France


				The Producers Use the menu below to find out which producers from which countries were on the tour.

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	France

	Producer		Description		Tour Star

	CHAMPAGNE DEUTZ

	CHATEAU DE BEAULON		Chateau de Beaulon was built in 1480. An exceptional site, it is listed as a historical monument. The chalky soil at St Dizant gives subtlety and strength to the wine, whilst the chalky/clay at Lorignac gives suppleness and roundness. They have their own barrel maker who selects only the best Limousin oak, which is large grained, and the barrels are made from the core of the boughs (le merrain), which guarantees maximum richness for the Cognac.

	CHATEAU DE LAUBADE		Chateau de Laubade is the largest estate of the Gascony region and is known throughout the world for the quality of its production. They own 2,600 oak barrels of 400 litre capacity, carefully chosen from local forests. Laubade are the leading producers of vintage Armagnacs, with extraordinary stocks spanning the history of the estate, and also offer a fine range of blended brandies: round, subtle and satisfying.

	CHATEAU VILLERAMBERT-JULIEN		The vineyard of Château Villerambert-Julien stretches over seventy-six hectares, gathered around the sixteenth-century château. The Julien family bought the estate in 1858, and it is currently run by the fifth-generation Michel. There are no fewer than eleven different geological soil compositions and each one of these, allied to the meteorological conditions of the year, brings a specific and individual contribution to each year's wine. In particular, the property is unique for its seams of pink marble, which surface in the northern part of the vineyard and lend a mineral concentration to the Grenache.

	GEORGES DUBOEUF		Often described as the King of Beaujolais, Georges Duboeuf is also its most tireless ambassador. Having pioneered modern winemaking in the region and stoked the fires of the Beaujolais boom with unrivalled vigour, he refuses to rest on his laurels. Duboeuf still tastes hundreds of wines each day, and marshals his enormous range almost single handed. While flower-label Beaujolais remains his empire's most recognisable creation, one must remember he is a merchant as well as a winemaker: the company distributes numerous high-quality domaine wines from Beaujolais and beyond alongside certain super-cuvées made by the master himself.

	DELAS FRERES		Many Rhône producers have enjoyed a renaissance in the last decade, and none more so than Delas. The company has history (back to 1836) and land (fourteen prime hectares, including La Landonne and Les Bessards). Since 1997, in the form of Jacques Grange, it has also had a winemaker capable of realising all that potential. Under his influence a more modern 'boutique' approach has been taken, and the wines now combine clarity of flavour with hedonistic appeal - surely the ultimate goal for a Rhône producer.

	DOMAINE D'AUPILHAC		The Domaine d'Aupilhac is in Montpeyroux, a superior sub-zone (or Cru) of the Coteaux du Languedoc appellation, some thirty-six kilometres north-west of Montpellier. The family have been growing grapes here for over five generations, and since establishing their winery in 1989 have swiftly risen to the highest echelon of Languedoc producers. Work is focused in the vineyard, with ploughing, green harvesting and hand picking ensuring that the fruit is of exceptional quality. In the winery, natural yeasts and bottling unfiltered ensure that this effort is fully expressed in the finished wine.

	DOMAINE DE BEAURENARD		The Coulon family at Domaine de Beaurenard combine ambition and modesty to winning effect, seeking to produce the best possible expressions of their historic vineyards. They have run this estate for seven generations (its history can be traced back even further, to 1695) and it currently consists of thirty-two hectares in Châteauneuf and twenty-five in Rasteau. All thirteen permitted varieties are found here, and the vines average forty-five years old.

	DOMAINE DE LA CROIX		The 180-hectare Domaine de la Croix was created in 1882, and 100 hectares are currently planted to vines. The Domaine was accorded Cru Classé status in the 1955 classification, and owners the Bolloré Group have been reviving its fortunes since their acquiring it in 2001. New higher-density planting, pruning for low yields and advice from Michel Rolland have all contributed to this recent upsurge in quality.

	DOMAINE COSTE		Bernard Coste's family have occupied this 65-hectare estate near Pézenas since the late seventeenth century, and have specialized in winemaking for more than a hundred years. Bernard himself has managed the domaine for the last twenty-five years, and has made significant investments in both the vineyards and the winery in the pursuit of high quality.

	DOMAINE HAMELIN		The Hamelins have been growing vines in Chablis for six generations, and are based at Lignorelles, in the north-west of the region. With around thirty-six hectares divided between several appellations, the aim is always to let the land speak loudest; no oak stands in the way of the expression of terroir.

	DOMAINE LUCIEN CROCHET		The Crochets have thirty-one hectares of vineyards planted in various parts of four communes in the Sancerre appellation, including the largest single holding of vineyard property in Bué. The soil composition in this area yields wines that are highly aromatic with excellent balance, as well as less rustic than those from elsewhere in the appellation. Hand harvesting - a rarity in Sancerre - and the use of indigenous yeasts give particularly nuanced, elegant wines.

	DOMAINE RENE MURE		The Muré family have been making wine in the southerly Rouffach region since the end of the Thirty Years War in 1648; René is the eleventh generation in charge, and farms both the original holdings and the Clos St Landelin, a 13-hectare plot within the Grand Cru Vorbourg bought by his grandfather in 1935.