Château Barbebelle’s Madeleine Herbeau Comes to New Hampshire

Madeleine Herbeau, for whom Château Barbebelle’s cuvée Madeleine rosé is named, is coming to Portsmouth, New Hampshire.  Sponsored by Top Terroir LLC, she will attend a tasting of her 2017 Cuvée Madeleine and Cuvée Héritage at Maison Navarre in Portsmouth, New Hampshire on Tuesday, January 23 from 12:00 p.m. to 2 p.m. On Thursday, January 25, she will be at the Top Terroir table at the 2018 Winter Wine Spectacular at the Radisson Hotel in Manchester, New Hampshire from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Regular readers of Provence WineZine know about Château Barbebelle and those people who went on our tour to Provence last fall even got to visit the Château where Madame Herbeau gave them a tour and tasting!

I wrote about the arrival of Château Barbebelle’s two roses—Cuvée Madeleine and, later their top-tier rose Héritage—in New Hampshire last spring.  I have been buying rosés from this Château for quite a few years now because the estate is located along the road we take to Lourmarin from the Marseille Airport in Marignane (and from the Aix-en-Provence TGV railway station).  The very narrow road, called the “Route d’Apt” (a.k.a. the D543), takes one through the southwestern corner of the Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence appellation, one of the nine appellations in the region of Provence. There are several wineries on that road I like a lot, but none that have a rosé—or two—and, now, a white and a couple of reds I like as much as those from Château Barbebelle.

So, you can imagine my excitement when good friend Jacques Navarre told me last year that he and his partner Ken Scupp, owners of Top Terroir LLC would be bringing in those two rosés to South Street and Vine—the very cool wine and cheese store in the South End of Portsmouth, very near my house—as well as into the New Hampshire State Liquor Stores and select restaurants, including Maison Navarre (one of my regular stops for lattes and crêpes).   

Now, you have the opportunity to not only taste the rosés from Chateau Barbebelle but meet fourth-generation vigneronne Madeleine Herbeau who returned from her corporate job with Nestlé to work with her father Baron Brice Herbeau at the Château.  Together, they mix modern technology with the traditional methods that have long yielded pleasing wines from this estate.  They produce rosé (80%), red (15%) and white (5%). (Help me convince Jacques and Ken to bring in the red and white wines!)

If you are able to attend the Winter Wine Spectacular, look for the Top Terroir table where you can meet Madame Herbeau and taste her wines. Top Terroir will also be pouring a lovely Vacqueyras red wine from Les Seigneurs de Montrevel (very nicely priced around $20.00) and a Châteauneuf-du-Pape red wine from Mousset Barrot family vineyards (I have not tried this one yet!).  Several other wines outside the scope of Provence WineZine—from Languedoc, Burgundy, and Chili—will also be available for tasting at the Top Terroir table.

Watch for an article about Château Barbebelle’s Madeleine Herbeau in an upcoming issue of Provence WineZine because…guess who’s coming for breakfast next week?!

Santé!

 

NOTES:

For more information about Maison Navarre, visit their website:  www.mnpastry.com

For more information about South Street and Vine, visit their website:  www.southstreetandvine.com

For more information about the Winter Wine Spectacular, including how to purchase tickets ($ 65 and $135), visit this website:  http://www.nhmagazine.com/The-15th-Annual-Winter-Wine-Spectacular/ Proceeds from this event benefit Easterseals New Hampshire.

To learn more about New Hampshire Wine week, visit their website: http://www.nhwineweek.com/#sthash.n2doFwba.DWDqvM7K.dpbs