When I was in Lansdowne Resort in Virginia with the extraordinary group, I had the privilege to introduce to them the Skalli wines from the South of France. One of the most interesting questions was : “What does it mean when is says Cotes du Rhone on the label? Which kind of grape is it?”

That was very interesting because in France, we do not approach the wine in the same way.  In the U.S., you are looking for the grape variety of the wine.  In Europe,  we first want to know where the wine comes from.

On the picture you have 3 bottles of Cotes du Rhone (White, Rose and Red) with a traditional French label. On the top of the label you can see the logo of the winery Maison Bouachon. Robert Skalli bought the winery in 2001. All our wines from the Rhone Valley come from Maison Bouachon. 

Then you have the denomination “Cotes du Rhone”, but what is it? Cotes du Rhone represents a specific area. If you have your vines within this area you have the permission to call your wine Cotes du Rhone (red, white or rose). If your vines are outside this area, you can not call your wine “Cotes du Rhone”. However, those vines not within the Cote du Rhone area may carry a designation from another area in the Rhone Valley region, like “Gigondas” or “Chateauneuf-du-Pape”.

After the vintage of the wine (the year the grapes were harvested) which could be 2005 or 2006, you can read “Les Rabassieres” on the bottom of the label.  I am sure you think: “grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr another terrible french word!!!” That is just the name of the wine!!! Actually “Rabasse”  is Provencal (old language from the Provence in South of France) and means “truffle”. During the last century, a specific area of Cotes du Rhone was famous for its abundance of oak trees on the roots of which truffles grow. A buried and highly coveted treasure, truffles were often gathered at night so as not to reveal their hiding place. In honor of this highly developed local activity and the truffel oaks that still grow along the edge of these parcels, ”Les Rabassieres” bears witness to this heritage.

I give you now a secret: “You have 3 different grapes in the Maison Bouachon Cotes du Rhone: 60% Grenache, 30% Syrah (or shiraz that is exactly the same grape variety) and 10% Mourvedre”

Maison Bouachon Les Rabassieres Cote du Rhone

The “

Mary Watson, Award-winning Sommelier

After a good week in DC and VA with Donna, St Supery and SFWA Manager, I stayed in Virginia to experience a culinary weekend with Donna and her friend Mary Watson, Lansdowne Resort Sommelier. It was major…SHE is just MAJOR!!!

Mary Watson organized an amazing weekend culinary experience.  During the weekend Mary used the St Supery wines of Napa and Skalli Family Wines of the South of France for her pairing, lunches and dinners.

On Friday evening 14 persons arrived to spend THE perfect weekend. The group started with a discovery of aromas in Mary’s herb garden, which is very beautiful. Mary explained the aromas of specific herbs and in which wines we could find them.  I learned a lot during this weekend Through the barbecue. managed by Chef Jason Lage, we discovered a ton of flavors. Our mouths were so excited by the delicious fishes that he grilled.  Moreover, they were wonderfully paired with the St Supery Sauvignon Blanc and the Robert Skalli Chardonnay.

The discovery continued with the tasting of St Supery Merlot and Robert Skalli Pinot Noir. Then Chef Jason let us discover an amazing cassoulet!!! The pairing with the Maison Bouachon Cotes du Rhone was just GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR TROP BON.

All night, Paul Cullen (www.paulcullen.net), ex “Bad Company” bassist, played wonderfully. Even with the cool weather he combined food, wine and music with his guitar. You should go on his website, because this guy is very nice and plays very, very well!!! Thanks for your album, “Dreamdance” ;-)

Saturday was even better. Begining at 11 o’clock, despite a ton of rain, the group kept the ambiance warm and convivial.  Mary fought against the rain in order to pick more herbs and let us discover tons of sensations. That is amazing how an herb can definitly change the taste of the wine. Just taste the cinnamon basil and then the Robert Skalli Pinot Noir 2006…………..ENCORE TROP BON 

 After the Herb and Wine tasting I lived one of the best experience of my life. We were in the kitchen of the restaurant with Chef Lucas. To be here in a such kitchen, as a real Chef was real dream.. Thanks again Mary and Donna Everybody participated a the creation of our lunch. The Chef finished cooking everything. The lunch was amazing and the best dish for me was the Filet Mignon served with asparagus, onions and tomatoes paired with the Robert Skalli Pinot Noir. OH my god. Everything was simply delicious. After so much food, around 4 o’clock in the afternoon,  I decided to go to the fitness center in order to make some sport. I had to prepare myself for dinner after all…….

 Thanks to my new apartment and my new kitchen I was able to cook a dish for my roommate Francois and I :) I bought a chicken and then I  cut some onions and garlic. I put some of them in the chicken and the rest around it, plus potatoes. Salt, pepper and also a blend of different pepper seeds to parfume and spice the dish. Then I put my dish in the oven for 45 minutes. Grrrrrrrrrrr that was so good The potatoes took a wonderful taste by cooking with the chicken.

But what could we pair with the chicken? Francois decided to drink the Maison Bouachon Chateauneuf-du-Pape “La Tiare du Pape” Red 2005. He paired the elegance and fruitness of the wine with the light spiciness of the chicken. I decided to drink the Maison Bouachon Gigondas “Duc de Montford” red 2005 and that was just fabulous. The notes of garrigue (thyme and rosemary) and fruits paired wonderfully with my chicken and the onion and garlic sauce.

Simple and just amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello, again, from the South of France.  I hope you are doing well, Nicolas.

The last of our grapes, Cabernet Sauvignon, came into the winery from the vineyard last week.  This year’s harvest has been late compared to the past three to four years, but I believe it will be a good vintage for us for several reasons.

It is a smaller crop this year, especially for Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, due to rain and winds during the flowering period in Languedoc.   However, the Mistral winds from the North and the winds from the West protected our grapes from any disease.  The color of our reds is looking good as it cold soaks on the skins. 

Our days were very warm in the South of France, particularly Languedoc, but this year we had bigger temperature swings between day and night, giving us really cool evenings that we were able to take advantage of by harvesting all of our grapes for Robert Skalli and Fortant wines at night.   The condition of the fruit was good and pure and the whites appear to have a lot of great aromatics and better acidity. 

Enjoy the current vintages and know that there will be more good wine coming from the South of France in the future.

Laurent Sauvage

Winemaker

Though I am based in California, after 3 months of travel around the U.S., I now have my 2nd home base in the Upper West Side of New York City. That is a real pleasure to be able to say: “Yes, I have a home in NY”

Over the weekend, my roommate Francois and I had to move all our stuff. We rented a truck in order to move everything from New Jersey to our apartment.  It took two full truckloads.

The most funny part about the move is that we live on the 6th floor of a building, without an elevator.  That was totaly crazy!!! 96 steps!!!! Francois had many a Cognac to carry and that was heavy. I think we made around 40 round trips during the afternoon and the evening. At the end we were not able to build the bed, so we slept directly on the mattress on the floor:

Saturday afternoon Francois had me laughing.  He forgot the keys inside the truck and the truck was closed. Impossible to open the door!!! We found the solution: we had noticed 5 buttons on the door of the truck with numbers … We were sure that we could open the door thanks to these buttons, but what was the code?? We went to the closest rental agency, some blocks away from our apartment and they gave it to us after some explanations. After one hour, we came back to the car, tried the code and luckily it opened. 

On Sunday morning we went to IKEA to find a bed for me. I found one, the same as Francois.  After climbing the 96 steps again, we had after to build our beds, but this part was very simple

 and the result is…………………………..  Cool!  My room is ready!!!!

I can tell you that I felt my legs. But now we have a nice apartment in the Upper West side of New York City.  Home sweet home.