In praise of Gerard Bertrand

You can find one or two Gerard Bertrand wines in Waitrose and Majestic in the UK but we were totally unaware of the length and breadth of his output before coming up against half a dozen of them at Galleries Lafayette in Paris and a couple more at the Aeroport Charles de Gaulle. We thought this quite intriguing having been aware mostly of his excellent and great value Muscat Sec (Waitrose) so were snapping away before our Easyjet flight when a rather officious person belonging to the Duty Free shop told us it was defendu.

We asked why and he said it was because of concurrence before quickly righting himself by saying that it was defendu to take photos of anything at the airport, darkly hinting at a security angle. With hindsight, it was clear at that moment that Sarkozy hadn't made the impact he had promised. Concurrence indeed!

Back to Gerard Bertrand: he is always described as a former top Rugby international but we can overlook that in view of the incredible range of his wines which he has established in a very short time indeed. In the UK there are over 20 different types on sale. Apart from Waitrose, these are not sold in supermarkets in the main. They are to be had from Majestic, Laithwaites and quite a number of merchants. Here's the list according to Winesearcher Pro for the UK as of the date of today's blog;

 Banyuls
Chardonnay (Languedoc/Rousillon)

Chardonnay (Limoux)

Corbieres
Merlot
Montpeyroux (Carignan/Grenache/Mourvedre/Syrah)
Minervois

Muscat Sec (Pays d'Oc)
Picpoul de Pinet
Pic St. Loup
Pinot Noir (Pays d'Oc)
Rivesaltes (Vin doux naturel, red)
Rose (Syrah)
St. Chinian
Sauvignon Blanc (Langedoc Roussillon)
Syrah (Pays d'Oc)
Viognier (Languedoc Roussillon))

and blends including

Chateau l'Hospitalet La Clape blanc (Viognier/Bourboulenc/Rolle/Roussanne)
Chateau l'Hospitalet La Clape rouge (Syrah/Mourvedre/Grenache)

At Galleries Lafayette and the airport we found a Syrah called 'Naturalys' biologique which suggests there are plenty of other lines not available in the UK.

 We don't know these wines but for energy alone, M. Bertrand deserves recognition and if they are anything like as good and as reasonably priced as his Muscat Sec - which somehow we are sure they are - its hats off!