{"id":1174,"date":"2019-01-31T15:05:04","date_gmt":"2019-01-31T15:05:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=1174"},"modified":"2019-01-31T16:06:02","modified_gmt":"2019-01-31T16:06:02","slug":"chateau-des-estanilles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=1174","title":{"rendered":"Ch\u00e2teau des Estanilles"},"content":{"rendered":"

In southwest France, up in the hilly area not far from the Mediterranean, you\u2019ll find the winemaking sector called Faug\u00e8res.\u00a0 Because of the terrain, made of rocky soil called schist<\/em>, the wines tend to be full-flavored with a minerally cast on the tongue. By the way, there is a very fine St. Emilion called Chateau Faug\u00e8res, but to the best of our knowledge there is no relationship with this area.<\/p>\n

Now, sadly, the wines of this area \u2013 in fact, all of the Languedoc<\/a> \u2013 used to have the reputation for being harsh, overly alcoholic and sour.\u00a0 Fortunately, many wineries in the area have discovered that sound growing techniques and sanitary winemaking can produce excellent wines that reward the growers more than the production of plonk used to.\u00a0 One such is Ch\u00e2teau des Estanilles.<\/p>\n

We sought out this winery because we had enjoyed one of their wines in Qu\u00e9bec.\u00a0 The provincial wine stores keep it well-stocked on their shelves, but we haven\u2019t been able to locate it in the United States.\u00a0 We learned that the wine we liked is in fact the bottom of their list.\u00a0 Called \u201cThe Impertinent\u201d, this wine in both red and white is mass produced (at least as \u201cmass\u201d as Faug\u00e8res ever gets) and so there\u2019s enough to satisfy foreign demand.\u00a0 Their finer wines are made in more limited quantities and are only sold in France, mostly within the region.<\/p>\n

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Chateau des Estanilles winery<\/em><\/p>\n

North American visitors to Ch\u00e2teau des Estanilles will feel right at home.\u00a0 The winery is not a magnificent castle<\/a> nor is it a rustic farmhouse.\u00a0 It\u2019s a cream-colored building with a tiled roof that would be right at home in Napa Valley.\u00a0 Beyond it are extensive vineyards and the aforementioned hills, rising up on the horizon.\u00a0 The interior is sleek and modern, with a tasting room that is a large white table, not a bar.\u00a0 The setting makes you feel more like a guest than a visitor.<\/p>\n

A very helpful attendant (it would be hard to call her a server) will fill your glass with any or all of their wines, topping out with their Raison d\u2019Etre<\/em>, made of Syrah, Grenache and Mourv\u00e8dre.\u00a0 At 48 euros ($55), it isn\u2019t cheap but it\u2019s a lot less than a wine of equivalent quality would be elsewhere in France.\u00a0 [It isn\u2019t Power Tasting\u2019s<\/em> usual practice to discuss wine prices.\u00a0 However, we want to give an idea of the value you can get for your money with Languedoc wines.]<\/p>\n

As might be expected, you will get more out of your visit if you can speak French.\u00a0 But at Ch\u00e2teau des Estanilles, as elsewhere in the area, the people are used to having English-speaking guests and will gladly accommodate you.\u00a0 It would help if you try to at least pronounce the name of their winery correctly: ESS-ta-neel<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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The working area in the Chateau des Estanilles winery<\/em><\/p>\n

When you visit Ch\u00e2teau des Estanilles, be sure to take a look at their winemaking facilities.\u00a0 They are all modern, with lots of stainless steel and clean as a whistle.\u00a0 This is instructive, because it shows how the Languedoc\u2019s vintners have advanced.\u00a0 You won\u2019t be able to see the natural techniques they use in the vineyards, eschewing pesticides and fertilizers. But you can give respect to the modernity of their winemaking practices.<\/p>\n

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In southwest France, up in the hilly area not far from the Mediterranean, you\u2019ll find the winemaking sector called Faug\u00e8res.\u00a0 Because of the terrain, made of rocky soil called schist, the wines tend to be full-flavored with a minerally cast on the tongue. By the way, there is a very fine St. Emilion called Chateau … Continue reading Ch\u00e2teau des Estanilles<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1174"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1174"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1174\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1196,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1174\/revisions\/1196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}