We all know that celebrities like to parlay their fame into wineries: Francis Ford Copolla, Antonio Banderas, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, but unlike any of these stars, Gerard Bertrand began life in a winery, his family͛s Domain – Villemajou in Boutenac. Later he became famous as a rugby player, winding up in 1994 as captain of Stade Francais, and later president of RC Narbonne. When his rugby career was done in the 90s, Gerard Bertrand went back into the family business, and now his family-owned empire includes 15 estates scattered across most of the best regions of Languedoc Roussillon. On these properties he produces estate wines, but he has extended his brand much further with large bottlings of entry-level wines aimed at on-trade markets and selling like cornflakes in the US and natto in Japan. His 6th-Sense line is now available in Taiwan, and to give you an idea of Gerard Bertrand͛s volume, he produces 8 million bottles of the 6th-Sense White alone. It͛s not hard to see why. This wine has a very attractive price, and it makes a generous aperitif wine by the glass with its broad-ranging blend of Viognier, Chardonnay, Grenache blanc and Sauvignan blanc. The grapes for Gerard Bertrand͛s entry-level wines come mostly from contract growers. And some contract growers are far above entry level. For example, in the tiny appellation of Tautavel, Gerard Bertrand buys 90% of the grape harvest, and the wine from Tautavel is still my favorite among too many offerings to count.

The occasion for this report is the annual visit to Taiwan by Jan Vinner, Gerard Bertrand͛s rep who lives with his family in Hanoi. Jan is quick to point out that lately the biggest craze for Gerard Bertrand wines is their rosé, which is selling so quickly they have to control the depletion with allocations, especially in the US. I am a big fan of rosé, but there aren͛t that many of us yet in Taiwan, so we may have to wait a year or two. Meanwhile, Finesse is jump-starting the brand with 10 selections (mostly reds) which seems like quite a few unless you͛ve tried to sort through the Gerard Bertrand website. Like I say, I gave up trying to count how many labels they produce, but wines under the Pay d͛Oc appellation and regional AOC͛s are easy to spot because of his house crest – a Cathar Cross topped with a pair of doves drinking from the same glass. The Gerard Bertrand brand slips more into the background for their chateau bottlings, like Chateau Sauvageone and Chateau Hospitalet.

Gerard Bertrand͛s wines have been in Taiwan for a year now, and thanks to this powerful brand and the promotion muscle of St Finesse, the wines of Languedoc Roussillon have squelched their regrettable reputation, not so much as bad wine but as wine badly handled. Historically in Taiwan, Languedoc Roussillon wines have been plentifully available at hyper marts, but drink them quick, because (only half jokingly) we say they were ͚pasteurized͛ crossing the Indian Ocean in unrefrigerated containers. Now though, thanks to St Finesse, all the Gerard Bertrand wines arrive in good condition, and the wonderful character of Mediterranean varieties shines through them in every glass. All credit goes to St Finesse for using high quality transportation to bring high quality wines from the South of France.