Anthony Gismondi: Chaudiere family are wine pioneers in the Ventoux
Credit to Author: agismondi| Date: Fri, 23 Aug 2019 18:00:51 +0000
Frédéric Chaudière returned to Vancouver last week to promote his Château Pesquie wines from the Ventoux, Rhone Valley Vineyards. He was last in the city during the 2019 Vancouver International Wine Festival and will return next February as part of the French contingent, the designated theme region of the 2020 festival.
Château Pesquie has been sold in local markets for more than a decade, but Chaudière hopes to increase Pesquie’s reach within British Columbia and across Canada. The market is far less friendly to imported wines than it was a decade or two ago, but the good news is Pesquie has the goods in the bottle, and his prices are among the most attractive for the quality. The challenge is getting retailers who continue down the faceless, placeless brand market to think people and place and all the good stuff that goes with wines made in that genre.
Chaudière’s path to wine is inspiring in the face of today’s slap some juice in a bottle and shamelessly flog it as if it was a Grand Cru. The Pesquie history is the story of two families passionate about their wine region, Ventoux. In the early 1970s, Odette & René Bastide bought Château Pesquie from an heir of a famous Provençal writer, Alphonse Daudet. René & Odette chose quantity over quality and restructured the vineyards resulting in vines that average 35 to 40 years of age, the oldest are close to 100-years-old, and all yielding notable wine.
By the mid-1980s, Edith & Paul Chaudière, René & Odette’s daughter, and son-in-law gave up their medical careers and took over the family estate. They studied at the “Université du Vin” in Suze-La-Rousse and prepared a thesis on terroir selection where their travels took them to Napa Valley, Bordeaux, Oregon, Burgundy, Piedmont, Rioja and more.
The Chaudière side of the family has been growing vines for the past 150 years, beginning in Algeria after they emigrated from Alsace when it temporarily became a German territory in 1871. Paul, Edith, René & Odette left the local cooperative to set up Château Pesquie in 1989 and released their first wines in 1990. In those days there were only 10 independent cellars in the Ventoux, making the Chaudières pioneers of a sort.
In 2003, Alexandre and Frédéric took over the domain from their parents Paul and Edith. Together the family tradition continues. The boys have gone from sustainable to organic grape growers and next year will be fully certified Demeter biodynamic enhancing Château Pesquie’s allure as a leading estate in Ventoux and the southern Rhone Valley.
I tasted through a series of terrific white, rosé and red wines under the Château Pesquie label. The workhorse red is the Pesquie Terrasses a Grenache/Syrah blend that pays homage to the terraces their ancestors carved into carefully chosen hillsides in the Ventoux. It’s a delicious wine and the only one available in BCLDB stores. You will see it at the festival, for sure.
Pesquie works with many traditional southern Rhone grapes such as Grenache, Syrah, Carignan, Cinsault, Roussanne and Clairette that are thriving on the clay, sand and mostly limestone terraces and hillsides of Mt. Ventoux. The Pesquie Rose is one of the best Rhone pinks I have tasted this year and the white Terrasses, and Quintessence, are equally fresh and compelling.
Frédéric and Alexandre have released a series of single-vineyard labels that take the family’s exploration of terroir to an even higher level labelled — Artemia, Silica and Ascensio. It’s the freshness that makes all the difference something I note is a trademark of biodynamically farmed vines.
Finding Château Pesquie will require some searching in better private wine shops, but it will be worth your time. Search in the French/Rhone/Southern Rhone section or ask your retailer. You may be lucky enough to find some of Chaudiere’s brother’s labels. I can guarantee they will sell out fast at the wine festival on-site store next winter.
Bordertown Unoaked Chardonnay 2018, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada
$17.49 to $22.99 I 87/100
UPC: 626990282440
Ready to drink, that probably offers all you could want in an unoaked Chardonnay. The nose is fresh, reminiscent of a fruit salad. Its skinny, stainless steel styling hems in the citrus-splashed orchard fruits that dominate the palate and finish. Crisp, clean and affordable from private wine shops and the winery direct.
Moraine Pinot Gris 2018, Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada
$21 I 89/100
UPC: 626990127703
Moraine has been making some impressive wines in the last few years. Tightly wound with mineral underpinnings, this Pinot Gris lives on the edge of lean and juicy. It is an excellent example of the mid-valley, Okanagan style — apricot and lemon infused with a stony mineral current. The vineyard sits on an old moraine deposit that is responsible for its tight, juicy, orchard fruit flavours. Think crab cakes, fish tacos, or Chinese duck. Available in private wine shops or the winery direct.
Château Pesquie Ventoux Les Terrasses 2018, Ventoux, Rhone Valley Vineyards, France
$19.99 I 90/100
UPC: 0626990005377
The Pesquie Ventoux red grows at roughly 300 metres on various estate terroirs along the hillsides of Mount Ventoux. The stony limestone soils flecked with iron oxide sands and clays offer up a refreshing wine that is organically grown and will be Demeter certified biodynamic next year. The mix is 60/40 Grenache/Syrah macerated 15 days and then aged for several months in stainless steel and cement. Expect ripe and fleshy black raspberry, black cherry, mulberry tempered by a mineral crushed stone undercurrent and a clean peppery finish. Again the Pesquie freshness adds to this attractive, round, easy-sipping red that has all the hallmarks of serious Rhone reds, built with an extra dose of drinkability.
Torrevento Vigna Pedale Castel del Monte Rosso Riserva 2014, Puglia, Italy
$25.99 I 88/100
UPC: 8015393001024
Nero di Troia grapes thrive in the Castel del Monte region of Apulia where they grow at 350 to 450 metres above sea level. The nose is an invitation to the southern Mediterranean with black raspberry and cherry notes. The attack is fresh with some surprising acidity and earthy, licorice, red fruits with that fierce Italian dryness in the finish. Vigna Pedale is the definition of a wine that needs food but not in a negative way. A mushroom pasta dish or a favourite meaty pizza is the match.
Domaine de Cébène Les Bancèls Syrah — Grenache — Mourvèdre — Carignan 2015, Faugères, Coteaux du Languedoc, Languedoc, South of France, France
$28.99 I 91/100
UPC: 3700395902589
Brigitte Chevalier, a highly rated name within winemaking circles, makes wine described in the French press as the perfect, textbook example of Faugères. Her modus operandi is cooler sites in the Languedoc, organic grape growing, and careful vinification. Expect a fresh, red and black-fruited wine with white pepper, classic garrigue and schistous minerality. No oak, just authenticity. Super value. Les Bancèls is a local term designating the schist terraces where many of the Domaine de Cébène vines grow.
The Bibimbap Burger, from Home and Away by Randy and Darcy Shore.
Seoul’s iconic Bibimbap rice bowl are loaded with spice and subtle tartness. This recipe from Home and Away by Darcy and Randy Shore brings it all together in burger form. No Korean dish is ever complete until topped by a sunny-side up egg and this behemoth is no exception. Serve with a little kimchee on the side or under the patty if you like extra heat.
1 lb (454 g) lean ground beef
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 tbsp canola oil
4 large eggs
4 brioche burger rolls, cut in half
8 slices of bacon, fried until crisp
Divide beef into 4 equal parts. Make each into a ball then knead it in your hands for 15 seconds, until texture becomes smooth. Flatten into a patty slightly wider than rolls. Season both sides with salt and pepper.
Fry or grill on medium heat until juices run clear. Fry eggs sunny-side up, about 3 minutes.
Lightly toast rolls, then dress both sides with Bibimbap Burger Sauce. Add patty to the bottom half. Add 2 slices of bacon and Cucumber Pickle. Top with a fried egg, then with top of roll.
Makes 4 servings.
2 tbsp (30 mL) gochujang
1 tbsp (15 mL) lime juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) smoked hot paprika
1/2 cup (125 mL) mayonnaise
In a bowl, combine all ingredients until smooth.
Makes about 2/3 cup (160 mL).
Cucumber Pickle
1 cup (250 mL) seasoned rice vinegar
1 1/2 (375 mL) cups thinly sliced English cucumbers
1/4 cup (60 mL) finely julienned red bell peppers
In a saucepan on high heat, bring vinegar to a boil. Add cucumber and pepper, cover with a lid, and remove from burner. Allow mixture to cool, then transfer vegetables and liquid to a jar and refrigerate.
Makes about 1 pint (500 mL).
The Korean Bibimbap burger is as big, rich and as noisy as it gets, and your wine choice should take its cue from that.
Black Sage Vineyard Merlot 2015, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada $22.99
A bright, fruity nose with a palate full of black cherries and plums all wrapped up in a hedonistic style is the perfect burger red.,
Sunrock Vineyards Illumina 2015, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada $39.99
Big juicy red/black fruits with heaps of spice with vanilla and chocolate finish, this has al the tools to take on a Korean burger.