That's the way to do it - building a French wine brand

If there’s one thing that French winemakers can’t do, it’s create big successful brands, right? Well, maybe not…

It’s true that French wine is traditionally governed by the dictates of the Appellation Contrôlée laws, so that AC (or AOP nowadays) wines are labelled according to their geographical origin. This is fine for really well known ACs/AOPs like Bordeaux and Champagne which are, in effect, brands which transcend the geographical nature of the regulations.

But what about  AOP Côteaux du Giennois? Or AOP Côtes de Toul maybe, or AOP Tursan? A good number of the over 300 wine AOPs in France are househould names, but many more, like these ones, are not. Consumers (and even wine trade folk) cannot be expected to know where they all are and what style of wine will be in the bottle. And why should understanding wine be such a difficult business anyway?

Building a commercial brand often means departing from the strict regulations of the region’s AOP. Consumers want to see a name that they are familiar with, which provides a feeling of comfort and security - without the need to understand French wine law.

The Vin de Pays category, so successful in the 1980s and 90s, did act as a kind of brand. The vast majority were from that huge swathe of vineyard areas in the south, collectively known as Languedoc-Roussillon. Vin de Pays d’Oc was a boon to wine drinkers: often varietally labelled, usually good value red, white and rosé wines that were easy to understand and appreciate.

Now, however, Vin de Pays is no more and wines should instead be labelled as IGP (Indication Géographique Protégée). Though Languedoc-Roussillon producers can also put the words “Pays d’Oc” on the label, as a nod to the good old days of Vin de Pays d’Oc.

French producers who want to include grape varieties outside the rules of the AOP can often use the IGP as an alternative. For those who want to blend between regions, something that is common in the New World, the catch-all Vin de France category is a useful support. And yet thus far, there have been few truly successful French wine brands.

One French wine company which is doing better than many at building brands is Badet Clément. You may not have heard of the name, but you may well have seen their Les Jamelles wines in the Co-op; or perhaps come across one of their Abbotts & Delaunay range on a restaurant wine list. They also have a range of other brands which are more directed towards other markets across Europe and beyond. Their total annual production of 15.6 million bottles gives you an idea of the scale of their operation.

Surprisingly, perhaps, all this is the work of a husband and wife team, Laurent and Catherine Delaunay, who recently celebrated the twentieth anniversary of their business. Of course Badet Clément is more than Laurent and Catherine, who now employ 50 people and boast a shiny new winery to facilitate even further growth in future.

Their Les Jamelles wines are a neat range of varietally labelled wines (all IGP) with plenty of easy-going consumer appeal at keen prices.

Les Jamelles Viognier £5.99 until 12 July (usually £6.99) at the Co-op

A Viognier for people who don’t like the variety’s richness and weight, which can tend to flabbiness. This has good fresh acidity and juicy fruit with just a hint of peach.

Les Jamelles Syrah - £5.99 until 12 July (usually £6.99) at the Co-op

Soft, ripe Syrah with a mix of red and black fruit characters that speaks of the warm south, but with a good brightness and freshness too.

Les Jamelles Réserve Mourvèdre £7.49 at the Co-op

My favourite of the range, this has bags of brooding, black fruit with some herbal character in the background.

What have the Greeks ever done for us?

The poor Greeks have been through the wringer in recent times. I don't know what they have made of the wholly erroneous assertion that the only two words to have come to English from Greek are tragedy and crisis. A cursory glance at the dictionary soon gives the lie to this - abacus, abracadabra, academy and academe, acme, acne, acolyte, acoustic, acrobat, acronym, acrophobia, adenoids – all these words have Greek origins, and, as you can see, I didn't even have to finish the As to come up with this list.

The Greeks, it must be said, are suffering from something of a PR problem. Wine lovers, however, have special reason to be grateful to them, for the Ancient Greeks seem to have been instrumental in bringing grapes and specifically wine-making to most, if not all of the Mediterranean countries. From Sicily and Italy, through to Spain and of course, France, the Greeks feature heavily in the history of vines and wines.

Vines were officially brought to France by the Romans in 125BC to the then island off the south coast of France at La Clape. Ancient Rome was an empire built on bureaucracy as well as brute force and they have left us firm written evidence of their work. The Greeks had probably got as far as the Rhone Valley with their vines well before this date, but failed to record their exploits. Oh dear, that habit of not making official records seems to be a hard one to break...

While modern Italy and Greece may not be flavour of the month with their fellow Eurozone members, we wine drinkers should perhaps remember what to be grateful for. Here are some recommended wines from the Languedoc-Roussillon, that vaste swathe of vine-growing that spreads from the right bank of the River Rhone to the Pyrenees and the border with Spain and the jumping off point for ancient wine growers. The region is something of an economic underdog, with none of the swank and hauteur of Bordeaux. What they lack in flash Châteaux and shiny Mercs though, they make up for in great terroirs and some gifted, committed winemakers – and reasonable prices.

Virgile Joly of Domaine Virgile Joly

Château d'Anglès Blanc Classique 2009 - £10.95 at Slurp.co.uk

This white wine springs from the inhospitable, hump-backed outcrop of limestone that is La Clape (no sniggering at the back), which lies between the ancient Roman port of Narbonne, or Narbo Martius to the first inhabitants, and the sea. Nothing much grows here, except vines, wind-blasted pines and olive trees, as there is no soil to speak of; the Mediterranean sun beats down relentlessly, dazzling as it reflects off the bright white of the limestone; it hardly ever rains and it is always windy. Not too promising a site to make any wine, but especially not white wine you might think.

But there is wonderful freshness in this blend of Grenache blanc, Bourboulenc, Marsanne and Roussanne (the eagle-eyed amongst you will no doubt spot this this is pretty much a recipe for white Châteauneuf-du-Pape, but not at Châteauneuf prices). The aromas are floral and chalky, leading onto a broad-in-the-beam palate of peppery, herbal flavours.

Domaine Virgile Joly Saturne Rouge 2009 – newly-listed at organic specialists Vintage Roots at around £15.50

Virgile Joly is a leading light of organic viticulture down in the Languedoc. You can read about his beginnings as a winemaker in Patrick Moon's very readable memoir, Virgile's Vineyard: a year in the Languedoc wine country. And have a glass of this beside you while you read, a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Carignan plus a little Cinsault. It was aged in concrete tank, so there is no oak to disguise the flavours of the fruit. It's a smooth beast, with the warmth of the south in a hot year – but its minerality gives it freshness and structure. Made from organic grapes, using natural yeasts and minimum amounts of sulphur.

Domaine de Montcalmès 2005 – The Wine Society has the 2004 for £17 or the 2007 for £21. Les Caves de Pyrène at Artington near Guildford has the 2008 for £23.49

This is a classic southern French cocktail of 60% Syrah, with 20% each of Grenache and Mourvèdre – a blend more snappily known as GSM downunder in Australia. Oak-ageing (this has had two years) and that amount of Syrah can dominate a wine, but not here: the damson fruit is fresh and juicy, with savoury notes of tar and spice. It has balance and freshness in abundance.

Mas Amiel Maury 1975 – hard to find in the UK; Caves de Pyrène have the 2009 for £21.49 and Slurp.co.uk £17.95. Closest in style to the 1975 would be the 15 year old Prestige, £23.50 from Lea & Sandeman

Oft overlooked treasures of Roussillon, in the foothills of the Pyrenees, are the aged fortified wines of Maury, Banyuls and Collioure. This one started its life in the same way as Port – that is the fermentation was brought to a premature halt by adding grape spirit, resulting in a wine that still has some sweetness, plus high alcohol. But thereafter comes a quirk: ageing in glass demijohns, which are left outside, exposed to the sun's light and heat, as well the huge differences in temperature between day and night. A year of this seemingly foolhardy treatment oxidises the wine quite thoroughly; normally a disaster for dry wines, it is the making of these “vins doux naturels”. After the demijohns the wine is put in to large, very old oak casks to age further – in this case a further 26 years. These wines have a unique “rancio” character, which sounds bad but means a delicious tangy array of flavours including figs, dates, butterscotch, orange marmalade and nuts. In short, yum.

South Africa: where Old and New Worlds meet

At the top of my list of wine regions that I haven't visited yet, but am desperate to see, is South Africa. Dramatically sited vineyards surrounded by boundless natural beauty; the cosmopolitan restaurant scene of Cape Town, sandwiched between Table Mountain and the Atlantic Ocean; whale-watching at Hermanus; endless sunny days under African skies. Doesn't sound too shabby does it?

For a New World country, South Africa has been at this winemaking game for a long time. The first vines, planted by pioneering settler Jan van Riebeck, produced grapes that were made into wine back in 1652. To put this in perspective, this was some years before Benedictine monk Dom Perignon became cellar master at the Abbey of Hautvillers and so helped to begin the story of Champagne as we know it.

However, as the saying goes, “always something new out of Africa” and South Africa's latest generation of winemakers have overcome the insularity that characterised the lost years of Apartheid and have some great wines to show the world. They are building on the long-standing traditions of their country and, often, working hard to develop sustainable growing practices which support the globally important bio-diversity hotspot of the Cape Floral Kingdom.

Here are some of my current favourites from the dark continent.

Iona Sauvignon Blanc 2010 - £10.44 from www.waitrosewine.com online, £12.49 down to £9.99 if you buy 2 bottles at Majestic

The ubiquitous charms of Sauvignon Blanc can pall with over-exposure. Iona is a new venture set the coolest vineyard site in the whole of South Africa in the Elgin region, exposed to the chilly ocean winds, which are known as the Cape Doctor, for their role in keeping the vines cool and dry and thereby avoiding problems with damp and rot. Here they have managed to produce a wine that is neither a copy of New Zealand, nor the original models of Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé.

Generally Sauvignon Blanc is viewed as a DYA wine – drink youngest available. Its youthful vibrant, racy fruit can quickly turn to less appealing flavours of tinned peas (remember those?). Iona, however, seems to be able to age with some grace and the 2010 vintage has plenty of citrus zip and a lingering minerality.

Mullineux White Blend 2009 - £17.76 from Hand Picked Burgundy (www.hpb-wines.com), Berry Brothers have the 2010 vintage for £15.75

It seems that the posher a wine is, the less it tells you about itself on the label. Do persevere though, as this blend of predominantly Chenin Blanc from the schist and shale soils of Swartland (try and say that after a couple of glasses) is a stunner.

Some wines are great for glugging while you concentrate on something else; others are more demanding of your attention, and drinking them can be an intellectual exercise – this wine is definitely the latter. Not overtly fruity, it's the kind of wine that you are drawn back to again and again, as new flavours and aromas unfold in the glass. Honey, pumice stone, blossom, baked apple and a myriad of other flavours mingle on the palate, held in place by a wall of tangy minerality. At nearly three years old this wine is just getting into its stride and still has a future ahead of it. Mullineux is surely one of the names to watch in South African wine.

Boekenhoutskloof The Chocolate Block 2009 - £19.49 for the 2010 vintage from SA Wines Online

Syrah is the other variety that seems to thrive in the warmer climate of Swartland and winemaker Marc Kent is a specialist in the variety. Boekenhoutskloof has just been voted winery of the year in the highly-regarded Platter Wine Guide 2012 – so expectations are high when you taste this wine. The Chocolate Block blend is slightly tweaked each year but is predominantly Syrah, with Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault and white variety Viognier making up the balance.

Dense, almost completely opaque in colour, this is no shrinking violet, but it does have surprisingly nuanced and perfumed blackberry fruit allied to more savoury flavours (partly thanks to all those varieties) and great balance. While undoubtedly a heavyweight, its a “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” Muhammad Ali.

Meerlust Rubicon 2004 - £23 from The Wine Society

Rubicon is a bone fide icon of the South African wine scene and has quite a pedigree. Made by Meerlust, who proudly proclaim “since 1693” on their labels, it hails from Stellenbosch, a region long synonymous with quality and classic grape varieties.

Bordeaux is clearly the model for this blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Franc – but claret would never have quite the level of ripeness and softness that you find here. It's like Bordeaux but with the edges knocked off it. Eight years into its life, the fruit is maturing with leather, tobacco leaf, coffee bean and spiced fruit along with a lovely rose-petal scent on the palate. A treat for the mind and the senses.