Art -- Inside and outside the bottle!
Ever since the pandemic suspended my regular buying trips to Europe, I’ve found myself particularly missing the time I usually spend in France. Fortunately, I can still get a “French fix” every time my friend Jean-Christian Rostagni comes to Asheville.
It’s difficult to describe my buddy Jean-Christian in one sentence; however, I’ll give it a try. He’s a well-respected world-class fine art photographer, travel guru and tour guide supreme, wine importer, and all-around bon vivant. He has a real knack for sourcing French wine, and here at the shop, his selections from Bordeaux and the South of France continue to be staff and customer favorites. They’re real wines made by real people, and the wines genuinely representing the best quality and value from those regions.
Vin Photographique connects the worlds of Jean-Christian’s diverse interests and provides an expression of art both in the bottle and out. Recently Jean-Christian provided me with the back story of Vin Photographique. Although he invited me to edit it for the newsletter, I wanted to leave the anecdote in his own words. It’s a remarkable glimpse into the local-global community of wine and into how we source wine at a truly personal level.
The Story of Vin Photographique
“End of May 2019: I wanted to start the exploration of the region where my future Oriental Occitania Wine Tour would take place, and was able to devote some time for that between the Provence Wine Tour and the Bordeaux Tour of the spring 2019. The idea was to explore the range “behind” Montpellier, that extends from Nimes to Carcassone.
I started in the Pic Saint Loup area where I already had a producer, Mas Peyrolle. After that I targeted the region around Faugères and found a sympathetic Air BnB in a tiny village called Roquessels. I introduced myself to my host on the website, explaining that I was living in the U.S. where I was a wine importer, and that I was looking for producers that would break the mold. In a matter of minutes I got a message asking me if I would mind her putting together an aperitif party with wine makers she knew … That’s the people of the South West of France, genuine, generous, and gregariously bon vivant.
It is at that “wine reunion in Roquesells, that I discovered the Domaine des Trois Puechs, whose first shipment of very juicy and round reds will be here in early 2021. I was asked where I was going next, and I said I was going to visit such and such Domaine in the Minervois that my brother had mentioned to me, and had once been “Best Wine in the World.” “Best Wine in the World,” I of course had to check that out, especially when that much outside of the beaten path. One of the winemakers that night had worked in the Minervois and knew that “best wine in the world” place. He told me that I should also go to the Domaine La Rouviole, which he held in somewhat higher respect.
This is how I met Frank Leonor, who, maybe confused by my initials, received me as if I was some kind of Messiah. I immediately fell in love with his organic, earthy, and aromatic wines, loaded with cassis, dark licorice, spice, and leather, emblematic of the Minervois. I took some samples, he sent me more, and after a long process in which I had to deploy complicated negotiating strategies to defend the financial interests of the American consumer, we started to put together an importation scenario. In between Frank decided to join the next Bordeaux Wine Tour, because his family is partly from there, and he longs to deepen his knowledge of Bordeaux!
I drive to Asheville once or twice a month on average, to see the notorious Larry and deliver critical refills. It is a 3.5 hours drive, and although I often take photographs while driving (a series I am fond of called “Drive-By Shootings”), it could get old. But I am in a rolling office, and I can call my world from the car, which allows me to have conversations I would never have the time to entertain otherwise. So one of those days, in early 2020, Frank ends up telling me on the phone: “You know Jean-Christian, I have this wine that is very inexpensive, but nevertheless rather satisfying, and while you don’t like its label, if you wanted to use one of your photographs to create a label, you could give it an appropriate name, this wine would symbolize our collaboration and I think your customers would love it.”
I drive to Asheville once or twice a month on average, to see the notorious Larry and deliver critical refills. It is a 3.5 hours drive, and although I often take photographs while driving (a series I am fond of called “Drive-By Shootings”), it could get old. But I am in a rolling office, and I can call my world from the car, which allows me to have conversations I would never have the time to entertain otherwise. So one of those days, in early 2020, Frank ends up telling me on the phone: “You know Jean-Christian, I have this wine that is very inexpensive, but nevertheless rather satisfying, and while you don’t like its label, if you wanted to use one of your photographs to create a label, you could give it an appropriate name, this wine would symbolize our collaboration and I think your customers would love it.”
While it is said that flattery will bring you nowhere, I hate to admit that in this case, it may have scored. We brainstormed on the phone, he in the Minervois, me between Hickory and Marion, and maybe 15 minutes later the weird idea of a “Vin Photographique” was starting to take shape.
If you think about it, a photograph and a bottle of wine share some very notable similarities. They each capture a particular place at a specific point in time, and they’re also a result of an artist’s creativity and passion. Knowing that, it makes perfect sense that my buddy Jean-Christian would name his cuvée “Vin Photographique.”
Vin Photographique is a blend of 40% Syrah, 40% Grenache, and 20% Cinsault, and it’s a whole lot of wine for the money. In the glass, notes of garigue, dark red and black fruits, violet, and olive lead to a medium-bodied palate of dark red and black berries framed by roasted herb and mineral notes. This is a perfect red for all of your savory soups, ragouts, and of course, meats from the grill.
Domaine la Rouviole - Vin Photographique
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