2015 Yann Durieux, Recrue des Sens, BT Les Boutières, Vin de France

Yann Durieux

Vin de Table

Translated as Table Wine, Vin de Table is the name given to the lowest quality of wine produced in France. It sits at the bottom rung in the ladder of French wine classification, being inferior to the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC), Vin Délimité de Qualité Superieure (VDQS) and Vin de Pays. 

Similar wines are made throughout Europe, including Vino de Mesa (Spain), Vinho de Mesa (Portugal), Vino da Tavola (Italy) and Tafelwein (Germany).

Intended for everyday drinking and blending, wines of this category have neither an appellation nor a regional designation, and do not usually give any indication of their region of origin or vintage date. Table wines have very few restrictions in terms of grape varieties, yields or vinification techniques, and all existing regulations for this category have been set by the European Union. Table wines made using grapes from across the EU are referred to as European Table Wine.

Vin du Table is produced in virtually every part of France which boasts viticulture, and it accounts for less than 15% of France’s output of wines.

Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir is probably the most frustrating, and at times infuriating, wine grape in the world. However when it is successful, it can produce some of the most sublime wines known to man. This thin-skinned grape which grows in small, tight bunches performs well on well-drained, deepish limestone based subsoils as are found on Burgundy's Côte d'Or.

Pinot Noir is more susceptible than other varieties to over cropping - concentration and varietal character disappear rapidly if yields are excessive and yields as little as 25hl/ha are the norm for some climats of the Côte d`Or.

Because of the thinness of the skins, Pinot Noir wines are lighter in colour, body and tannins. However the best wines have grip, complexity and an intensity of fruit seldom found in wine from other grapes. Young Pinot Noir can smell almost sweet, redolent with freshly crushed raspberries, cherries and redcurrants. When mature, the best wines develop a sensuous, silky mouth feel with the fruit flavours deepening and gamey "sous-bois" nuances emerging.

The best examples are still found in Burgundy, although Pinot Noir`s key role in Champagne should not be forgotten. It is grown throughout the world with notable success in the Carneros and Russian River Valley districts of California, and the Martinborough and Central Otago regions of New Zealand.