At the meeting on October 8th. 2024, we tasted French wines that had been obtained online
from Majestic Wines. We started with a white wine, Ormarin Villemarin Picpoul de Pinet 2023
12.5%, which comes from the Languedoc region, adjacent to the Mediterranean, near
Montpellier. This was a lovely wine with a clear appearance, a floral aroma, and a zingy
lemon-lime flavour which would go very well with seafood.

Then followed three red wines, the first being George Vigouroux”Le Grand Retour” Malbec from
the Cahors region, 2020, 13.5%. When you think of Malbec you think of Argentina or Chile, but
the grape originated in Cahors but went out of favour there, but has now been reintroduced,
hence “Le Grand Retour”- the great return. This wine was fruity and rich, but mellow and
smooth, had an aroma of blackberry and spice, with red fruits, chocolate and liquorice on the
palate.

This was followed by Chateau Meaume Bordeaux Superieur, 2021, 13.5%. Bordeaux Superieur
is a classification considered to be of a higher quality than the regular Bordeaux AOC, the
grapes having to meet certain quality standards, and this wine was predominantly Merlot, with
some Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. It had notes of rich dark plum and blackberry
with hints of spice.

The last wine was Chateau Caronne St. Gemme, Haut Medoc, 2018, 13%. This wine is
described as Cru Bourgeois, a term used since the Middle Ages to describe the best lands in
the Bordeaux region which were owned by the local citizens, but is nowadays a classification
system for Bordeaux wines recognising high quality wines from small estates. This wine is
predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon, has firm structure and lots of tannins, which should age
very well- the one that we tasted was already 6 years old- and should be delicious with roast red
meat.