You might have noticed that Château Ramage la Batisse is a “Cru Bourgeois”. What does it mean? Maybe you know that the wines made in Medoc (the prestigious part of Bordeaux’s left bank) were ranked in 1855. But since then, the ranking hasn’t changed even though a lot of new great wines emerged in Médoc. The “Cru Bourgois” ranking was created in 1932 to award these new talents from Médoc. 

 A beautiful garnet dress with a streaming drop..

Wild boar and foie gras terrine
Grilled flank steak with shallot and red wine sauce
Epoisses de Bourgogne
Cherry pie

 Located in the heart of Médoc, the vines are planted on a chalky underground whereas the ground itself is made of graves. So it is a poor soil that naturally limits the vines’ yield. Moreover, it challenges the vines which have to grow long roots in order to find their nutrients deep hence giving very high quality wines. 

Some of you might already know the name of Pellehaut as it’s the third time that one of their wines is in a VitiBox. Once again, the Béraut brothers demonstrate their great ability to mix quality and creativity. Ampéloméryx is indeed a very uncommon blend of pinot noir, syrah and cabernet sauvignon. The result is a fresh wine with remarkably fine tanins and very nice aromas of raspberry and chlorophyll. 

 A beautiful ruby dress..

Chicken leavers salad
Roasted ham
Vacherin cheese
Strawberry pie

 Blends are not the only original touch of the Béraut brothers approach. Indeed, they are also advocates of mixed farming. Therefore, at Pellehaut, you’ll not only find vines but also various cereals (mainly corn and wheat) and cows ! The cows are fed with the cereals and give manure that is used to organically grow the vines. Everything makes perfect sense ! 

An artist wine by the well-known and well gifted Jean-Marc Biet ! The nose is subtle, displays delicate flowers aromas and opens to small red berries flavours. In the mouth, a salty taste gives soul to the wine. This is a superb Loire Valley wine, fresh and elegant, of great finesse, charming and easy to drink in all circumstances. A single bottle might not be enough. 

 A beautiful ruby dress..

Rabbit terrine with cranberries
Veal paupiettes
Neufchâtel cheese
Roasted figs

 Located between Tours and Bourges, Jean-Marc Biet’s estate is located on the south and south-east slopes of the Cher River. A well exposed and balances terroir thanks to its soil composed of clay that offers freshness to the grapes, and limestone that brings subtlety and minerality. 

Created in 1755 in Cahors, Maison Rigal had developed a unique know-how with the Malbec grape. Vinified in red or rosé, Rigal knows how to express the best of this grape from the South- West of France. This wine “Comte de Tauzac” takes part of the long tradition of Cahors’ wines but with a modern profile of tasting. 

 A garnet robe with thick tears..

Roquefort cheese pie
Roasted duck breast filet
Morbier cheese
Coffee éclair

 When you taste it, focus on the finish’s flavours : there is a saline persistence with smoky aromas. These aromas are the expression of the soil composed of pebbles and gravels. This composition of soil allows the vines to grow deeper roots and it provides minerality and powerful flavours to the wine. 

“The team of My VitiBox became bigger since when we welcomed Giorgia, a young Italian lady. I took the opportunity to turn to Sicily this month to let you discover an Italian grape variety, the Nero d’Avola. This varietal has particularly adapted to the Sicilian volcanic soil. This nice “little” wine is without pretentions but good quality and it goes well with simple but authentic dishes. There is no fuss in Sicily!"

 Light garnet colour, nicely intense

Caprese salad 
Truffle risotto

Pecorino cheese

Tiramisu

Nero d’Avola is a renowned Italian grape variety typical from Sicily. It is usually compared to the syrah and it produces strong wines, with a good balance between acidity and alcohol, and it has nice aromas of red fruits. 

« I chose this wine as I think it is original and well produced. The maceration of the grapes after the harvest was made with carbonic gas, as for the Beaujolais vintages. This enables to produce wines that are cooler and rounder. You will enjoy drinking this wine with your friends! Drink it within the two next years to enjoy the fruit aromas.»

 The robe has a peony color with violet-blue reflections and micro bubbles in suspension.

Antipasti
Pizza with pork and onions

Italian cheese

Blueberry tart

 The Domaine Lis Neris is part of the prestigious wine growing region of Friuli, located in the North East of Italy. More than sixty hectares of vineyards are planted on a gravel and limestone soil that makes the wine strong and round in mouth. The gravels make a natural drainage of the water that brings thinness to the wine. 

2007 is clearly not the best vintage in Bordeaux. However, several winemakers, by working hard, still managed to produce nice wines. This is the case of this wine from Côtes de Castillon. A young wine is often characterized by its very fruity aromas, and a more evolved one like this one shows aromas of fresh grass and humus. Ideal with Camembert cheese and sliced truffles! 

 Robe is purple with light mahogany highlights..

Omelette with mushrooms
Veal chops with roasted vegetables
Brie cheese
Roasted figs

 The 8-acre estate Chateau Moulin de Clotte is located in the Côtes de Castillon vineyard, just next to Saint- Emilion. The soil is clay and limestone which is a very nurturing environment for the roots of the vine.This part of the Bordeaux region is maybe the best place on Earth to grow Merlot, the main grape variety there. 

Bordeaux is mostly famous thanks to the wines elaborated in Médoc on the left bank of the Gironde River. The dominant variety there is cabernet sauvignon. On the right bank, merlot is the main variety so the wines are known to be fruitier and less tannic. This one has spent 6 months aging in oak barrels: do you feel the aromas of wood and vanilla? 

 Purple colour with colored tears..

Paté
Flank steak with shallot
Un Rocamadour cheese
Vanilla Éclairs

 Along the Gironde River, the Chateau Lacaussade Saint-Martin is located on a poor ground made of a limestone vein, specific to the terroir which name is Blayais. As you might already know, the vines are fond of poor grounds. Indeed, the vine has to suffer from water stress in order to give concentrated fruits. 

Mercurey is not any appellation in Burgundy. Indeed, it is the biggest appellation in the Côte Chalonnaise sub-region and it is known for the intensity of red berries aromas the terroir gives to pinot noir there. This batch is particularly remarkable as it blends the aromas typical of Mercurey with refined woody notes that bring more complexity and smoky aromas. A great wine ! 

 A beautiful ruby dress..

Rillettes
Beef stew
Epoisses cheese
Blackcurrant ice cream

 The vineyards in Mercurey benefit from a special terroir as it lies on a hilly relief that alternates gentle and steep slopes. This kind of relief has a huge advantage: it allows winemakers to harvest grapes that were grown under different exposures to the sun and with different levels of water stress so as to elaborate wine with a lot of complexity. 

This roussanne is concentrated pleasure ! The light greenish gold robe let guess that the wine is explosive. And indeed, it is ! Its nose displays nice aromas of tree fruits (mainly apricot), and on the palate, we feel again these flavours of apricots along with almonds. It’s fruity and refreshing : a perfect wine for summer lunches ! You can obviously pair if with white fish, but it will also be amazing served with a fresh tomatoe tart for example. 

 A limpid greenish gold dress..

Ham and Olive cake
Trout with almonds
Chabichou cheese
Vanilla eclair

 The 60 hectares of La Bastide Saint Dominique are planted on a soil of red clay and round pebbles. These pebbles, typical of the southern Rhône Valley, give roussanne a lot of warmth, which is good as this lazy variety can produce too acid wines if it did not get enough heat. In this case, the grapes just got what they need to give a flattering wine with a right level of freshness. 

Turn the glass and have a look ; you can now watch thick tears slowly rolling down on the sides. What does it mean ? Probably that this wine has a thick texture. And indeed, on the palate, you’ll feel it along with strong flavours of blackberry and liquorice, typical of 2015 vintage in southern Rhône Valley. It’s doubtlessly a deep and powerful wine that should be paired with a slice of beef ! 

 A beautiful Garnet dress with viscous tears..

Charcuterie board
Flank steak
Langres cheese
Chocolate muffin

 Clos Bellane’s vines face the East. Sun rises on the East and set on the West. It means that for Clos Bellane’s vines, mornings are longer than afternoons. Therefore, grapes gets concentrated in sugar (that turns into alcohol) thanks to photosynthes is during the morning and ripens in the warm air of afternoon. This is the reason why this wine is quite concentrated in alcohol but at the same time still fresh and well balanced. 

A beautiful wine that pays tribute to Syrah, a grape variety I particularly like. It reminds me of my years spent at La Tour d’Argent where I had fun to pair this grape variety with different duck recipes. This wine, with the aromas of jammed fruit and the typical peppery nuances of the syrah, will sublimate a roasted duckling. A match that you’ll not forget ! 

 A beautiful cherry dress with thick tears..

Patanegra ham
Roasted duckling
Beaufort
Cherry pie

 Crozes-Hermitage is a wind-swept place. The vine, dry and ventilated by the wind, is thus better protected from certain diseases. Moreover, when it comes from the north, the Rhone wind brings a nice freshness allowing the vine to reach peaks of sugar richness while keeping good acidity balance. 

I have the pleasure to share with you Le Prince, Old Vines. Finding a Saumur Champigny of this quality with attractive prices became quite a hard task because of several small harvests. The vineyard of Rocheville is increasingly known for its quality wines and its magnificent estate (we invite you to go there, I was received as if I was a Prince ...). 

 A beautiful ruby dress with thick tears..

Vegetable cake
Pork filet mignon
Brie de Meaux
Crispy millefeuille with cherries

 At the bottom of the medieval church of Parnay, along the border of the Loire River, Domaine de Rocheville’s vine stocks are rooted in a clay-limestone soil composed of tufa. This emblematic rock of the Loire Valley has the particularity of absorbing the excessive rain of the winter, to give it back it parsimoniously during the warmer seasons. 

A unique wine by many ways. To begin, it’s one of the first (if not the first) wine from 2018 vintage you’ll taste (at least from Europe). Second, the blend is pretty rare at it’s not often that muscat and sauvignon are blended. However, this innovative idea is a match: sauvignon’s acidity balances well muscat’s sugar. Moreover, all bottles are different: a new printing process was used to make there would not be twice the same label. 

 A straw yellow robe with thick tears..

Foie gras and fig chutney
Shrimp risotto
Bleu d'Auvergne
Pineapple salad

 Located just at the south of Montpellier, l’Inedit’s vines have been grown by the Jeanjean family for decades on a red clay soil. Clay is a cold matter that brings a lot of water to the roots in an area that regularly suffers from draught. It is an ideal mix to elaborate great white wines.  

While observing the elegant appearance and the green tones of this wine, I think of the name of this fine wine produced in the Terre d’Argence. It refers to silvery shimmer of alders’ and olives’ leaves moved by the Mistral wind. This wine tasting reveals a generous, mineral and elegant wine. One of Robert Parker’s favourite.

 A lovely white gold with sun reflections and transparent and shiny appearance..

toasts of green tapenade (en guise d'apéritif)
Cod brandade
Goat cheese
exotic fruit salad (mango, ananas, papaya)

 This white wine is classified as a “Vin de Pays du Gard”. The vineyards are located between the southern regions of Rhône and Camargue. The soil is mostly composed of pebbles of sandstones that allow the ground to absorb the sunrays during the day and free them during the night to preserve the freshness and the purity of grapes. The Mistral wind blows on the vines for one third of the year and it assure a natural purification of the vineyards, reducing the need for sanitary treatments.  

« Pessac-Léognan is one of my favourites denomina- tion. This little château is every bit as good as big wi- neries for the quality of its wine. Its vintage 2009 stands out for its nice balance, boldness and lightness. And it will improve even more with ageing. Will you reco- gnize the delicate aromas of redcurrant that I have iden- tified? »

 Light purple colour with violet reflections.

Rabbit terrine
Veal flank with carrots

Pont-l’évêque cheese

Chocolate cake

 The Mancèdre winery extends for 11 hectares on the east side of Pessac-Léognan. The vineyard flourishes on a soil made of gravels coming from the Pyrenees. Gravels give strength and lightness to wine. Grapevines also benefit from an excellent hydric regulation and natural poverty of soil, elements necessary to obtain ripened and concentred grapes. 

«Sunny days are coming, and I really wanted you to taste a nice rosé, fresh, fruity and light. One that would be perfect for the first pre-dinner drinks with your friends! I finally found this rosé from the Valensac domain, and I really enjoyed its nose full of strawberry and white flowers aromas. Without too much alcohol, this cuvee is perfect both for pre-dinner drinks and for summer dinners. »

 Light salmon pink robe with pale pink reflections.

Mexican salad
Sausages

Goat cheese

Strawberry ice cream

 This property is located in the center of the Languedoc- Roussillon region, very close to the editerranean sea. It benefits from the maritime influence, and that enables soils to be fresh despite the high temperatures during summer. 

Full-bodied and heady, this wine is rather manly. That’s how the wines from Vacqueyras are! I really enjoyed the fact that its texture is so smooth and that it lasts for so long in the mouth after you swallowed it. You will remember these flavours for a pretty long time! 

 Deep ruby red colour, colourful tears..

Brioche sausage roll
Cassoulet
Banon cheese
Chocolate éclairs

 The vines are planted on quite a poor soil, made of clay and limestone mixed with pebbles. When it comes to vines, a poor soil is not necessarily a problem because it stresses the vines that therefore grow its roots deeper into the ground to find nutrients. And a vine that has to work more produces better grapes! 

This wine is perfect for a charcuterie board shared with friends on a summer night. This nice wine from Gaillac, made according to the principles of sustainable agriculture, displays complex aromas of cinnamon, gingerbread and red berries. On the palate, its creamy texture and its soft tannins show that it is a refined yet powerful wine.  

 Garnet colour in the thick tears. .

Saucisson
Bayonne ham
Saint-Albray cheese
Poached prunes with rum

 The Domaine de la Chanade is located on the plateau Cordais, north of the Gaillac appellation. The vines are planted on southern exposed hillsides. Thus, the grapes spend more time in the sunlight which ensures a high level of concentration in sugars. This is why the wines of Domaine de la Chanade are so rich!