Thierry Aubert

Subtle aromas but a full palate with upfront freshness, lemon zip and underlying caramel, melon and grapefruit

After the tasting we were whisked off to the local village hall(?) where we were treated to bbq’d pieces of cured ham, which may well have been Bayonne, served very simply with pieces of bread and washed down with a glass or two of Madiran, from imperials. Suffice to say we stayed away from drinking considering it was only 10 o clock.  It may have been the early start or maybe it was tradition but a collection of the beret clad producers broke into song and added to the atmosphere that was rapidly building around the anticipation of the auction.  Once we were fed and watered we went for a walk into the vineyards where next years golden barrels were waiting to be picked.  There are 3 different levels of Pacherenc classified by when the fruit is picked.  The first is based on the harvest done at the end of October and represents the more youthful style of wine.  The second harvest is called Saint Albert picked around mid November and is what Corney & Barrow have in stock.  This is regarded as the benchmark style as it is less climatically affected, therefore more regularly made and representative of the region and style.  The third, which is made when climatic conditions allow, is the Saint Sylvestre, harvested at the end of December, sometimes even on New Years Eve.

No one noticed them arrive but after more singing from our ever present producers, we were hailed to go back to the Chateau for the main event.

The barrels are sold by lots and each lot equates to 60 bottles.  There are 4 lots to a barrel, so a potential 240 bottles up for grabs.

Your bid is based on what you would be willing to pay for 1 lot.  Whoever wins the bidding then gets to choose whether they want 1, 2, 3 lots or the whole barrel.  Whatever lots are left over from the round are re bid for starting at the auctioneer’s opening offer, until the barrel is sold.

Neither I nor Scott are particularly good at French but with Fanny’s help we soon got the jist of the numbers and the first two sales allowed us to practise without potential disaster.

Lot 1, the dry white, was sold as 4 separate parcels and generated a total of 2450 Euros.  The second lot went for considerably more and was all taken up in one go to much oohing, aahing and clapping, but sadly no singing.

Lot 3, Scott’s favourite, was up next.  At the beginning of the auction it had been announced that Scott was the first person from the UK to bid for a barrel and as the bidding got under way there were a few eyes on him as he raised his number 14 paddle.  As the bidding went backwards and forwards you could see the concentration on Scott’s face and feel the tension in the air as he kept raising his paddle hoping to god that he was hearing the numbers right.

And he got it, he won, and was now the proud owner of 60 bottles of liquid gold.  The room gave him a congratulatory round of applause and you could see how pleased he was to be leaving with the result he wanted, having waited since July to come back, when the seed was first sown.

To say he achieved celebrity status at this point might be a bit strong but he was interviewed for a national TV station, France Trois and had his picture taken with Roland Podenas the gentleman whose wine he was now a proud part owner of.

We said our good byes and made the journey back to Toulouse airport to catch the flight back.  As with all our visits to Plaimont you are left with a warm feeling of the region, the people involved and the sense of community behind everything they do. 

Or maybe that was the Pacherenc.

If you would like to have a glass or two of the Princesses purchase, the bottles will be arriving in December so a perfect accompaniment to help celebrate the festive season and maybe end up singing a few French songs of your own!  In moderation of course.

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