After a bit of research the entire region feels underpriced
The Malbec really influenced my wine itinerary and I became determined to canvas South Western France, but today I realized my mistake. I took a quick trek to NOLA Wine Merchant, which specializes in the Old World, only to remember how business works – you need a supply that meets the demand in a financially efficient manner. Sud Ouest is brimming with a potpourri of wines, not all of which are known nor sought out by the average consumer, thus this will be quite the quest to find them.
To sweeten the deal, the last administration left us with a swag bag of taxes, specifically a 25% toll levied against French, Spanish, German, and U.K. wines. This of course was revenge for the European subsidies granted to Airbus, which the United States took as an assault against Boeing. I will add that Boeing admitted to knowing there were issues with the 737 Max, which killed 346 people over two plane crashes. My wine habits should not be at risk due to their morally corrupt and economically compromising decisions, but as always, I digress. These tariffs are imposed upon the shopkeepers and restauranteurs and ultimately levied against my bank account.
I can’t be the only one to notice that we are in a pandemic. Restaurants and small business should be protected and not taking a hit for corporations such as Boeing. While the last administration perceived this favorably, as it will drive consumption to domestic and New World wines, some of us like to get our fix elsewhere. Like Côtes de Gascogne, an IGP (indication géographique protégée), which is a region with less strict winemaking guidelines than an AOC, situated in Armagnac. It’s predominantly known for its white wines which makes up 90% of production. I had my heart set out on finding a Colombard, a local grape, but given the state of the world, I shan’t complain about what I did stumble upon.
Biscaye Baie, settled in the soul of Gascony, nestled between the Pyrénées and the Atlantic, grown in terreforts, a siliceous soil made up of white clay and limestone, produces a Sauvignon Blanc I can only describe as an adult SweeTART. It’s crisp citrus notes marry sharp granny smith apples with a lingering taste of steely, candied lemon rinds. It’s a silky wine that persists long after the glass and would pair beautifully with a dozen raw oysters. Today I’m having it with Kao Pad Poo (ข้าวผัดปู) a Thai Crab Fried Rice, who’s seafood freshness, onion sweetness, and Thai spiciness is offset beautifully by the wine. It’s aromatic creaminess is a result of cold maceration, a process of soaking the grape skins with the juice prior to fermentation to enhance the color and flavor, as well as aging sur lie with batonnage for a month, which simply means to to age the wine in a vat of dead yeast and to stir for thirty days. As questionable as that sounds, it produces a full, velvety texture that plays nicely with the acidity.
Initially, I was disappointed when I came across a Sauvignon Blanc, which is native to neighboring Bordeaux; I was keen on finding a Gascogne original. Though after my first glass, I went hunting down the receipt. The price was staggering, taxes be damned, because for such a complex wine I expected to pay more. In fact, after a bit of research the entire region feels underpriced. 11th century Gascony, under British rule, exported millions of bottles to the island. Once France regained control their favor shifted as the Bordelais saw Gascon wines as an economic threat and instituted the polices des vins forbidding the exportation of wines from its ports until a majority of Bordeaux’s own bottles had been sold. The once prized and popular Gascogne saw its notoriety plummet as Bordeaux became world renown.