Tony’s Search for a Costières de Nîmes…
Tony our in-house wine expert has been on the search for the perfect bottle of Costieres de Nimes wine from the Rhone Valley. Here’s a short account of his adventure…
”I spent a few days in the region visiting a few hotels and vineyards, and what a great time I had. I left Gatwick for Marseille picking up a hire car, and headed strait for Remoulins (a small village close to Avignon and the world famous Roman aqueduct the Pont du Gard). Upon arrival I met up with a close friend of mine Philippe at his house on the banks of the Gard, who immediately opened a bottle of Champagne! – Not a bad start?
We then discussed our old times in the wine trade with my travelling partner Allan Cheesman (previously Wine Director for Sainsbury’s) before settling down to a light chacuterie lunch which was washed down with nice easy drinking Vin de Pays Cabernet Rose. I think between the three of us I worked out we had nearly 150 years experience in the wine trade and sold something like between 150 to 200 million cases through our different channels to the uk consumers.
Philippe then took us to our hotel before visiting a small property close by, Domaine de Poulvarel, which produces a variety of wines from both Vin de Pays to Costieres de Nimes, Elisabeth and her husband Pascal the owners gave us a warm welcome and great tasting, Unfortunately, their wines are not available in the UK, but I am sure they will soon be. We then returned to our lovely old boutique hotel for a very regional dinner of pate and a fish/prawn risotto followed by local cheese, accompanied buy a bottle of 2012 Domaine de Poulvarel rouge and a fabulous bottle 2007 from the same property both Costiere de Nimes.
It’s a great area to discover and visit with plenty to see and do not just for their wines but the town of Avignon; the capital of Christendom in the XIVth century, plus the Pont du Gard and the Roman town of Nimes.
So if you are thinking of a trip to the region do give our office SmoothRed a call?”
Regards Tony
