A frog offering from France? Makes sense

WINE

With David Bray

 

Don’t forget the French. There is plenty of  wine coming into this country from new and old French sources. Apart from the Aussie dollar making it more affordable – up to about 15 per cent of sales  – it gives us a reason to remind ourselves how our tastes have over the years been affected by the wines, sparkling and still, of France.

Recently there has been a welcome batch of new ones. Among them there’s a cheeky beret-wearing amphibian who is doing better than nicely selling wine modeled on the style that have made Australian wine so successful here and overseas.

Arrogant Frog’s creator, Paul  Nas of the Languedoc-Roussillon region in southern France, tells us: “About 10 years ago, when new-world wines started to kick us out of the market, Bordeaux producers believed they should be the leaders – in their arrogance they thought they should be king of the world and didn’t do anything to change.

“It needed to be reinvented and as a producer from Languedoc most Bordeaux producers wouldn’t even bother to talk to you, so we were the ones to do it.

“As soon as we launched the brand, people were saying, at last a French producer that doesn't take themselves too seriously, and they can produce very good wine and very affordably.

“The style I make is very much inspired by the new world – fruit-driven, juicy wines with texture and smooth tannins, no aggressivity, and sealed with a screwcap,” he says.

“The concept isn’t far from what you have in Australia, but with a French touch, and the packaging and the right price are part of the appeal.”

The Frog is to be found on quite a range of styles, of which Woolworths has brought in three, Ribet Red Cabernet Merlot, Ribet Sauvignon Blanc and Croak Rotie Shiraz 2011.

• Ribet Red 2011,  55 per cent Cabernet Sauvignon,45 per cent Merlot, is easy drinking style with  good berry fruit (“cherry, raspberry, strawberry”), ripe cassis and plum, herbal and vanilla hints, chocolate tannins.

• Ribet Sauvignon Blanc 2011  is a classic French style white with aromas of gooseberry and passionfruit and rounds off with a crisp and clean finish.

• Frog Croak Rotie Shiraz (2011) is ripe, juicy and mouth-filling with gentle hints of earthy savoury characters – an approachable red wine with a smooth and luscious finish.

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And now, let’s welcome a couple of fine Champagne houses.

Actually, it’s welcome back to  Alfred Gratien, a label well-known and expected here until a few years back, when it just went missing. Back again now, and looking good in expert hands.

Champagne Alfred Gratien has been produced  from  cellars in Epernay since 1864. Grapes are from the best areas in Champagne, mainly from Grand and Premier Cru vineyards. Only the first pressing is used. Chef de Cave Nicolas Jaeger separately vinifies each grape variety and cru for a minimum of six months in small neutral oak barrels without the use of malolactic fermentation. Reserve wines are stored in large oak barrels.

Olivier Duparc, director commercial and marketing for Alfred Gratien, who was in Brisbane to show the wines, tells us only two Champagne houses  still use  these traditional practices for all of their Cuvées –  the House of Krug and Alfred Gratien.

Tasted at Fifth Element Bar, South Bank, were Alfred Gratien Brut Non Vintage , Brut Rosé Non Vintage (Brut Millésimé 1999 and Gratien Cuvée Paradis Brut. Retail prices range from late $70s to well into the $100s. Lovely wines, all four, and especially the last one. M Duparc says Alfred Gratien cuvees are to be found on some of the finest wine lists of the world including Tour D’Argent, Restaurant Guy Savoy, Hotel Le Bristol Paris, L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon,  and the  Hong Kong Jockey Club.

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And so to Champagne Duperrey and there’s a link to Australian history here. The fizz is named  in honour of the 19th century French explorer Louis Isadore Duperrey who mapped much of the southern Australian coastline, including Tasmania.

Importers, again Woolworths, say the range, comprising non-vintage, non-vintage rosé, and vintage champagne styles, was developed especially for the Australian palate. Champagne Duperrey offers freshness, volume, richness, fruit complexity and vivacity.

• NV Champagne Duperrey Premier Cru Brut ($44.99), based on chardonnay and pinot noir, is derived from select parcels of premier cru and grand cru vineyards from the Vallée de la Marne. It is aged on yeast lees for at least three years and offer “white flower, dried apricot, hazelnut, brioche aromas, plenty of mid-palate creaminess and richness, fresh acidity and underlying yeasty complexity”.

• NV Duperrey Rosé Champagne ($44.99) is a blend of pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot meunier and based predominantly on premier cru vineyards.. . . “arguably the best value champagne rosé in the Australian market ... lovely salmon pink colour, light strawberry/ red cherry/ yeasty aromas, plenty of fruit complexity, richness and crunchy long acidity”.

• 2005 Duperrey Vintage Champagne ($59.99) e chardonnay pinot noir blend showing intense lemon curd/ white peach/ pear/ honey aromas, fresh creamy lemon curd/ biscuity/ yeasty flavours, light chalky texture and crisp refreshing acidity.

The range is supported by a local sparkler, Dumont Prestige Cuvée Australia ($21.99) a chardonnay, pinot noir, pinot meunier blend  from southern Australia made at Taltarni and Clover Hill by traditional methods – 'classic sparkling style with fresh lemon curd/ grapefruit/ biscuity aromas, creamy richness and lemony acidity”.