Château Les Farcies du Pech Appellation Pécharmant Contrôlée 2003 – Alc 13% (Guess <€10).
Pécharmant is a small appellation located to the north-east of the town of Bergerac, which is about 80km upstream of Bordeaux along the river Dordogne. It has been singled out to have an appellation of its own outside the confusing tapestry of the wider Bergerac appellations because of the supposedly superior quality and distinctiveness of its red wines. These are made from a fairly classical Merlot dominated right-bank Bordeaux blend of grape varieties. Soil is composed of sand and gravel and the sub-soil contains a layer of “argile ferrugineuse” (=??? ferruginous clay).
In my experience Pécharmant is a badly under-performing appellation. This is borne out by the fact that it is poorly featured in serious French wine guides; one estate only in Les Meilleurs Vins de France 2008 of the RVF and none at all in Bettane/Desseauve. Until four months ago, Pécharmant which I have consumed has been always acidic and dry. When I was dining in the region last October, I told this to the sommelier and challenged him to prove me wrong; he produced a wine which was jammy and over-oaked but at least not acidic and dry. I then went along to a good caviste (alas up for sale) in Bergerac and sought a recommendation for an unwooded or lightly wooded Pécharmant; this was the result.
C: Good dense red.
N: Good round red fruit with touches of metal (not disagreeable) and candy (2003 influence?).
P: Quite “modern” explosion of surprisingly (for the vintage) fresh and round fruit and some un-jammy richness (mercifully minus “modern” wood) showing good mouth-fill, soft tannins and again notes of metal, which added to the freshness, and a whiff of candy.
This is, by a long way, the most enjoyable Pécharmant which I have yet tried. Perhaps in this case, the 2003 vintage helped contributing richness and was saved from cooked flavours by the water retaining clay layer. However, unlike with Cahors, I got no distinctive sense of place from this wine. I could have come from any Bordeaux right bank or satellite appellation like Duras, Buzet or Bergerac itself. 15-15.5/20.