Now then, here’s a bit of a mystery. At first glance, you’d think these two
bottles of wine come from France. They’re the classic French Bordeaux shape and
they have a French name. The front label shows a painting of a building which
has more than a passing resemblance to a Bordeaux chateau and the top foil on
the bottle indicates that the wine was made by VMV (Vignerons Du Mont Ventoux)
which is based in B้doin in the Southern Rhone Valley. It’s the leading winery
in the Ventoux area. The back label states that the grapes were “sourced from
the Rh๔ne Valley”. However, in minuscule print (and you might need a magnifying
glass to read it) the label also says that the wine was “produced and bottled in
Vietnam”.
You don’t hear the words “wine” and “Vietnam” in the same
sentence very often. But I rather think that’s going to change. Although during
the late nineteenth century, the French colonists planted vineyards in the
highland areas near Hanoi, it was not until the late twentieth century that
wine-making really started to develop in Vietnam with the assistance of foreign
expertise. In 1995, Vietnam began a joint venture with Australian winemaker,
which resulted in a massive planting scheme of international grape varieties. I
think we are going to see exciting developments in the Vietnamese wine industry
in the near future, because they have the climate, the vineyards and the
know-how.
But having said all that, this is not actually Vietnamese
wine. If anything, it’s French wine with a Vietnamese accent. My guess (and it’s
only a guess) is that what we have here is a Southern Rh๔ne wine shipped in bulk
to Vietnam, where it’s then blended with local fruit wine. Don’t let this put
you off, because a similar process is used for making “Mont Clair”, that good
old work-horse wine of all the bars and cheap restaurants in town. If you need a
couple of easy-drinkers for under Bt 300, these two Belleville wines could fit
the bill.
Belleville Chardonnay-Viognier 2010 (white), France.
(Foodland Bt. 295)
No one really knows where the Viognier (vee-oh-NYAY)
grape originally came from. It was once fairly rare, growing only in the
northern Rh๔ne regions of France. But the grape has become increasingly popular
and makes aromatic wines in an increasing number of countries.
This pale straw-coloured wine has a rather creamy floral
aroma of tropical fruit, with hints of dusty herbs. I thought I could pick up
pears too, presumably from the Viognier in the blend. It has a very soft
mouth-feel, hardly any acidity and a reasonable long and pleasant finish. The
off-dry quality may appeal to those who don’t normally drink wine. It’s a
pleasant little glugger, even though it has 13% alcohol content, but I have to
admit that the wine tasted a lot better than I expected. At this price it’s a
terrific bargain and could make an excellent party wine. Although it seems to me
very much like a wine to drink on its own, it would probably work well with many
Indian and Thai dishes as well as with light curries.
Belleville Grenache-Shiraz-Merlot 2009 (red), France.
(Foodland Bt. 295)
With an aroma of red cherries, this is an attractive
garnet-red and although the wine is completely dry, the mouth-feel is quite soft
and the tannins hardly noticeable. It’s an interesting blend too. You’ve
probably heard of Shiraz and Merlot but the Grenache may be less familiar, even
though it’s one of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties in the
world. Although the Grenache (gren-ASH) originated in northern Spain,
it’s most often associated with the wines of the Rh๔ne and southern France. It’s
often used as a blending component, adding body and fruitiness to a wine.
This is a pleasing easy-drinker and the Shiraz in the blend
gives a hint of spice and pepper which adds interest to this French-style wine.
At this knock-down price it would be terrific for a party or other social
occasion if, that is, you can still afford to have them.
