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THE SOUTHWEST


Southwest France

This region comprises many small, scattered areas that combine to producea wide range of excellent-value wines with discernible stylistic influencesfrom Bordeaux, Spain, Languedoc-Roussillon and the Rhone. At the heart ofthis region is Gascony, the great brandy district of Armagnac. It was fromhere that d'Artagnan set out in 1630 or thereabouts to seek fame and fortunein the king's Musketeers. The narrow tracks upon which his eventful journeybegan still wind their lonely way round wooded hills and across bubblingbrooks. Little has changed since Alexandre Dumas painted such a colorfulpicture of these parts, for they remain sparsely populated. Time passesslowly even in the towns, where the square is usually deserted all day long,with the exception of the five o'clock rush-hour that can last for all often minutes.

THE DIVERSITY OF THE SOUTHWEST'S APPELLATIONS
The southwest does not have a single wine of truly classic status yet itprobably offers more value for money and is a greater source of hidden bargainsthan any other French region. From the succulent, sweet Jurancon moelleuxand Monbazillac, to the fine wines of Bergerac, Buzet and Marmandais, therevitalized "black wines" of Cahors, the up-and-coming Frontonnais,the tannic Madiran and the highly individual Irouleguy of the Basque countrythis part of France represents tremendous potential for knowing wine drinkers.

Perhaps because it is a collection of diverse areas, rather than one naturalregion, the appellations of the southwest at first seem too many and tooconfusing. Even within one area there appear to be needless duplications.In Bergerac, for example, the dry white wines are relatively easy to understand,there being just two (Bergerac Sec and Montravel), but there are three possibilitiesfor red wines (Bergerac, Cotes de Bergerac and Pecharmant) and a galaxyof sweet and semi sweet appellations (Cotes de Bergerac Moelleux, Monbazillac,Cotes de Montravel, Haut-Montravel, Rosette and Saussignac). No wonder Bordeauxis such a minefield of confusing minor appellations, when even a comparativelysmall area such as Bergerac is so littered with them. It would surely besimpler to have a single Bergerac appellation to which certain villagesmight be allowed to add a communal name; if the same logic were appliedthroughout the southwest. more of its wines could achieve marketing success,rather than attracting occasional attention as hidden bargains.

Armagnac