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Vancouver International Wine Festival is back this year from March 7th to 14th.
With many seminars and dinners already sold out, we'll be focusing on how to spend your time in the tasting room, from Thursday March 12 to Saturday March 14. With so many booths, you’re not going to be able to visit every table. Make the most of your time, by putting a plan together. The plan should include a safe ride home, of course. But also how you want to spend your time during the tasting room session. Your can’t miss tables and long-time favourites. But also take the time to explore new discoveries, too. You want to enjoy both.
The theme country this year is France. We're going to highlight three booths to visit, as a way to explore three different regions across the country.
Rhône Valley
Let's start with a French benchmark, Chapoutier in the Rhône Valley. His wines are widely available in British Columbia, across a range of price points. He's pouring the Meysonniers Crozes-Hermitage, which is one of the best value syrahs you'll find from the Northern Rhone ($30). But this is the opportunity to try some of his higher-end wines and see why he's really a leader. We'd be asking to try the Monier de la Sizeranne, which is a syrah from the region of Hermitage. At $113, you'll taste why Hermitage is the holy grail for syrah producers around the world. Also from Hermitage, is Chante-Alouette ($93), which is 100% marsanne, a white grape from the Rhône that is rich, textured, and honeyed. Often when we think of the Rhône, we think of its red wines. But the whites can be just as compelling, and this shows why.
Languedoc-Roussillon
Next, let's continue south to Languedoc-Roussillon and visit Gérard Bertrand. In the past, southern France has been thought of for quantity over quality: cheap wines in vast volumes. But that's changed over recent years thanks to producers like Gérard Bertrand, who is putting the focus firmly on quality. It starts in the vineyard, and Gérard Bertrand has made a big commitment to biodynamic and organic farming. And the proof now is in the bottle. We'd be asking to try the Château L'Hospitalet ($58), which comes from one of the most highly regarded regions in Languedoc: La Clape. This is a blend of syrah, grenache, and mourvèdre that is ripe, bold, and full-bodied, but with the classic shrubby aromatics from the wild herbs that line the vineyards. We'd also be asking to try Château La Soujeole, which is a modern, polished Bordeaux-style blend ($58), that shows the breadth and diversity of southern France.
Bordeaux
That's going to set us up nicely to then loop back along the Atlantic coast to Bordeaux. You can't make a trip to France without visiting Bordeaux, a classic region for blends of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and cabernet franc. They are wines that are often bought and sold based on the vintage of the wine. That's why I'm heading to taste Château Haut-Carles. They're located on the right bank of Bordeaux, in the region of Fronsac, where the wines are typically merlot-based. It's a region that can fly under the radar, and so the wines are relatively affordable – at least in the context of Bordeaux – at $65. They're pouring two wines, from the 2016 and 2020 vintages, so you can taste how the wine changes across different growing seasons but also how it evolves with time in the bottle. And, in this case, they're both excellent vintages.
