Domaine du Bel Air: Tasting & Drinking
Sitting at his kitchen table with Vincent Carême last December, grateful for a bowl of warm soup to stave off the cold outside, he poured a glass of Cabernet Franc. We had been tasting some bottles blind, and I would be lying if I said I had performed in a glorious fashion. Gamay from the vineyards of the Massif Central had tasted like Côt. South African Chenin Blanc had behaved like Chardonnay. And so on. So I was glad to finally encounter a wine where the grape variety at least seemed to ring out true.
And it was a very good glass of wine. It was the entry-level cuvée from Pierre Gauthier, and it tasting very good. By this point I knew of the domaine, and some of its wines, but I had never visited. But Vincent raved about the wines, a serious endorsement that should not be ignored. I resolved to visit, and I did not regret making efforts to get to know Pierre, Rodolphe and their wines a little better.
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