The first ‘Salon des Vins d’Auteurs’

Posted on | July 2, 2005

Scarcely returned from Vinexpo and after two days of sorting out problems and doing paperwork, it’s time to repack the car, direction Gap, for the first Salons des Vins d’Auteurs, the latest idea of two of my oldest, very oldest friends, François Briclot (of le Rouge-Gorge, famous wine bar in Paris) and Dominique David our perfect host and designer of furniture - as beautiful as they are practical.

Amusing idea to meet at an altitude of 1000 metres, in David’s barely domesticated farm, thirty or so wine-growers qualified as ‘auteurs’ (don’t let’s restart this debate please). Thirty wine-growers with strong personalities (the least one could say…) and with some well-worn convictions, giving a spirited weekend where one drank a lot, talked a lot, with some delights and disagreeable moments, some successes and some setbacks…

I am not used to being confronted with the public who may unintenionally let me know something very unpleasant. Of course, no one in the Alps had ever heard of Clos du Fèes and, to tell the truth, I was expecting it. But it is the bad image and/or the total failure to recognise the vineyards of Rousillon which frankly surprises me. And I’m a little annoyed by it, I must confess. I wasn’t the only one to have this problem which demonstrates, if necessary, the gulf between the wine enthusiast and the public. Far from getting better, I have the impression it is widening. Is this the fault of the wine world becoming increasingly complex as some preach? For three days, I wasn’t far from thinking this.

OK, we laughed a lot, and here’s a photo of the place and a link towards the well constructed site (http://www.vinsdauteurs.fr/), where it explains all that you missed with plenty of technical pages on the wine-growers.

 

PS.. I met Yvonne Hegoburu. We didn’t speak about Mondovino. She drank a large glass of ‘petite Sibèrie’ and flirted with me in order to have another. I served her with respect. I understand why Jonathan is charmed. If I was 30 years older…)

PPS… to list all the wines I drank would be impossible. But the Viognier of Domaine du Deffends, the Vermentino of the Domaine Renucci, the Joyaux of the Château le Queyroux and the Rubrum Obscurum of the Château de Roquefort were amongst the best of the wines tasted this year.

Hervè Bizeul

 

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