It's always interesting to stumble across wine adventurers - producers who sally forth from their home territory to do stirring deeds in some unfamiliar land. We're not talking, here, about flying winemakers - the Mr Fixits who hop around the globe, helping out. This is much more serious stuff - risking a long-established reputation, the family silver and the exquisite old mansion that goes with it for the sake of investment somewhere full of mystery and promise.
What's in this derring-do for consumers? Inexpensive new wines that come with the comfort of a fine old name, usually - so these vineyard conquistadores are worth watching.
The latest to describe his exploits in Dublin was Michel Laroche, a fifth-generation Chablis producer who has set up a chateau in the Languedoc. I know what you're thinking. The guy has only extended his operation a few hundred kilometres south, without even changing country. Where's the intrepidity in that? But remember that Burgundy, his homeland, is one of the most conservative, inward-looking wine regions in the world. Remember that the Languedoc, when he first started looking at it with intent a dozen years ago, had a lousy reputation as the source of gut-wrenching bulk plonk. For the debonair Laroche to have launched a business there is rather like Chanel deciding to make chain store cosmetics in some run-down, late-1980s Dublin industrial estate.
Why did he do it? "Because all our agents kept telling me about the wonderful wines they'd taken on from the New World. I knew that in the south of France we could produce wines of equal quality at a similar price." That, admittedly, was after he'd also worked with growers in the Loire and Corsica, and had a look at vineyards as far away as Bulgaria and Romania.
The Languedoc had the edge on them all - for reasons as diverse as Laroche's new line-up of wines. "In the 300 kilometres from the Rhone Valley to the Spanish border there's every kind of soil you can imagine," he explains. "The climate varies - cool in the west with the Atlantic, hot in the east. And then you can play with 20 different grapes.' This, perhaps, is the nub of it. Free of the constraints of the French appellation controlee system (which determine a wine producer's every move in a region such as Burgundy), Laroche has benefitted, in the Languedoc, from the flexibility of planting whatever grapes he fancies and blending the resulting wines in any proportions he likes.
Of all the fat, 18th-century-style bottles coming out of his Domaine La Chevaliere near Beziers, the blends are the most intriguing. Merlot, Syrah, Grenache and Cabernet go, in varying combinations, into the red Cuvee Speciale and the Grande Reserve - often incorporating several different styles of each varietal from different vineyards. Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Marsanne, Roussane, Terret, Viognier are drawn upon for the whites. "I feel like a chef, putting different ingredients together. I really enjoy the challenge of it," says Laroche.
Chablis remains crucial to him, even so. It is where he spends most of his time and a substantial amount of money - extending the family's vineyard holdings, growing better grapes and improving the cellars. All this seems to have paid off, earning Domaine Laroche Grand Cru Chablis high acclaim, including points in the coveted upper nineties in two recent Wine Spectator tastings of top white Burgundies. The Premiers Cru sampled during his visit here were a treat - everything that good Chablis should be. With everyday drinking in mind, however, it's worth noting that even the Laroche Chardonnays from the south of France bear the unmistakable stamp of a Chablis producer in their freshness and restraint. Now to another adventurer who is striking out in all sorts of interesting directions. I haven't met Carlos Falco, the Marques de Grinon, but the publicity photograph, above right, of this suave aristocrat sitting in a gilded chair beside his vines makes him look more like a wealthy playboy than a serious winemaker. In fact, this member of one of Spain's oldest and most distinguished families is one of the most innovative, energetic figures in the wine world - in both Spain and up-and-coming Argentina.
I've explored the Marques de Grinon's wines back to front, as it were - tasting the impressive reds he is producing in conjunction with Bodegas Norton in Argentina first, then tracking back to Spain, where Falco is putting his stamp on several very different regions. A qualified agricultural engineer and oenologist, his base is the Dominio de Valpedusa, an estate near Toledo which has been in his family since 1292. Here, more than 20 years go, he took the bold step of planting non-native grape varieties - Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Syrah, Petit Verdot. Influenced by his studies in California, he also introduced new viticultural techniques. The wines show the Marques doesn't muck about when it comes to quality.
Not content to sit back and admire his handiwork at Valpedusa, he has more recently begun to make very drinkable wine in other regions. In Rioja, his approach is to emphasise the fruit and opt for relatively brief periods of ageing in American oak. In the Duero, he uses good grapes to make keenly priced wines under the Durius label.
Chablis And The South
Chardonnay Vin de Pays d'Oc 1997 (McCabes Merrion, Redmonds Ranelagh, Vintry Rathgar, Gibneys Cheers Malahide, Bennetts Howth, Galvins Cork, Noble Rot Navan, Old Stand Mullingar, Shannon Knights, Shannon, Ryans Newport-Tipperary, Ardkeen Waterford, Kilgallons Sligo and some other outlets, usually £6.99). A light, fresh, restrained, slightly minerally Chardonnay at a great price. Spot the Chablis winemaker!
Chevaliere Grande Reserve 1995 (stockists as above, £8.49-£8.99). Michel Laroche's top of the range red from the Languedoc - a real cracker. See Bottle of the Week.
Chablis 1er Cru Les Vaudevey 1995 (stockists as above, usually about £16.50). Classic, unoaked Chablis at its best, steely at the core but not austere. I could drink it forever - an exquisite treat.
Spain And Argentina
Marques de Grinon Rioja 1996 (many SuperValus/Centras, Petitts and some other outlets, usually £6.99). A well-made young Rioja that's smooth and luscious enough to drink right away. Very good value.
Marques de Grinon Malbec, Dominio de Agrelo, Mendoza, 1996 (Oddbins, £7.49). One of the most impressive bottles from Argentina I've come across so far - a big, rich, brambly red. Try it with game.
Marques de Grinon Cabernet Sauvignon, Dominio de Valpedusa, Vino de mesa tinto de Toledo, 1996 (McCabes Merrion, Greenacres Wexford and some other independent off-licences, usually about £11.50). Carlos Falco's first pioneering move was with Cabernet on Toledo's coolest slopes. How right he was. A super wine that combines sweet, ripe fruit character with peppery, meaty substance. It'll make you hunger for a slab of steak.