A Côtes de Duras Sauvignon was one of the first wines we purchased when we set up Allez Vins! – yipes that was 20 years ago.
It was for me something of a discovery that you could get clean crisp Sauvignon Blanc without having to pay Sancerre prices. OK they often lack the minerally complexity of good Sancerre, but they are good little wines. As the by-line on the Côtes de Duras logo says – “A small appellation, but a great terroir!”
Duras (47 Lot-et-Garonne, Auquitaine) in South West France lies to the south of Bergerac, east of Bordeaux and north of the Côtes du Marmandais, and all produce Bordeaux blend wines (Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot for the reds and rosés; Sauvignon, Muscadelle and Sémillon for the whites) – but it is probably here in Duras that the best Sauvignon Blancs are grown.
We imported the wines of Chateau la Petite Bertrande in the 1990s – then a modest little domaine with some really excellent wines. They now have a new and rather good website which has a lot of decent information.
“12 hectares of sauvignon, sémillon and muscadelle, constituting the traditional grape varieties of the region, give dry white wines of great quality.
Regarding the reds, they are elaborated from 13 hectares of merlot, cabernet-sauvignon, cabernet-franc and malbec. After a wine making process separate as we go along the harvest and according to their maturity, this blend gives to these wines a balance and a fullness of a great regularity as vintage years go by.”
Their dry white Sauvignon is excellent, but then too so is the Red Cuvée Classique, which is oak-aged and surprisingly good. They also make an oaked white Sauvignon Blanc, but I am not a great fan of this style of wine which seems a contradiction between the fruity crispness of the grape and the rich, butteriness of the oak.
Unfortunately no outlets in the UK at the moment - but visitors are welcome at the Chateau for tasting and buying - except weekends.One opportunity to taste their wines will be at the 2007 Côtes de Duras Wine Festival which is held on 12 August – see www.frenchduck.co.uk
They also have a gite on the vineyard which is available to rent.
For more on the Domaine see www.chateau-lapetitebertrande.com
For more on the wines of the Côtes de Duras see www.cotesdeduras.com
