Marques et Coop Wine Association Tasting & Lunch

Marques et Coop Wine Association lunch and tasting at Quilon

A tasting of 24 wines – two from each of the 12 “caves-membres” of the Marques et Coop Group in Quilon’s Private Dining Room, followed by lunch.

Marques et Coop, an association of 12 different properties, all ambitious and as yet relatively undiscovered, was set up to promote awareness of the quality and diversity of their wines and represents 4,000 wine growers.

The standard here ws very high; all the wines here scored a Good - and some a Very Good.

Mostly textbook-typical, a few wines did something more unusual or unexpected; the oaked, lees-aged Muscadet, the fresh Chateauneuf-du-Pape and the NV Champagne with base wines no younger than ten years.

If one wine stood out particularly to Jancis Robinson, it was the Astrolabe Cahors Malbec 2014, as yet unbottled. Their sweet wine was rich, honeyed and utterly delicious.

AGAMY
Memoria Vieilles Vignes 2013 Louis Tête - Beaujolais full, plump and expressive. Good.
Les Combes 2013 Louis Tête - Beaujolais-Villages fresh, clean, elegant and well-made. Good.


CELLIER DES PRINCES
Les Hauts des Coteaux 2012 - Châteauneuf-du-Pape rouge red fruits, spice; fresh and supple. Good
Le Cellier des Princes 2014 - Châteauneuf-du-Pape rouge spicy dark fruit; fresh, elegant and supple. Good


CHAMPAGNE CHASSENAY D'ARCE
Confidences brut 100% PN BdN, base wines from 2005 and older; powerful, fresh, elegant, with depth and complexity. Still very youthful. Very Good.
Confidences rosé brut 2009 rosé with 4% Pinot Blanc in the blend; light with delicate red fruits, fresh and youthful. Good.

ESTANDON VIGNERONS
Estandon Légende 2012 – Côtes de Provence barrel-fermented, ageworthy Provence rosé; fuller, more complex, textured and evolved. Good.
Solstice d’Estandon 2015 – Côtes de Provence dusty-musky, fresh and elegant, soft red fruits and a touch of cool mint. Good.

LOIRE PROPRIETES
Jubilation Le Pallet 2012, Muscadet Sèvre & Maine atypical barrel-fermented, lees-aged Muscadet; fuller, richer, more textured and complex with citrussy freshness. A food wine to match with pork rather than shellfish. Good.
Le Fauteuil Rouge 2012 - Chinon raspberry leaf, tobacco leaf and red berries; elegant, concentrated, toasty and supple. Good.

ORTAS CAVE DE RASTEAU
Rasteau Ico(o)n 2010 complex spice and feral aromas, dark berry fruit with fresh cool mint; supple, warming and spicy. As muscular-yet-deft as Rudolph Nureyev. Very Good.
Rasteau Prestige 2011 peppery-funky-spicy with dark fruit and cool mint; soft and supple. Good.

SIEUR D’ARQUES
Toques et Clochers édition limitée 2012, Crémant de Limoux Brut fresh pear and bramley apple fruit; light, elegant persistent and linear. Good.
Toques et Clochers Terroir Haute-Vallée 2014 - Limoux ripe, tropical citrus and melon fruit with some butteryness; elegant. Good.

LES VIGNERONS DE TUTIAC
Lieu-Dit Verdot 2012, Bordeaux 100% Petit Verdot - dark fruit, cool mint and spice; concentrated, long and supple with a grippy finish. Very Good.
Lieu-Dit Ter Pointe 2014 - Côtes de Bourg 100% Malbec - dense and concentrated, ripe, spicy and full with dark fruits; big yet supple with a grippy finish. Very Good.

UDP SAINT-EMILION
Aurelius 2012 Saint-Emilion Grand Cru fresh, adept and very long; old-vine concentration, focused elegant and supple-yet-assertive with very fine tannins. Very Good.
Chateau Tour de Yon 2012 Saint-Emilion Grand Cru earthy, fresh and minty, old-vine concentration, supple, elegant, focused and adept. Very Good.

UNION DES VIGNERONS DE L’ILE DE BEAUTÉ
Prestige du Président 2013 – Corse rouge red and black cherry fruit, fresh, supple and minty with low tannins; elegant and adept with some firmness on the finish. Good.
Prestige du Président 2015 – Corse rosé fresh and light with delicate red fruits. Good.

VIGNERONS ARDÉCHOIS
Terra Helvorum 2014 - IGP Ardèche rouge 100% Syrah - floral and  mineral with red fruits; fresh and poised with low tannins; a northern-Italian-style food wine. Good.
Terre d’Églantier Viognier 2014 - IGP Ardèche blanc 100% Viognier, 40% aged in barrel - relatively neutral and citrussy-leesy; again, more of a northern-Italian-style food white. Good.

VINOVALIE
Astrolabe 2013 Malbec – Cahors rouge cassis, red berries and cool mint; spice, feral notes and dark fruit. Supple and fresh with very fine tannins; well-textured with some firmness on the finish. Very Good.
Astrolabe Vendanges Tardives 2012 - Gaillac honeysuckle, beeswax, butter-roasted peaches and sweet spices. Big-yet-fresh. Very Good.

Other related articles
Jancis Robinson's review
Borsa Vini Italiani 2016