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Don, Daedalus and Dan.
Don Chigazola is back with Chigazola Merchants French wines on California Wine Country with Dan Berger and Daedalus Howell. Don Chigazola receives the first Golden Corkscrew with a fanfare for brass orchestra, for being a guest ten times on CWC. The last time Don Chigazola was on CWC was this episode last January, with a selection of wines he imports from Italy. Today, we will taste Chigazola Merchants French wines, which Don has just begun to import.
These wines come from a vineyard and winery called Domaine Tour Campanets, located about an hour north of Aix en Provence in a village called Les Puys. Don has brought five bottles, two whites, two Rosés and one red blend. The winemaker is Emanuelle Baude, the daughter of the family that bought the property decades ago. The first is a Rosé, made of 70% Grenache and 30% Syrah. We’ll hear a lot of those varietals today, since they make up a lot of the production in Provence.
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Chigazola Merchants French Wines
Don Chigazola opened Chigazola Merchants 14 years ago after retiring from Med Tech. The regulatory process took 6 months, but he finally got federal and state licenses to import, distribute and retail wines from Europe. They have been importing wines from Italy for 13 years, including most of the well-known Italian varietals, from 12 of the 20 regions covered. They developed an interest in French wines when his wife Debbie tasted some French Roses. Now, Chigazola Merchants French wines are coming in through the same process they have for importing Italian wines.
Dan says that this Rosé wine carries so much more of that tropical fruit plus spice component from the Grenache. The Syrah is there for flavor but not or intensity. Dan says that Grenache makes the best Rosé in Provence. It’s delicate but dry, loaded with flavor.
Domaine Tour de Campanets
There is a centuries-old tower on the property, Tour de Campanets means bell tower in Provençale French. The wines labeled Bois des Fées are their top quality production. Along with his wife and son, Don travels to meet the producers and visit the wineries. The don’t import from a producer unless they walk the vineyards and get to know the family.
The other Rosé is under the Bois de Fées label. This one is made with Cabernet Sauvignon, it has more acidity and more weight.
Dan observes that American wine buyers think that if a wine is inexpensive, it can’t be any good, even if they are. People didn’t trust inexpensive wines from Provence because the price was low. On the east coast, these were the bargain hunters’ paradise. People knew about them. But on the west coast they didn’t sell. All these wines cost under $30 but Dan says they are comparable to wines that cost over $40. Don says to his clients who may resist Rosé, if you taste this Rosé it will change what you think about Rosé.
A Vermentino by any other name
The Tour de Campanets Cuvée is a blend of 50% Rolle (which is another name for Vermentino), 35% Sauvignon Blanc and 15% Ungi Blanc. Rolle, or Vermentino, has taken hold in France. The Italians claimed the name and so the French renamed it. This grape has a trace of pineapple in the aromatics that you don’t get anywhere else. This wine is completely dry. Daedalus suggests marketing it as “Rolle in the hay,” Marketing department, work on that.
Ungi Blanc is the same as Trebbiano. It is another renaming. In Sardengna, Cannonau is Grenache, but the French wouldn’t let the Italians use the name Grenache. It’s the same grape. It’s global politics in a bottle.
There is an annual wine show in Paris that the Chigazolas have attended for the last 3 years. This is how they started making contacts in France. The last tasting is a 2024 red blend. Dan says that Don is doing a service to his customers These wines are different than his Italian wines. Don has the experience to know how to find these wines, that are unique, delicious and priced at $30 and below. These wines and these bargains are unique. 🥂