I opened this bottle recently for some late-night drinking to go with chocolate. After all, the fortified (with alcohol added), port-like wines from the south of France such as Banyuls and Maury are the best match with chocolate. (An article where I tasted 7 wines with 9 chocolate preparations appears here in Polish, with an OK Google translation).
Banyuls is good for you. Please drink it more often.
This Cuvée Parcé Frères 2007 from Domaine de la Rectorie was delicious. Deeply coloured with intense cherry fruit and balanced sweetness (there’s that famous ‘not cloying’ line that always shows up when describing a good sweet wine; well, this one is all but cloying). It also has fairly reasonable alcohol: one reason I prefer Banyuls to port is that the latter is usually 20% while Banyuls stays at 17%.
Domaine de la Rectorie is one of the most intellectually engaging estates in France. Whenever I taste here it becomes an hour-long discussion of the modern world’s relevant issues. Their website and occasional newsletter has some lovely photos and articles (see here, for example, for a discussion of négoce and why it’s worthwile), and the range of wines has a lot of food for thought: the Parcé brothers make Banyuls in a modern reductive vintage port-like style as well as the more classic oxidative one, and there’s even L’Oriental, a ‘Banyuls naturel’, unfortified and long-aged like two hundred years ago. The dry wines are equally impressive – as you’d expect them to be knowing the hard work that’s put into the vineyards, including organic farming and horse ploughing (and the soils here are tough). The Parcés run another estate in Maury, called La Préceptorie, with the same approach and some lovely wines too: the Zoé is perhaps my favourite everyday red in France, full stop.
Marc Parcé from Domaine de la Rectorie in September 2003.
This bottle of Banyuls reminded me how much we miss by not drinking these fortified wines more often. That style as a whole has become hopelessly unfashionable but it’s one more reason for wine aficionados to embrace it. These wines have lovely fruit, come from special places, and are really useful at the tables (not just for chocolate; some savoury dishes also work well). Banyuls is also rather cheap for what it is, so it’s a win–win drinking situation.
The annual harvest festival in Banyuls includes some fun for the kids.
Disclosure
Source of wine: own purchase.
Greetings Woj… how have you been? I’ve been enjoying your blog postings and when I came across this one it reminded me ouf our holiday to Catalonia and S France last year. Outside of Collioure we visited a very small and charming estate called “Le Roc de Agnes” in Montner. The owner/winemaker at Le Roc is an interesting and knowledgeable young woman named Marjorie Gallet with surprising drive and passion. Her productuion of terrior driven wines is small and she mostly supplies a few dozen restaurants in Paris and the Pyrenees. She also sells a small amount of her Carignan/Grenach to a small shop outside Philadelphia which is how I was introduced to her wines.
Anyway, to the point… During our visit I tasted some wonderful Maury for the first time that I found extremely unique and enjoyable. Like you say, the alcohol is managable compared to Port and without the headaches in the morning! She offered both Red and White Maury, which as I understand, is quite rare. I would recommend searching this producer out or pay her a visit if you find yourself in the Pyrenees-Orientales
http://www.rocdesanges.com/en/index.html
http://www.terresdefagayra.com/en/index.html
Hi Larry, nice to hear from you. I haven’t visited Roc des Anges or met Marjorie but she is quite famous in vinous circles. I know her wines from a few shops in Paris. I wasn’t aware she made any Maury though.
White Maury is indeed quite rare; white Banyuls is a bit more widespread though still confidential. I find many on the flabby side but some, especially when based on Grenache Gris (a pink-skinned grape a bit like Pinot Gris in style), are quite exciting. I’ll blog on them when I have the occasion.
Best wishes to the Kelsall famiglia!
yes! according to the website her white Maury is indeed Grenache Gris and Maccabeu. It seems she produces her Maury under the name “Terres de Fagayra” …it was really wonderful stuff. cheers!