Château de Suronde: Tasting & Drinking
Château de Suronde has never had a strong position in the UK market, and the estate never turned up to the various salons and other tastings that I poke my nose into from time to time, and so this domaine has remained off my radar for many years. Even so, I have long been aware of the domaine, and I am aware that it has its fans, especially on the domestic French market.
As a consequence I initially found it difficult to say what effect the arrival of Kathleen Mareels-Van den Berghe would have here, although I did try to extrapolate from her other project, Château de Minière in the Bourgueil appellation. There she took an overlooked and perhaps under-exploited domaine and refashioned it, for the better. Feathers were ruffled along the way, but I am afraid in La France Profonde there sometimes seems to be an eagerness to have one’s feathers ruffled. People object because she is Belgian, not French. People object because she brings wealth and significant personal investment to her projects rather than being a penniless youngster just starting out. People object because they see her as an investor, not a vigneronne. People object because she does not take sides in local political disputes some of which have been rumbling on for a decade or more before her arrival, a stance I think very wise. Personally I think such objections are based either on false premises, or are simply pointless.
Please log in to continue reading: