Meet Hubert Laferrère; owner, winemaker, viticulturist, sales manager, chief cook and bottle washer of Domaine St Denis. The man even makes his own machinery. It’s amazing.

Domaine St Denis Mâcon Lugny 2010

It quickly became apparent just what a smart cookie he is when we first met him as he proudly showed us the machinery he had adapted himself (he’s an agricultural engineer by training). He’s equally passionate about his land, which he painstakingly bought piece by piece over a period of about 20 years as he travelled the length and breadth of the Mâconnais analysing soils and tasting wines. Hubert Laferrère is a talented and conscientious winegrower as clearly demonstrated by the quality of his wines.

Hubert is evidently a scientific, thoughtful and methodical man; he understands his soils and his vines and deploys his rational engineering brain to devise the best ways of caring for them. He grows crops in between the vines to keep the weeds down, stop erosion and prevent the soil becoming impacted and then ploughs them back into the soil to provide nutrients for the vines. When it comes to winemaking, Hubert is more of an artiste. He chooses when to pick his grapes by tasting them and he has a great palate as you will be able to tell from the wine. Once the grapes are picked, he makes wine from each plot of land separately to preserve their unique character and then blends them at the end to create his particular cuvées. Anything he isn’t happy with is sold off to negociants.

Not many people these days are wholly responsible for the creation of a product from beginning to end; one can only imagine that his work is very satisfying indeed. Happily, we can confirm that drinking his Mâcon Lugny 2010 is a similarly satisfying experience.

Wines like they used to be…
From here and there…
No need to wait any longer…

Intrigued? We were too. These are the names of the wines from Domaine Modat and these quirky phrases on their labels certainly pricked our interest.

Domaine Modat Le Petit Mod'Amour 2011
Domaine Modat Comme Avant 2010
Domaine Modat Sans Plus Attendre 2010
Domaine Modat De Ci De La Blanc 2011

Domaine Modat is a small domaine in the Roussillon region of southern France. This is an exciting producer; they grow grape varieties traditional to the area, grapes that are perfectly suited to their local environment and they use canny environmentally friendly viticultural techniques tailored to their specific site. They have a cleverly designed, sustainably built winery complete with solar panels which is partially underground to keep cool. These people know how to make good wine and they know how their wines fit into the global picture.

The vineyards are to be found high up on a plateau in the Agly Valley – not a million miles from Perpignan. The Pyrenees are to the south, the Med is to the east. Looking at these pictures makes it easy to understand the lure of a vigneron’s life after a long business career in Paris. Henri Modat and his wife returned to their family vineyards and established this Domaine in 2007. They have five children and cognisant of their legacy, Henri wanted to farm the land organically, so ecologically minded viticulturist Laurent Abet was duly hired. Henri’s son Philippe – imbued with both a passion for wine and a touch of wanderlust – has been using his free time very productively; he did his first vintage in Roussillon in his early 20s and since then has been avidly pursuing his passion for wine, travelling the world, organising wine tours, meeting with winemakers and learning from them. His parents returning to Roussillon to farm the family vineyards is something of a dream come true for Philippe. We may be a touch jealous. Together, these three men are the brains and the brawn behind Domaine Modat.

There is a certain freedom to winemaking in the south of France. The warm Mediterranean climate, the long hours of sunshine, mild winters and warm summers mean that a sizeable number of both red and white grape varieties will thrive in your vineyards.

Geographically, the Languedoc is enormous and there is plenty of scope for winemakers to make single varietal wines, blends, reds, whites, rosés and sweet wines. There is less constraint here too – many choose the freedom of using IGP (indication geographique protégée) status which means they don’t have to adhere to legislation regarding (among other things) which grapes they can grow.

Domaine Gayda embody the free spirit of the Languedoc – the cépage range comprises varietal wines that actually have the name of the grape on the label (how very modern and non- French!). They have vineyards in a wide range of locations throughout the region giving them plenty of options when it comes to blending (or not, as the case may be). It’s like having a whole store cupboard full of ingredients to cook with. The new Freestyle wines truly capture this unrestricted, liberal approach to winemaking. The red and white wines are blended from the best barrels of different grape varieties from different sites meaning that these wines truly represent the flavour and style of Gayda. The wines have reached rather heady heights in the world of celebrity too. Freestyle Blanc and Freestyle Rouge were poured at no less illustrious event than the première of the latest Bond film, Skyfall. That is one of the coolest wine stories we have ever heard – well Dench as the kids would say. The labels feature a chap falling/jumping/flying through the sky. Apparently they’re not in cahoots with Danny Boyle or the Royal Family; it’s a rather apt coincidence.

Gayda attained their organic status in 2012, just in time to coincide with the launch of the Freestyle wines. They are encouraging biodiversity in their vineyards and doing their best to get the healthiest fruit possible, which in turn means we get the tastiest wine possible. Cheers to that!

Here’s the recipe for a memorable wine experience: to one lovely venue/location (this can be anything really, from a picnic blanket on sunny day with a fabulous view to a nice restaurant or even your own kitchen) add some good food (again, the options here are virtually limitless, just make it tasty), some lovely wine (suited to aforementioned food) and stir together with liberal helpings of good humour and witty stories.  Guaranteed good times.

Welcome to the stage Bernard Repolt of Remoissenet Père et Fils.  We met Bernard at a Burgundy dinner at Ox restaurant in Belfast where he followed the formula to perfection.  We had a glass of his white Rully 2010 with a scallop and cured salmon starter – a delicious match.  The Rully was lovely, white Burgundy as it should be.  It was round and satisfying with a subtle richness that matched the scallop and salmon perfectly.  Later on, we had a red Givry with sea trout.  The Givry was lovely and fresh and bright with ripe red fruit and a hint of chocolate.  At the end of the meal, Bernard pulled out a magnum of 1978 Beaune Rouge – the pièce de résistance!  It was amazingly fresh and vibrant and a real treat to try something so mature.  Bernard was serving the wine himself, charming everyone present with his wit and somewhat irreverent sense of humour.  Result? A room full of happy people who won’t forget him in a hurry.

The next day, Bernard and his charming wife Céline came to Crossgar to taste more of the wines with us and tell us about what Remoissenet is all about.  Bernard is an ex-president of Louis Jadot where he worked with his wife.  He told us that she fired him so he got the job with Remoissenet (not many of his witty stories are printable).  It’s an old domaine but after M. Remoissenet retired, it was sold and given something of a facelift.  Bernard plays a pivotal role in the revitalisation of the business; he oversees the winemaking and all the business processes.  He’s also in charge of their incredible cellar of older wines which is really unique and very exciting.  Very few people have access to such a rich resource and he plans on releasing them in small quantities over time.

The wines are really tasty and have that drinkability factor that sometimes eludes even very well made wines.  The reds are picked late to ensure the grapes are totally ripe and there are no green or bitter flavours in the wine.  The JN selection of Remoissenet reds includes:

Remoissenet Santenay Grand Clos Rousseau 2010

Remoissenet Givry Rouge 'Roi Henri' 2011

Remoissenet Gevrey Chambertin 2010

The whites all have a freshness and elegance about them – they’re subtle with very little oak flavour but they have lovely texture and ripe stone fruit flavour.  Some are showing signs of maturity with complex, earthy notes.  The JN selection of Remoissenet whites includes:

Remoissenet Givry Blanc 2010

Remoissenet Chablis Premier Cru Fourchaume 2010

Remoissenet Rully Blanc 2010

Remoissenet Saint Romain Blanc 2009

Remoissenet Chass. Montrachet Vergers 2010

These are fantastic food wines so we suggest you get a bottle or two in and invite some of the people you love round for dinner.  Because that, let’s face it, is what it’s all about.

Shopping for wine from the Côte d’Or is a bit like looking for a frock in Harvey Nichols.  The place is full of beautiful dresses, couture dresses, dresses by hot new designers, classic labels and by some of the best designers in the world – chock full of gorgeous frocks waiting for you to take your pick.  Simple?  Yes.  Great place for a bargain?  Not so much…

The Côte d’Or is home to some of the best wines in all of Burgundy - Montrachet, Meursault and Corton Charlemagne all reside in this golden area.  Wonderful wines?  Yes.  Full of bargains?  Not so much…  If you want Burgundy that represents great value for money you might have to do some hunting around and the Mâconnais region is a great place to do it in.  The Mâconnais is to the south of the Côte d’Or.  It’s much bigger and much more diverse but if you look hard enough you’ll find some absolute gems.  This is wonderful hunting ground for great value and great quality wines that don’t come with hefty price tags. 

So where to start searching?  Well, there are 2 things to be looking out for - great producers and the best small areas within the larger region. Marie-Pierre Manciat-Poncet is just the kind of producer worth looking for.  She is carefully managing her own vineyards and making wine using the best quality techniques from her top notch fruit.  Prior to her taking over the family vineyards in 2003, Marie-Pierre’s parents had been selling their grapes to a local negociant who make wine from grapes purchased from a group of growers – a common scenario in the wine world particularly where parcels of land are divided amongst the children of the owner.  Plots get ever smaller and it becomes impossible to make a living from such tiny holdings. 

Marie Pierre’sparents both come from vinegrowing families and were able to combine their land, creating an opportunity for a passionate winemaker in the family to show what they’re made of.  The Manciat side of the family had land in Charnay-Lès-Mâcon, the fruit from which goes into her delicious and fabulous value Macon Marizottes.  The Poncet side of the family had vineyards in the Pouilly Fuissé appellation – top of the Mâconnais tree for quality designations.

It’s a little warmer in the Mâconnais than the Côte d’Or so you will often find a riper, richer flavour to the wines.  They’re generous and round and satisfying and excellent with lots of different foods from fish and shellfish to chicken to cheese to roast pork and all manner of lovely things in between.  Manciat’s Pouilly Fuissé Vieilles Vignes and Les Bruyères are lovely examples of the how good wines from anywhere Burgundy can be – round, full and complex balanced with freshness and elegance.  Try a bottle of one of these with your roast chicken on Sunday for a real treat.