Gerard Bertrand at cave a manger

8/21/2023

What happens when you cross a rugby player with a winemaker and biodynamic practices? You get Gerard Bertrand of course! Currently the most well known winemaker in Southern France. He was recently named 'Best Winegrower in The World 2023' by industry publication The Drinks Business. Undoubtedly due to him running a completely biodynamic farming operation and his putting terroir above all else.

What's Biodynamic winemaking? Glad you asked. I'll answer that in a subsequent article. But we're getting ahead of ourselves. Back to Gerard Bertrand.

No, we did not get to meet 'The Man'. One day... What we did, is imbibe his well made wine in the presence and under the guidance of Francois and Henri his representatives in Africa. This, in the beautiful space of The Wine Box at their Cellar Door outlet in Karen opposite the Hub mall. They organized this tasting to support Team Wine Kenya ahead of the World Blind Wine Tasting Championship in France.

Sidebar: I got there quite early because I'm a very punctual person, but mostly because I got the wrong time. During this whole competition preparation our team captain Victoria Mulu-Munywoki has been giving us earlier times to factor in lateness (aka African Time). I always come in at the ascribed time like a fool. Loool. This time it worked out for me however, because I stumbled in on a Louis Latour tasting that Dan Davies, the proprietor, kindly offered. Don't mind if I do...

Ok, ok.. Back to our tasting.

We started off with a palate cleanser of the Gris Blanc. A delicate rose made from the blend of Grenache Gris and Grenache noir. This refreshing fresh style wine was the perfect entry point to the rest of the evening.

We then moved on to the Orange Gold paired with a gourmet cheese platter. This is an orange style wine. Which means that it was fermented with the grape skins unlike regular white wines. They do this via whole bunch maceration so both skin and stalks are used. This adds complexity and texture to the wine. The wine is a blend of 6 grapes with Grenache Blanc and Chardonnay being the most and even though Muscat is only a small percentage (5%), it is the most expressive in the wine with notes of flowers and orange peel. This ancient method of winemaking is becoming a bit of a niche trend but still remains a rarity. So, if you can, grab a bottle of Orange Gold as it's limited edition.

Orange Gold orange wine

Next up was the Heritage Coteaux De Narbonne Blanc. A fresh wine made from Sauvignon Blanc. The acidic notes of grass, flowers, sage and citrus paired perfectly with the starter. The head chef, Chef Misha had prepared a smoked salmon carpaccio with citrus and lemon emulsion served with smoked cream cheese. The deliciously oleaginous dish with the brightness of the wine was a great choice.

At this point, we filled in both Francois and Henri on local Kenyan traditions. They both have spent considerable time in West Africa so we had to level the playing field with a quick rundown. They had a wine masterclass for us so we gave them an impromptu Kenyan customs masterclass. As you can see it was a very give and take evening.

Smoked salmon carpaccio with Heritage Coteaux De Narbonne Blanc

The main course was a hearty dish of beef short ribs with BBQ glaze and jalapeno, mango, coriander chutney.
For this we had the Heritage Kosmos Rouge. A classic blend of Grenache, Syrah and mouverdre. Full bodied with soft round tannins, you can quite easily tell the terroir influence on this wine. The bright red fruits with spice and garrigue was perfect for the meat which needless to say was delicious as evidenced below...

Beef short ribs with Heritage Kosmos Rouge

Member of the 'clean plate club'

This beautiful tasting was capped off with dessert of course! Fresh mixed berry compote with hints of mint and dollops of creme fraiche topped with crunchy meringue. Heritage Cremant de Limoux Brut Rose was the wine for this course. Traditional made sparkling at a fraction of the price of Champagne.
Apparently, as Francois brought up, sparkling wine was invented by Benedictine nuns in Limoux! How many people are going to lay claim to sparkling wine?! I never heard this one before so I'll have to do another deep dive into this sparkling story.... Meanwhile, ckeck out the 'Champagne Myths Debunked' article that I previously wrote.