Philippe Babin
Most people have never heard of the
Ariège – and that includes most French people – which means that very few
people have ever tasted an Ariège wine despite the fact that the region now
occupies the top spot for organic winegrowers in France, making up 25% of the
total. However, the wines of the Ariège still tend to be ignored because the
number of vineyards is minimal and the production is very low so it is actually
very hard to get your hands on a bottle of wine from the Ariège. At the end of
the 19th century, there were 20,000 hectares of vines in the region
but thanks initially to industrialisation and depopulation followed by Phyloxia
and World War 1, the vines were gradually abandoned until by 1979, there were
just 2000 hectares of vines under cultivation and today there are fewer than
100 winemakers in the region.
We were recently lucky enough to
meet the charming Philippe Babin, one of the best-known organic wine producers
in France, who produces the delicious Côteaux d’Engraviès. His vineyard is
situated in little village of Vira to the east of Foix in a beautiful pocket of
rolling hills tucked below the higher peaks of the Pyrenees. He started growing
vines in 1998 on land which had never been treated with chemicals and thus was
able to secure a subsidy to grow and produce organic wine. He took us on a
fascinating tour of his vineyards and is an eloquent and entertaining host, clearly
with huge passion for his wine and immense knowledge which he is happy to share.
He insists that it is perfectly feasible to produce delicious wine organically
and argues that it is only by growing without chemicals, that it is possible to
get the true flavour of the grapes and the ‘terroir’; that all important hidden
ingredient in every wine – the flavour provided by the land and position on
which the grapes are grown. He also points out that the Ariège is a magical
area for wine because it sits on the climatic cusp between the Mediterranean and
Atlantic, with influences from both as well as from the mountains and thus he is able
to use both traditionally Mediterranean grape varieties and traditionally
colder climate varieties from the Atlantic region to create a truly special and
unusual wine.
Philippe makes just three wines and
I can confirm (after some serious tasting both in situ and since) that they are
all delicious. If you are lucky, you might be able to buy his wine from his
website but it is very much first come, first served because demand for Côteaux
d’Engravies now outstrips supply. Even better, pay him a visit. Here’s the
link: http://www.coteauxdengravies.com/index.php?store=18&erase_records=1
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