The Nice Man Cometh

Dear Diary

Met a Very Nice Man today - for the second time!

First time was December last year on Montpellier's Place de la Comedie, where the annual Fete des Vins was in full swing. Working my way round with my friend HB, we tried to decide which of the many winemakers' stalls to visit. The way it works is that you pay your money - I think it was 3 euros - and get given three little tickets and a glass (you get to keep the glass, too). You swop your tickets for a glass of wine at any of the many stalls, so there we were, two wine novices, figuring out who to plump for. "Ooh, nice looking label there," said my friend, stopping in front of the Domaine de Saumarez stand. "Yes, nice looking bloke too," I muttered, "let's give him a go." Or words to that effect. That's how wine-savvy we are, me and my friend. We held out our tickets and glasses, beaming brightly. The Nice Looking Man smiled back, and said, in English that was so damn perfect it was obvious he WAS English, "Yes, we try hard with our labels, we find they appeal to women, and in your average household, it's women who tend to buy the wine." Well, he had us, hook, line and sinker. We tried his wines, I mumbled some nonsense about getting a hint of shoe polish (I was "doing a Jilly", which HB has never allowed me to forget), chatted a little, bought some bottles (great labels, and the contents weren't bad either) and then pushed off. Well, there were a few other good looking guys there too, you see, and we still had two tickets left apiece.

Fast forward to May 2006 and HB and I decide to spend a rare, work-free, child-free day by going off to taste some wine. We just can't help ourselves: some mysterious force pulls us to Murviel les Montpellier, where we are charmingly received by The Nice Man (aka Robin Williamson), who puts up with all our wittering about wine, warns me (very nicely) not to park my bum on a wine barrel that's about to explode, so chock-full of fermenting liquid is it, and who comes across as funny, self-deprecating, and A Good Egg. We leave with a car boot full of bottles, and our purses a little lighter. Then it's off for lunch at Le Mas de Saporta, the showcase for AOC Coteaux du Languedoc wines and a jolly nice restaurant on the side. If you're in Montpellier, give it a try - it's the perfect place to sample top quality local wine and cuisine. No website that I could find, but they're on 04 67 06 88 66.

And just to prove that I'm not just a silly bint who's swayed by a pretty label and a smile, here's my review of Domaine de Saumarez 'Aalenien' 2004 Coteaux du Languedoc. It's 65% syrah, 35% grenache, aged in barrels of various sizes, 90% of which are new. Very deep coloured. Open nose with sweet dark fruit leads to a lush palate with good concentration and richness. Deliciously forward (rather like my good self), richly textured, and quite hard to resist (a bit like Robin Williamson, I suppose). A very ripe style, with nicely integrated oak.

OK, I confess, that wasn't me. It was lifted (apart from the brackets, you understand) from www.wineanorak.com, which is as good a place as any to mug up on wine. And if you want to catch up with Robin and his wares, he'll be at the Estivales on Montpellier's Esplanade, just off the Place de la Comedie, on Friday July 7th from 7pm, where you'll be able to taste the deliciously dry white Domaine de Saumarez 'S' 2004, which goes (so I'm told) rather well with oysters - which will also be available. Failing which, go find him at Domaine de Saumarez, 34570 Murviel les Montpellier, +33 (0)6 24 41 56 20. And failing that, if you're in the UK, his wines are sold through Handford's of London - South Kensington.