Jewels of Roussillion

“Thank you Ampsons and Enoteca for hosting this wonderful “Jewels of Roussillon” wine tasting event. It was a very unique experience tasting the yet-to-be made available Organic Wines in Karnataka, India. Vinoth Vijayaraghavan and Prathap Vijayaraghavan, Duo brothers for presenting awesome Jewels of Roussillon. Vinoth is very humble, grounded, passionate French wine producer with a great respect to his origin and family tradition. Vinoth’s presentation of wines were truly a master class. I loved Vinoth’s way of comparing wines, expensive V/s cheap wines and wines from the same region. Wines depend on the terroir, wine maker and his efforts to make every wine special, says wine producer Vinoth.

We started the event with the beautiful 2017 Yogi Wine from Cotes Catalanes. Check out the wine label from the pictures below. It’s thoughtfully designed. This wine is made from Grenache Noir, Syrah, Merlot and Carignan grapes. This wine has undergone carbonic maceration. Expression of the Wine spoke clearly about the tremendous hard work, passion, vision, ethics and his love for wines. Intense red fruit and floral bouquet on nose stayed throughout the palate. This wine has very soft tannins, great finish that kept lingering in my mouth for minutes. Hints of raspberry, strawberry, red cherries, blueberry, blackberry, black currant, pepper, mild tobacco and eucalyptus registers in your mind when you savor this red wine from the heart of Roussillon, France.

Thanks to the man behind this Roussillon treasure, Mr. Vinoth Vijayaraghavan. Pairing with Parmesan Cheese made this wine even more enchanting. Wine producer says in his own words “I don’t want people to drink my wine in a day, I want them to drink one glass a day and savor the wine every evening when you are back from work. Wine gets better and better each day you taste them in series”. Wine producer also says it doesn’t go bad when stored in the right temperature for up to 7 days, without getting your wine flat after opening it. This truly shows Wine producers confidence in producing exceptional quality wines.

2017 Cotes Catalanes, YN Muscat Moelleux: Another good sweet white wine made of Muscat de Alexandria and Muscat Petit grain grapes from Roussillon, France. Nice aromas of ripe pears, dried apricots with hints of lemon, tropical fruits like Guava, Mango, Pineapple were present on the nose. Balanced acidity, very light and refreshing on palate with good finish. This wine goes well with Asian and Indian cuisine. Pairing this wine with Blue cheese and Hara Bhara Kebabs made this truly a memorable one.

2018 Cotes Catalanes, YN Muscat Moelleux: This wine is a younger sibling of 2017 YN Muscat Moelleux. Pronounced citrus and tropical aromas with intense fragrance of Jasmine blooms on the nose makes you feel you are experiencing aromatherapy! Pears, guava, pineapple and tropical fruits stayed throughout the palate and yet proves its a very well structured wine. Pairing this with Blue cheese gives you a buttery mouthfeel.

Mr. Vinoth walked us through the process of “Vin Doux Naturel” wine making. Process of wine making includes fortification with a 98% pure grape spirit to stop the yeast before fermentation process is complete. This process retains the natural sugars in the wine that makes this wine on the sweeter side, similar to the Port. The final alcohol level varies depending on the regulations of the appellation d’origine protégée (AOP). Although most wines have a minimum required content of 15% alc.

Looking forward to hear amazing stories on the French wines from Vijayaraghavan brothers in the near future, Stay tuned.