An introduction to the Wines of Château des Sarrins

Les Sarrins clothed in lavender blue and sunflower gold…
Or could it be the sky, the sun, and the sea…?

There is nothing better than discovering new wines. Last week I had the honour of being invited to join some of Vancouver’s most distinguished wine reviewers to taste and learn about the wines of Château des Sarrins.

“From the first discovery of the amazing place that would become the vineyard to the crafting of excellent wines the story is of an amazing journey to a place that brings everything together.”

For an entire afternoon Export Manager Pierre-Jules Peyrat, also known affectionately as PJ, introduced us to the intricacies of the domaine that is Château des Sarrins. What a journey. PJ is so enthusiastic about the wines that it was hard for us not to be excited before the tasting even began.

But let’s start at the beginning…on arrival a glass of Bruno Paillard Premiére Cuvée Extra-Brut NV. Absolutely exquisite, what a way to start the day, I highly recommend starting every day with a glass of Champagne.

PJ shares his experiences of traveling to the best cities to introduce wine lovers to the wines of Château des Sarrins. Although some of the wines were already here in Vancouver for those that had not yet arrived they were brought to us via PJ’s suitcase. We were all very glad that they were able to make the trip.

This will give you an idea of the ambience we were experiencing while we were learning about the wines and the winery from which they came. How the owner of a Champagne house traveled with his wife to Provence in 1994, in search of a warmer climate, and finding the place that would become their next adventure.

Now it’s time to start tasting the wines…

Château des Sarrins
AOC CÔTES DE PROVENCE

GRAND CUVÉE ROSÉ

A large part of Cinsault, blended with Grenache, topped with a touch of Mourvèdre and Rolle make up this complex fruity and spicy cuvée for which only the first pressings are retained. After being cold settled, the must slowly ferments in thermoregulated stainless steel vats.

Brilliant salmon pink hue revealing a nose dominated by fruity, floral, and spicy notes with a lingering finish. A well-balanced wine with a lively nose and attractive, fresh and gastronomic palate.

This rosé is delicate and fresh with subtle floral notes. In the mouth it refreshes with wonderful acidity and just picked orchard fruits with a mix of berries. This was my favourite of the two rosés.

SPEC +486801

Available at:

• Nesters Liquor Store, Whistler $43.99 

Château des Sarrins
VIN DE PAYS DU VAR

BLANC DE ROLLE

Made from Rolle (Vermentino), from two parcels, the must is cold settled in stainless steel vats before being transferred into fine grained, medium toast Allier barrels for alcoholic fermentation. The latter takes place slowly over a month or two depending on the barrels.

The maturation then continues on the lees over ten months.

Yellow gold with nose dominated by white flowers, citrus and ripe white and yellow fleshed fruits. The oak is present but integrated. Fresh, rich and soft on the attack, slightly spicy with hints of dried fruits, hazelnut and licquorice.

This wine is a delight. A fruit salad in the glass with light notes of dusting powder, floral. Some oakiness in the glass. The aromas are welcoming. Crisp and full with excellent acidity that pairs perfectly with both spicy dishes or a cheese plate. 

SPEC +475135

Available at:

• Nesters Liquor Store, Whistler $51.99 

Château des Sarrins
AOC CÔTES DE PROVENCE

BLANC SECRET

100% Rolle, premium variety with irregular maturity and also known as “Vermentino”, it is mainly used in Bellet and Corsica. The malolactic fermentation is avoided to ensure the wine retains its freshness and optimal ageing potential.

A pale yellow colour with clear limpid gold reflections. The nose is delicate and expressive combining notes of white fruits, minerality with almond and hazelnuts. Harmonious and balanced palate with lingering aromatics. A fine and expressive fine wine combining fruitiness, roundness and freshness.

Opening with quiet scents of oak. Pears and stonefruit with a hint of brioche make this a pleasing and fragrant wine. In the mouth refined and satisfying. Moderate acidity with a very nice finish.

Not yet available in BC.

Château des Sarrins
AOC CÔTES DE PROVENCE

ROSÉ SECRET

Rosé made of the first pressings from three selected old vines parcels in equal parts : Mourvèdre, Cinsault and Grenache. Fermentation takes place in 300L medium toast French oak barrels. A 10-month maturation on its lees with regular batonnage.

A very pale melon hue reveals a refined nose where the vine peaches are nuanced by spicy, briochy notes. The palate is supple and balanced with soft and well-integrated tannins.

Beautiful length with some richness but without bitterness. A fine wine with a palate harmoniously combining depth and freshness.

A rosé for lovers looking for a more substantial flavour palate. Good body and a slightly robust flavour profile. A rosé that stands up to a variety of pairings. Lingering with a slight hint of spice.

Not yet available in BC.

Château des Sarrins
AOP CÔTES DE PROVENCE

ROUGE GRANDE CUVÉE

Made from old vines of Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre and a small proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon and Carignan. This wine ferments in thermoregulated stainless steel tanks before starting a long maturation in oak which lasts for 20 to 30 months. This will enable the aromatic complexity to develop.

A dark ruby hue opens into an intense bouquet of pine tree, rosemary and thyme followed by black fruits and smoky notes of forest floor and garrigues.Beautiful intensity and elegance without heaviness.

This is a bold wine with expressive scents of ripe fruits, leather, and tobacco. This wine could very well be everything lovers of red wine would find satisfying in their mouth. 2016 is memorable as a year of outstanding delivery. Full bodied, complex with a pleasant hint of spice on the tongue. Light to light/medium tannins that soften as it rests. This wine is, not surprisingly, best decanted to bring out all of its nuances. 

SPEC +486908

Available at:

• Nesters Liquor, Whistler $59.99 (available to order)

Now let’s go back and start at the beginning…

Bruno Paillard Première Cuvée Extra-Brut (NV)

Harmony and Balance

The Première Cuvée is a very personal interpretation of the whole region, through the selection of 35 of the 320 crus of Champagne. It is the flagship of the Bruno Paillard style. A top quality wine, the Première Cuvée has to survive any harvest whether rich or poor.

THE BLEND

Multi Vintage or MV: hand selected from the finest 35 crus of Champagne and blended with a uniquely high proportion of reserve wine (35%) made from solera- style system or ‘perpetual reserve’ dating back to 1985! Grapes varieties: pinot noir (45%), chardonnay (33%), pinot meunier (22%) of which 20% underwent the first fermentation in aged oak barrels.

WINEMAKING AND AGEING

Exclusively made from the first pressings, Bruno Paillard Première Cuvée is kept three years on lees before being aged another six months post disgorgement. The very low, Extra-Brut dosage is kept below 6 g/l to preserve the purity of the wine. This deliberately long ageing is thus key to enable the wine to fully express its richness without any austerity.

TASTING NOTES

Appearance: The golden straw colour reveals a high presence of chardonnay and the exclusive use of the first pressings. The fine bubbles are due to a strict selection of the best grapes, perfectly controlled temperature in the cellar and very long ageing.

Nose: The primary aromas reveal the citrus fruits of chardonnay: lime and grapefruit. Then the red fruits aromas of pinot noir appear: redcurrant, raspberry, morello cherries. When left to open up in the glass, the wine shows hints of dried fruits, sometimes exotic, from pinot meunier.

Palate: Lively and vivacious, thanks to a low dosage, the aromas on the nose are echoed in the mouth. Primary flavours of citrus, almonds, and toasted bread, very soon joined by red currant jelly but also dark fruits like cherry, fig and blackberry.

Whilst the wine opens up in the glass, and gets warmer, it expresses light plum and pear flavours. The palate is full, quite long with a very clean finish. The Première Cuvée Champagne is an excellent aperitif. It matches divinely with cheese (Brie de Meaux, Camembert, aged salers), poultry and shellfish.

Deliciously fragrant with floral notes and a bit of brioche, followed by some subtle citrus which follows the nose to the palate along with green apples. Beneath it all some very pleasant stone fruit. Delicately sparkling which is pure perfection. Exquisitely dry with excellent acidity and also good structure and complexity that lingers in the mouth.

SPEC +942151

Available at :

• Value-On Liquor Store, Vancouver $99.99
• Nesters Liquor Store, Whistler $114.99
• Liberty Wines (West 10^th), Vancouver $116.99
• Angry Otter (West 4^th), Vancouver $102.00  (very low inventory)
• Vintage Spirits, Victoria $136.00
• LCBO (Ontario) $73.95

Note: For those that cost is not a factor, select BC Liquor Stores carry five Bruno Paillard champagnes in 1.5 and 3 litre formats.

The opportunity to taste these exceptional wines with food pairings elevated the occasion into the stratosphere. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the team at TWB, The Wine Bar at Provence Marinaside Restaurant. Everything was top rate and over the top delicious. We were so spoiled and indulged. I highly recommend you visit TWB to enjoy your own pairing with a wine of your choice.

To start…

I wouldn’t want to leave you with the impression that we weren’t all working during this elegant repast so here is a hint of how I paired these outstanding wines with the most delicious of dishes.

The entire afternoon could be described only as superb. This was a wonderful experience to enjoy these delightful wines of Château des Sarrins and Champagne Bruno Paillard.

AN ESTATE SHAPED BY THE GEOGRAPHY
A NAME INHERITED FROM A LEGEND

Close to Lorgues, halfway between Aix-en-Provence and Nice, Les Sarrins is a 100 hectares estate comprised of 27 hectares of vineyards spread across the rolling hills of Haut Var, forty kilometers from the sea, at an altitude of 150 to 220m above sea level. Situated in clearings in the heart of a wooded hillside, the plots lie on gravelly limestone from the tertiary era with some clay deposits. The estate is blessed by a Mediterranean climate and wind preventing diseases while the higher elevation creates a microclimate with the necessary thermal amplitude for the wines to retain freshness.

WINEMAKING :
THE FOUNDING PRINCIPLES

Gravity-fed, Les Sarrins cellars seamlessly blends into its surrounding landscape.The wines are exclusively made from estate grown grapes and each varietal and parcels are vinified separately.

Only the best part of the appellations production is selected. Similarly, only the first pressings, the purest, are retained to create the final blend.

To guarantee the perfect balance between phenolic maturity and acidity, the harvest stretches over a period of five to six weeks, depending on the vintage.

Besides this, a painstaking vinification process ensure that sulphite use is reduced to the absolute minimum. The oak ageing is particularly long for the reds but also for certain whites and our rosé. *

Château des Sarrins

The name Domaine des Sarrins derives its origin from the word “Sarrasins”. In the 11th Century, a Saracen chief was killed during one of the many local raids and was buried nearby-according to local legend “clad in his golden armor”. After their withdrawal, the name has, over time, been shortened to “Les Sarrins”. Located in the Var, near Lorgues, the Domaine des Sarrins vineyard covers 25 hectares spanning the hills of the village of Saint Antonin du Var. The vineyards are at an altitude of 250 to 300m and the soil from the tertiary period is mainly composed of gravelly limestone with some clay.

The climate is Mediterranean, but altitude can favour frosts not only in winter but until late April. This altitude also creates a good day/night thermal amplitude: it is common in August, to see 33°C in the daytime and 15°C at night. *

Cultivation methods:
Since its acquisition in 1995, the vineyards have been cultivated organically: no weed killer is used but ploughing, and natural methods are employed against pests. The vineyard is certified “Organic”. *

The place:

Half way between the foothills of The Alps and The Mediterranean, Domaine des Sarrins nestles in the hills of Haut Var, near Lorgues, in a small village called Saint Antonin du Var. It is set in over a hundred hectares of pine and oak woods and olive groves, which surround small islands of vines, planted where the undulating hills allow.

In total, 27 hectares of vines have been cultivated, producing wines under the AOP Côte de Provence or Vin de Pays du Var. The average altitude is about 240 metres above sea level. *

info@nullchateaudessarrins.com
www.chateaudessarrins.com

Champagne Bruno Paillard

Maison Bruno Paillard sprang from its founder’s desire to create a champagne different from any other; extremely pure.

A great champagne for Bruno Paillard is – above all – an “assemblage”, blending: of diverse crus, grape varieties and vintages. It is about the constant desire to capture the elegance which Champagne can bring when it is served with love and care.

This very personal style is a marriage of elegance and complexity which is manifested as a light and smooth effervescence, a remarkable purity, a true freshness and a silky texture. The effervescence brings the aromas of the wine to the taster’s nose and a smooth texture to the palate.

The colour of the wines has to be completely natural. It is bright: green gold for Blanc de Blancs, golden for Première Cuvée Extra-Brut and copper for Rosé. The colour of the vintages becomes deeper, and almost amber after several decades.

The aromas have to be extremely pure: nuances of citrus fruits and almonds from Chardonnay; red fruits from Pinot Noir; and exotic fruits from Pinot Meunier. By using only the first pressing of the grapes, we ensure that the purest aromas are extracted.

The freshness has to be perceptible but not overwhelming. It is enhanced by the acidity of the wine, yet the wine is not acidic in taste. Only a minimum of extra sugar is added (“dosage”) to enhance this remarkable freshness.

Complexity must not be confused with heaviness; rather, it is more about elegance. The balance and the depth of the wines are what gives them their purity. Complexity only reveals itself to those who take time to discover, emerging as the wines age. *

Wine notes courtesy of the winery. (*) Courtesy of the winery. My wine notes in (italics) All images: MyVanCity. I attended as a guest of Icon Vins Fins. My experience was complimentary. A gratuity of 20% of the estimated value of the lunch.was left for the Provence/TWB team who did such a wonderful job of upping our experience of Châteu des Sarrines wine tasting, paired with delightfully delicious bites from TWB, The WineBar. You can read about more of my TWB experiences here.