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French red wine: beyond Bordeaux and Burgundy

26/05/2020 Production area

France is well-known as a winemaking country, and home to famous regions like Bordeaux and Burgundy, whose legendary red wines have set the standard for winemaking around the world, completely overshadowing wines from less popular, less glamourous French regions. Today we are looking at some other French red wines that are worth discovering and learning about.

french red wine

Pinot Noir from Burgundy? No, from Alsace!

Alsace is a picturesque French wine region that looks like it belongs in a fairytale. This is a region where white and liqueur wines reign supreme, but it is also an area where the Pinot Noir variety has a small but significant stronghold. These grapes grow on limestone, gravel or granite soils following the course of the Rhine river and producing vibrant and fruity Pinot Noir red wines. Their personality is perhaps more similar to German reds than Burgundy reds, but their quality is undeniable and they are really worth a try.

Poulsard. Because reds are great for the summer too

The Jura region is mostly known for its vin de paille and vin jaune, two wine gems made from white varieties. But this area also grows native grapes like Trosseau and Poulsard, producing fresh and fruity Jura red wines with excellent acidity and a low alcohol content. These are clearly French-style wines that are perfect for enjoying even in the summer.

Mondeuse, the surprising Savoy red

Savoy is a small, little-known and seldom-talked-about French wine region, nevertheless it is home to more than 20 different varieties, many of which are native and most of which are white.

There is one red variety that stands out: the Mondeuse, which produces wines with an intense colour, floral and red fruit notes, a good structure and present but integrated tannins. Wines made with this variety also have a good aging potential.

Malbec, a very Argentine French grape

France is where the Malbec variety originates, but it is in Argentina where it has really found a home. There, it has become a very popular variety and even part of Argentina’s wine identity. This South American country cultivates around 70% of all Malbec vineyards in the world.

This grape can still be found in southwest France, where it originated, particularly in the Cahors region. One of this variety’s unique traits is that it is able to showcase the characteristics of the terroir it grows in through its wines. So Malbec red wines tend to have two personalities; the Argentine wines have flavours of plums, with a velvety and smooth texture, and French Malbec red wines tend to have more structure, firmer tannins and flavours and aromas of blackberries and well as plums.

There is no doubt about the rich offerings of France when it comes to food and wine. And just when we think we know it all, we find even more amazing potential. These are French red wines that prove there is more out there than the wines made in the famous Domaines and Châteaux of Bordeaux and Burgundy. There are still so many waiting to be discovered. Are you up for it?

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