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THE SOUTH WEST OF FRANCELa symetrie, c’est l’ennui – Victor Hugo, Les MiserablesVINTAGE REPORT & NEW AGENCIES2012 is another super vintage for whites; with so manygrowers working from low yields and on the lees, gone arethe days of thin, acidic wines. Some of the early wines areparticularly aromatic and the Laulan Sauvignon is the bestever. A succession of belting vintages for the reds, (’03excepted, the torrefying travails of this year are welldocumented; in the great heat, grapes were literally roastingon the vines) although with growers like Didier Barré youcan almost name any year in history and he will smileseraphically as if to suggest that all Madiran is goodMadiran. 05s and 07s are exceptional by any standard,marked by grace, rippling with sweet fruit. Enhanced bytechnological savvy in the winery (new oak, microbullage)the Godzillas of Gascony can be expected to drinkcomparatively young, although ageing them will obviouslyreap glorious rewards.Not all wines from the South West are designed to realign themolecular structure of your palate. Ch. Plaisance, from theFronton, is, as one might infer from the name, pleasing on thegums, as are the more structured wines of Ch. Le Roc. Lookat wines from Négrette, Duras and Gamay for alternativesummer quaffing. For those of you who aspire to speak in“russet yeas and honest kersey noes” our range of Gaillacs(five) & Marcillacs (two) will drink happily in your idiom.Two Marcillacs?! As Lady Bracknell might haveanimadverted: “To have acquired one Marcillac may beregarded as good fortune; to have acquired two looks likecareless obsession.” (I’ve been told to leave that line inagain.) Big can be beautiful though especially if you enjoytannin on your tusks or lees in your lungs. Contrast the jawdroppingEscausses Vigne de l’Oubli – another “semi”Sauvignon in the Moulin des Dames bracket (lots of leescontact, new oak, thick with flavour – we second thatemulsion!) with the more traditional ethereal qualities of aPlageoles Mauzac-inflected Gaillac.The red versions pit pure extract of black night against paleperfumedsubtlety: the Escausses reds eat Saint-Emilions forbreakfast; the Plageoles wines are in their own palely loiteringuncompromising idiom. Check out the Prunelart – the art ofPrunel. The organic wines of Elian da Ros straddle both styles:certain cuvées are frolicsome, others demand a decanter andattention. And don’t forget Monsieur Luc de Conti, aka MonsieurMayonnaise, aka Le Vinarchiste. With lower yields and greaterfruit extraction the wines from Bergerac are an impressivereminder of what can be achieved with Bordeaux grape varietiesfor under £10.00. But this is all so mundane, you cry…A trip to Malbec-istan the other year yielded our xithopagi, (lotsof scrabble points) most notably the wines of Clos de Gamotwhose bottles might bear the ancient Roman warning “exegimonumentum aere perennius” (I have reared a monument morelasting than brass) – translated into modern winespeak as don’tforget your toothbrush. Creosote them gums or lay down for amillennium or two. The “classic” wines from Château du Cèdre,Château Paillas and Clos Triguedina are, relatively speaking,much more amenable beasts; they slide down your throat like theGood Lord in red velvet breeches to quote Frederic Lemaitre(Pierre Brasseur) in Les Enfants du Paradis – not! This year thebig boys are jousting to make the supreme super cuvée forsquillionaires. Step forward “Le Grande Cèdre” from Château duCèdre and “Le Pigeonnier” from Château Lagrezette. Never mindthe hilarious prices – these are wines made with meticulous carefrom minuscule yields and are to be sipped rather than supped.To coin a phrase we’ve copped (the Cot) in the Lot.Milton described “a wilderness of sweets” in Paradise Lost.Check out your quintessential nectar options with Jean-BernardLarrieu’s Jurançons, Pacherencs from Brumont and Barré, thewondrous Vin d’Autan from Plageoles and finally thehoneydewsome twosome from Tirecul-La-Gravière and discoverthe glories of nature and the winemaker’s art.GRAPE VARIETIES OF GASCONY: a quick guideBéarn : Tannat, Merlot, Cabs, Fer ServadouBergerac Blanc : Sauvignon, Sémillon, MuscadelleBergerac Rouge: Merlot, Cabs, MalbecBuzet: Merlot, Cabernets, MalbecCahors : Malbec (Cot), Merlot, TannatCôtes de Duras Blanc : Sauvignon, Sémillon, MuscadelleCôtes de Duras Rouge : Merlot, Cabs, MalbecCôtes du Frontonnais : Négrette, Syrah, Cabs, GamayCôtes de Gascogne : Colombard, Ugni Blanc, Gros MansengCôtes de Saint Mont Blanc : Courbu, Arrufiac, MansengsCôtes de Saint Mont Rouge : Tannat, CabernetsCôtes du Marmandais : Merlot, Abouriou, CabernetVins d’Entraygues Le Fel (VDQS) : Fer Servadou, Cabernet FrancGaillac Blanc : Mauzac, Loin de l’Oeil, Ondenc, Sauv, Sem, MuscadelleGaillac Rouge : Braucol, Duras, Prunelart, Merlot, Cab Franc, Gamay,SyrahIrouléguy Blanc : Mansengs, CourbuIrouléguy Rouge : Tannat, CabernetsJurançon : Gros Manseng, Petit Manseng, Courbu, Caramalet, LauzetMadiran : Tannat, Cabs, Fer ServadouMarcillac : MansoisMonbazillac : Sémillon, Sauvignon, MuscadelleMontravel : Sauvignon, Sémillon, MuscadellePacherenc du Vic-Bilh : Mansengs, Arrufiac, CourbuTursan Blanc : Baroque, Gros Manseng, Sauvignon, SémillonNOT ONLY… BUT ALSO:Mansoi(s) is Braucol in Gaillac, Pinenc in Jurançon and in Madiran – also called Fer ServadouMalbec is also known as Côt and AuxerroisDuras has nothing to do with Côtes de DurasConfused...? 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