Tasting in the old cellars at Château Masburel, Bergerac, France.
Montravel is a small but important AOC that lies in the west of southwestern France’s Bergerac region. Bordering Bordeaux, and sharing some geological similarities, it should come as no surprise to discover that the majority of vineyards are planted to Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, and Semillon.
Nestled snugly betwixt the Dordogne river to the south and the Landais forest for the north and east, Montravel produces some serious wines that offer some astonishing values, in both white and red. It’s a great pity that we don’t see more of them in this part of the world.
We sat down with Château Masburel‘s Arnaud Isnard to chat about what makes this small sub-region of Bergerac so special, and ended up hearing some fascinating tales of nazi occupation and covert resistance…
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Edinburgh-born/Toronto-based Sommelier, consultant, writer, judge, and educator Jamie Drummond is the Director of Programs/Editor of Good Food Revolution… And he’s been sitting on this footage for some time.
you spoke of this wine.. can I buy at the lcbo or an importer in Ontario? I have looked and am frustrated.
thanks,
Yes, unfortunately the LCBO has not recently seen the great value in bringing in wines from this (for the most part) unheralded subregion.
The SAQ on the other hand bring in inexpensive examples on a reasonably regular basis… such as this white one here:
http://www.saq.com/page/en/saqcom/white-wine/chateau-calabre-2013/10258638
Most frustrating, I fully understand.
I tend to pick up my Montravel in NYC when I visit.