French Mediterranean Wine by Richard M James

Roussillon: "dry" Maury, hooray...

2012-03-07T16:39:00.000Z

So, it comes to pass. A little bit of common sense has arguably prevailed behind the creation of a new Cotes du Roussillon Villages (CdRV) subzone for dry red wines, also called Maury. These wines will come (first ones will be vintage 2011 appearing in about a year's time) from the same appellation area (Maury, Tautavel, Saint-Paul de Fenouillet and Rasiguères) as for the already well-known Maury 'Vins Doux Naturels' (sweet fortified reds), so a big advantage on the marketing front from the start then. In France, they'll have to put "sec" (dry) on the label as the 'wine authorities' are needlessly paranoid that consumers won't understand the idea of a regular 'dry' red coming from this area, since the Maury VDN name is much better established over the Channel / Sleeve than in the UK, Ireland or the US, for example. This could have been one reason why this new appellation took such a long time to surface, agreeing on the name etc. as well as all the inevitable rules & regs; but I don't think they need to worry. Rasteau, in the southern Rhone Valley, did the same thing a few years ago and it wasn't a big deal: perhaps producers should leave the 'Roussillon Villages' bit on the label for the time-being so the village-area 'concept' is clearer.

Anyway, does the Roussillon, or France even, need yet another, to non-wine die-hards at least, obscure village name on the label? Well, this one has a certain logic - perhaps more so than e.g. nearby CdRV Rasiguères (will this survive given that the latter village is within the new Maury zone? Confusing or what...) - and doesn't make the same original mistake they made with straight CdRV by telling winegrowers they had to have a certain proportion of Syrah in their wine, even if they didn't have / didn't want any. This one does say you have to have a "minimum of 60% Grenache (Noir)" in the blend, which is after all THE sexy Maury grape variety, but, whoopee, no fascist diktat ordering them to include Syrah. Nothing against Syrah, but this really does give winemakers the opportunity of crafting distinctive wines that taste a bit different from many from the Languedoc and Roussillon. Lovely rich Mediterranean / Catalan reds. Pity the regs insist on having a blend of "at least two varieties" - why not a 100% Grenache, if the winemaker is clever enough not to make something too overblown, as can happen with pure Grenache - although this does mean growers can make up the balance with good old (being the operative word around these parts) Carignan if they like. Or Syrah, I suppose...
Looking forward to trying some of the new wines next year, or sooner from barrel / vat in the cellar hopefully. Oh, by the way, dry white Maury might well be next on the cards, which also seems like a good idea as certain wineries are already making some excellent whites from this area (currently called plain old CdR).
Sources: Vins du Roussillon and Vitisphere.com.

Languedoc: Syrah, Minervois, La Rouviole & Borie de Maurel

2012-02-27T14:06:00.000Z

Léonor family lurking among barrels

I suddenly felt a little comparative theme come on when I rediscovered notes on two wines tasted last year from these almost neighbouring wineries in Minervois (well, one in Siran and t'other in Félines-Minervois a couple or so of km away). Both of them are made intriguingly from 100% Syrah, which is 'allowed' in this appellation area but not in any other one in the Languedoc (apart from IGP/vin de pays wines), as far as I can think of off the top of my head. Syrah homogenisation or style/quality statement? And does it really matter, varietal vs blended appellation wine, as long as it tastes good and has character? Mull it over and you decide...

Domaine La Rouviole 2007 Coup de Théatre, Minervois (Syrah) - 100% Syrah in fact, giving nice pure floral spicy cherry fruit; powerful extracted palate yet reasonably well-balanced with it, concentrated vs firm tight finish still for a 07. Very good although quite pricey at £16.99 (Hallgarten Druitt, UK).

DLR is found in the Minervois La Livinière subzone (although this wine isn’t labelled up / 'classified' as such) and has been owned by the Léonor family since the 1950s, who’ve restored its hillside vineyards over the years to become one of the area’s leading estates. The terrain sprawls over 40 ha in total (100 acres) including swathes of wild scrubland and olive trees as well as vines. Their wines are also available in Germany, Belgium, Canada, Poland, Switzerland, Japan, Singapore. More info @ larouviole.fr.

Domaine Borie de Maurel 2008 Sylla, Minervois (100% Syrah) - ‘reductive’ herby notes/style to start with, tight and firm mouth-feel vs concentrated and nicely textured tannins actually, still young and closed up although promising. Another dear wine though at £27.95 (Terroir Languedoc, UK).

Owned by Michel and Sylvie Escande since 1989, who were also leading lights behind the creation of the La Livinière subzone kick-started in the late 90s, and aided and abetted by son Gabriel. BDM’s 35 ha (85 acres) of vineyards lie on the 'Petit Causse' on the edges of the Montagne Noire hills, some of them up to 300m altitude (1000 feet). They opened their own on-site "bar" in 2008 serving wine by the glass or bottle (theirs naturally) with "Occitan tapas" and home-grown vegetables.

More @ boriedemaurel.fr including many poetic words, if you read French, and pretty photos such as "the windmill" above.

Bandol: Château Tournier Guilhem

2012-01-30T18:27:00.000Z

Guilhem, Henri and Genevieve Tournier’s compact and bijou property, lying not far from the cute hilltop village of La Cadière d’Azur a fair trek to the north of Bandol town, has two almost unique characteristics about it in context of the wider Bandol appellation. At six hectares (15 acres), it’s one of the smallest vineyards in an area probably better known for quite large estates (think Ch. Pibarnon at 50 ha or Dom. Tempier at 30, for instance); and it’s now certified organic (from 2011). “We were one of the first to convert to organics,” Genevieve confirmed in fact as I tasted at their stand at ‘Millésime Bio’ organic wine show in Montpellier last week. There was only one other organic estate from Bandol at the show - the ultra ‘natural’ and quirky Château Sainte-Anne (see post directly below) - which got me thinking why aren’t there more in this very French Mediterranean wine region? Not a criticism - people have their reasons and many non-organic growers (or not officially certified but more or less are anyway) are sensible about what they use, how much and why (as I’ve said before, I’ve never aimed to make this blog exclusively organic; it just so happens that an increasing amount of the best ones are, or in the process of) - but a question worth asking.

I digress - back to the Tournier’s wines, which were definitely worth unearthing after deciding it seemed like a good idea to see how many organic Bandol producers were exhibiting! I’ve also just re-published a towards-huge wad of exciting material on Bandol and its kingpin variety, Mourvèdre, originally gathered and scribbled from 2003 to 2006 (I lived in nearby Marseille for two of those years, by the way): click here and here for much more info then (goes to two pages in my “wine words” archive: the former featuring 150+ wines and a few winery touring pieces / profiles, the latter a more academic article called ‘Understanding Mourvèdre’ written for Wine Business, USA).

2011 Bandol rosé (majority Mourvèdre + Cinsault and Grenache, tank sample) - attractive juicy crisp rosé in that more elegant and mineral style, although has a bit of weight as well, showing aromatic citrus fruit with floral rose petal edges, nice structured bite and almost salty tangy finish.

2010 Bandol rosé - hints of yeast-lees, fuller rounder and oilier texture with developing red fruit flavours and still has a fresher side too; good although the 2011 will be better. €15 (that's trendy Bandol for you...)

2008 Bandol rouge (85% Mourvèdre) - light touches of coconut oak aromas and grainy texture, concentrated dark vs savoury fruit with tight grippy mouth-feel, subtle and still a little closed up vs developing meaty edges. Very good, promising too. €18

2009 Bandol rouge - meatier and more powerful with lovely rich black cherry with spicy savoury dark olive notes, firmer bigger palate with weighty finish vs attractively rounded tannins. A slightly more in-your-face vintage maybe but it’s still good stuff.

Bandol: Château Sainte-Anne

2012-01-30T18:04:00.001Z

Château Sainte-Anne
from maisondesvins-bandol.com

As I mentioned in the post above, the ‘natural’ quirky Sainte-Anne style has been with us for a while: this 15 ha (37 acre) estate, lying on the northeastern side of the Bandol appellation in Sainte-Anne d’Evenos, has been farmed organically(+) for twenty years by larger than life owners Françoise and Jean-Baptiste Dutheil de la Rochere. ‘Natural’ in the sense of not much used, done or added in the vineyard and cellar - “very few treatments in the field…” and “no SO2, fining nor filtration (for red winemaking),” for example - apart from working the vines and soil, picking the grapes, fermenting them and watching over their ageing in barrels. Bit of a simplistic cliché maybe but they like to keep it nice and simple. I went to the property and interviewed Françoise back in 2004 and tasted quite a few blends and vintages of their red wines, and my memory was something like a rollercoaster road of discovery. Certain wines were very traditional and pretty awesome in that way, while one or two others were teetering on the brink or probably a little more rustic than you might like. Jean-Baptiste agreed, when I tried their latest vintages at Millésime Bio wine show in Montpellier (Languedoc) last week, that “our wines have always been a bit on the wild side.” Right on, man.

Here are my condensed notes from that aforementioned late autumn 2004 trip just to weave in a touch of background and detail, extracted from a load of other material for a paper (yawn) I was doing on Mourvèdre back in 2005/06, although I don’t imagine much has changed essentially at Ste-Anne.

Françoise told me she believes “the microclimate here comes from the usually cool nights we get from the end of August, meaning we are among the latest to pick Mourvèdre (coupled with a lower risk of rot, so they can chance it more).” Her Bandol vineyards are on the higher ground facing southwest, and the lower-lying areas are classified as Côtes de Provence. A protective circle is formed by a range of hills all the way round to Le Beausset and the terraces behind the vineyard. Sainte Anne has clay/limestone soils with veins of sand underneath meaning it’s better drained, a “less heavy soil favourable to elegant reds,” as she put it. Their organic/biodynamic methodology takes in growing wild mustard grass between the vine rows and only using fertilisers from organic matter (shite). This is a “very old family property going back five generations, so there’s plenty of old vine stock,” although escat (a disease attacking and causing the wood to die) is a problem here limiting their age. They don’t use trellising since “it’s not easy to do and Mourvèdre stands up well in gobelets (bush vines) anyway!” And something mystical too about “creating magnetism…” or whatever I scribbled down followed by a double question mark??

On picking Mourvèdre at the right moment: “When it’s perfectly ripe and you squeeze the grapes, it leaves finger marks because of its thick skins,” Françoise explained. Fruit for their Cuvée Collection is usually left a day or so longer, in specific plots, for extra ripeness. “No SO2 is used for white and rosé before fermentation and usually none at all for reds.” Typical winemaking ‘techniques’, as exemplified by the very good 2001 vintage, include a relatively short period in vat of 12-13 days with one remontage (pump-over) per day. “It needs a good aeration each day but no more than that, otherwise the must becomes too extracted.” The reds are matured for about 18 months in old 50 hl foudres (very large tuns) - in fact they don’t use any new wood at all - “just for slow oxidation.” Blending is done after cask-ageing “because of Mourvèdre’s richness, I leave it pure (until then).” The S-A basic cuvée is made up of 60% Mourvèdre, 20% Grenache and 20% Cinsault. But her Cuvée Collection is typically 95-98% Mourvèdre selected by parcel (and slightly later picked) and isn’t made every year: 2003 and 2004 were looking likely at that time, none in 2002 as it was “too dilute,” 2001 and 2000 were both very good and 1999 was “unspectacular but well balanced.”

Click here to view my notes and reviews of those older vintages (goes to my mega-Bandol page in the "wine words" archive: scroll down quite a lot towards the bottom). There are more Ste-Anne wines here (Millésime Bio 2006) too.

And now, over to those ‘latest’ vintages tasted last week:

2010 Bandol white (Ugni Blanc, Clairette Verte) - oily honeyed nose and palate, quite full then becomes more mineral and elegant with crisp bite. Good. About €15.

2010 Bandol rosé (Mourvèdre, Grenache, Cinsault) - quite developed with ripe raspberry fruit and rounded mouth-feel, lacks a bit of bite. Expensive too at €14.

2008 Bandol red (60% Mourvèdre) - nice ‘sweet’ black cherry with savoury black olive undertones, a hint of spice too with attractive tannins and subtle depth of fruit; 'lighter' more elegant style. €19

2005 Bandol red - developing savoury notes, richer chunkier firmer wine vs appealing maturing leather characters.

2006 Bandol Collection - more of that dark cherry fruit vs a wilder ‘animal’ side, solid gripping yet still rounded palate, it’s balanced and complex with it.

chateausteanne@free.fr, tel.: 04.94.90.35.40

New wine tours from Wine Voyages

2012-01-26T17:38:00.001Z

Wine Education Service and Criterion Wine (both UK based) have teamed up to create an exciting new wine holiday company called Wine Voyages, with several tours planned from the end of May 2012 onwards. The first is a wine tour by coach to the wine & food mecca of Alsace country from 31 May to 5 June; and other scheduled trips include Champagne in July and November, Greece in September and Burgundy in November. Tours to more classic wine areas of Europe are also being put together, as well as further afield to e.g. California and South Africa.

To find out more, email info@winevoyages.co.uk or phone Sandy on 020 8991 8213 or Malcolm on 020 8991 8212. Full details are here:

wine-education-service.co.uk

Photo: Riquewihr in Alsace.

Millésime Bio 2012

2012-01-25T14:44:00.001Z

Just returned from a day-and-a-half tasting my way around what appears to have become the biggest organic wine show in the world, Millésime Bio in Montpellier (the Languedoc's finest/only city). But it's still a nice down-to-earth user-friendly fair though, like the growers and winemakers themselves who were there showing their wares on a simple table so you can easily talk and taste. No flash stands, corporate bull or "ah, you haven't made an appointment?" attitudes.

Anyway, expect plenty of new winery "profiles" (I'll drop the FBI gag this time... oops there I go again with that silly/sad sense of humour) and updates over the coming weeks, focusing on people and wines fresh from the Roussillon, Languedoc, southern Rhone, Bandol and Corsica...

Languedoc: Château de la Negly, La Clape

2012-01-18T19:03:00.001Z

Negly, with a sizeable 50 ha (125 acres) of vines surrounding its handsome yet workmanlike chateau, is owned by Jean-Paul Rosset, whose talented winemaker is Cyril Chamontin working with uber-consultant Claude Gros. Jean-Paul’s father used to grow grapes for the local co-op but he upped the quality stakes massively in vineyard and cellar from the mid 90s, and this is now one of the best estates on La Clape, out of quite a few very good ones it has to be said, if not the Languedoc (he types pushing the proverbial boat out). Their tasty reds age well too, as you'll see from my glowing notes on the 1998 'Falaise' below... I love what they cram into a glass, typical of that quintessential 'Clape' style showing concentrated warm ripe fruit with deliciously natural wilder edges (garrigue if you like, it's what the French call it) and heady Med 'sweet/savoury' mix. The first two were sampled and 'assessed' at a tasting in London a few months ago:

2008 La Falaise (Syrah Grenache Mourvèdre Carignan) - aromatic herby black cherry and liquorice notes, peppery and rich mouthful with powerful structured palate; lovely mix of concentrated fruit and firm chunky tannins, tight long finish too. Excellent. £17-£20 Thorman Hunt & Co, Bancroft Wines (London).

2007 La Porte du Ciel (15%) - dense dark colour, savoury maturing leather tones vs coconut oak vs very concentrated lush dark fruit, solid yet nicely textured tannins with very long powerful but balanced finish, still very much alive. Yum. €75 although apparently they only make a couple of hundred cases or so! Alexander Krossa Wines (based in the Languedoc selling mostly to Germany and a few other markets now as well e.g. the UK: profile on him with lots more wines to follow. I copied the photo off his site, by the way...)

1998 La Falaise – wow! That wild Clape nose comes through loud and clear, like burnt lavender plus lovely smoky mature fruit, delicious wine you just want to have more of... (tasted March 2011)

Languedoc: Gérard Bertrand 'Grand Vin', La Clape

2011-12-26T16:58:00.006Z

UPDATE: One of the Bertrand empire's top reds, from his country wine estate and hotel lying up on the almost-island 'La Clape' sub-appellation nestling between Narbonne beach and Narbonne town, was up for tasting at a London show a few months ago (just rediscovered my notes...). It sells for about twenty quid in the UK, imported by Thierry's Wines, but it's pretty damn good virtually every vintage.

2008 Château l'Hospitalet Grand Vin (Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache) - complex wild flowers, herbs and berry fruits on the nose/palate, lush concentrated mouthful vs still very firm tannins and powerful long finish, lovely lingering wild flavours too. Needs a few years to blossom, great stuff.

More GB on this blog:

Features, winery profiles and reviews from wine touring and tasting 2006-2008 (goes to "King of the Languedoc?" page in my "more wine words" archive).

2009 & 2008 Languedoc vintage tasting reports (also in "more wine words").
Limoux, La Clape, Corbières & Boutenac: April & May 2011, a trio of shorter posts on the Languedoc 2010 vintage showcase (including 2009s and 2008s revisited) by wine area / theme...

Languedoc: Cave d'Embres et Castelmaure, Corbières

2011-12-12T19:25:00.003Z

UPDATE: the brooding 2008 vintage of one of their top Corbières reds, called La Pompadou, is now available in the UK via Laithwaites / Direct Wines at £11.99. My impressions of it have been chiselled below, as well as a profile penned last year including a fascinating insight into why the bright hypnotic stripes, and notes on a few of their range sampled on that particular occasion. Here we go:

2008 La Pompadou (Carignan, Grenache) - perfumed blueberry aromas / flavours, quite tight and fresh mouth-feel with grip, power and concentration lurking underneath. Still seemed a bit young when I tasted it a few months ago, very good though.

The Embres & Castelmaure name evokes myth and legend, as a wonderful place lost in time yet one of the first co-op cellars (although much smaller than many) to understand what changes needed to be made to move forwards into the, perhaps inevitably and certainly very competitive, quality wine arena. This enchanting mediaeval village, or rather (later) merger of two villages, lying at the southern end of the Corbières, was where Patrick de Hoym de Marien, who's still the president, and MD Bernard Pueyo instigated a major rethink and replanting program in the 80s; as well as identifying and mapping out all vineyard plots owned by the co-op's 70 members. This thorough "back to basics" in the vineyards - proper pruning, tilling, controlling yields, selecting grapes etc. - was complemented by upgrading winemaking and ageing techniques and equipment, with timely advice from a few key consultants and culminating in building a brand new cellar opened in 2007.
By the way, I pinched the picture, with the loud coloured stripes featured on their labels, off their poetic website, where you'll also find some stunning pictures and tips for staying and eating in this lost corner of the Corbières (the "main road" to the village only goes to, erm, the village). I sampled these wines at the enigmatically named "Salon du X" - it's not that much of a mystery, actually, a tasting organised by their agent Xavier Peyrot des Gachons with a dozen Languedoc & Roussillon winegrowers present (there were originally 10 in his "gang", I think) hence the X - in April 2010 at Domaine Gayda's impressive winery & restaurant complex, found between Limoux and Castelnaudary.

2009 Corbières white (Grenache blanc, Macabeu) - juicy and zesty vs exotic banana fruit; nice depth and oily vs crisp mouth-feel. 85+
2008 La comporte du garage (barrel-fermented Grenache blanc) - a bit spicy wood dominated vs juicy and colourful fruit; lightly creamy and maturing notes vs a bit of zing on the finish. 85+
2009 rosé - attractive "boiled sweets" fruity style, crisp and zesty to finish. 80+
La Buvette (mostly .Grenache + Carignan 14.5%) - light colour with lovely ripe soft raspberry and sweet liquorice notes; quite stocky actually with a light touch of tannin, nice easy style. 85
2008 Castelmaure (Carignan Grenache Syrah) - scented "garrigue" with vibrant blueberry and blackberry fruit; juicy lively palate with a bit of weight and grip, subtle lingering fruit. 87
2007 La Pompadou (Carignan Grenache Syrah) - enticing cassis and black cherry fruit with more depth and concentration and a hint of chocolate oak; appealing "sweet" vs perfumed vs chunky finish, again tasty and well-balanced. 88+
2007 Grande Cuvée (Grenache Syrah) - riper liquorice nose and spicier too; fairly lush texture with a tad more oak, attractive depth and grip vs quite concentrated with "sweet" vs dry finish. 89+

4 Route des Canelles, 11360 Embres & Castelmaure. 04 68 45 91 83 / www.castelmaure.com

Wine courses in the Belfast area (updated)

2011-12-12T11:27:00.001Z

Wine Education Service, which runs consumer wine courses and tastings at various centres around the UK, and yours truly RMJ have teamed up to launch a new introductory evening wine course and a one day wine workshop. The five week course starts in April 2012 in Belfast City Centre and in Bangor (Co. Down), and the one day event is on Saturday 31 March in Belfast. Details as follows:

Belfast

1 day workshop "the World of Wine" on Saturday March 31: £75 per person including tasting approx 15 wines with tuition, lunch with wine and a course manual.

Oscar Wilde room, Ramada Encore Hotel, Saint Anne's Square, Belfast BT1 2LD. www.encorebelfast.co.uk

5 week introductory course Tuesday evenings starting 3 April until 1 May inclusive: £125 including half-a-dozen wines tasted each session, tuition and in-depth course material. At the Ramada as above.

Bangor

5 week introductory course Wednesday evenings starting in April: £125 including half-a-dozen wines tasted each session, tuition and in-depth course material. One day workshop and other wine tasting & food events possible - details to follow.

Upstairs @ the AVA vin café bar & grill, 132 Main Street, Bangor (opposite the rail station). www.theava.co.uk

More information and booking: www.wine-education-service.co.uk, tel: 020 8991 8213. Or email Richard James richard@winewriting.com.

Languedoc: Domaine Gayda, pays d'Oc / Malepère

2011-12-08T16:49:00.001Z

UPDATE: this quirky red, in the sense that you don't find much Cabernet Franc planted in the region and some growers / winemakers are getting interesting results from it, was tasted in London not so long ago...

2009 Figure Libre Cabernet Franc, IGP Pays d'Oc - leafy spicy nose, unusual 'inky' vs rich profile, nice tannins and pretty intense long finish. Good stuff and certainly different although again it's quite expensive at £16.99 (New Generation Wines, UK).

... And this is what I said about Gayda (the winery rather than a device used by gay men to catch like-minded wavelengths...) and sampled in situ back in April 2010:

Domaine Gayda
All the wines featured below are labelled up as Pays d'Oc (their winemaking policy) but, to help you pinpoint where to locate, in mind and on map, Domaine Gayda's impressive winery & restaurant complex (modern yet Mediterranean), it's found between Limoux and Castelnaudary just before the tiny village of Brugairolles (you can't miss it). Gayda is technically in the virtually unknown Malepère appellation, although, as I said, this isn't what motivates owners South African Anthony Record and Englishman Tim Ford's wine styles (Marc Kent of Boekenhoutskloof in the Cape is also listed as a "non-executive director," by the way). They bought the estate in 2003 with 11 hectares (27 acres) of vineyard circling the winery and another eight near La Liviniere in Minervois; plus they source grapes from other growers: e.g. in Tresserre, Opoul and Maury in the Roussillon; and Fontfroide in the Corbières. Their wines are sold by New Generation Wines in the UK, James Nicholson in Ireland, various importers in the US (see "where to buy" on their site, link below) and Sean Robson in Hong Kong. The premises are also used by British owned wine school Vin Ecole. I tasted these in April 2010 in situ:
2009 Sauvignon Blanc - nice towards New Zealand style with mix of ripe and exotic vs grassier side; pretty textbook zingy SB with a hint of class too. 85+
2009 Viognier - light peach and apricot with a touch of spice too; creamier mouth-feel with lees notes, aromatic crunchy yellow fruits with clean yet punchy finish. 85+
2007 Figure Libre Maccabeo - nutty oily and developed nose, toasty with "sweet" fruit too; lees-edged and mineral palate vs fair weight and nice nutty oily finish. 87
2009 Gayda rosé - attractive creamy vs red fruity style, crisp juicy and tasty. €6.50 85
2008 Gayda Syrah - attractive pure spicy black cherry aromas/flavours; juicy fruit with a bit of depth, a tad of oak and grip although nicely done. €6.50 87
2008 Figure Libre Cabernet Franc/Cabernet Sauvignon - cassis and red pepper with spicy, "inky" and tobacco tones; lively and quite concentrated palate with tasty "sweet/savoury" finish, dry vs rounded texture. €14 87-89
2007 Chemin de Moscou (Grenache, Syrah etc. 14%) - showing more chocolate and coconut oak, although it's lush with dark fruit and appealing rounded tannins; powerful with fruity vs dry texture, perhaps lacks a bit of character but still good (although not value-wise at €19.50). 87
2005 Chemin de Moscou (14.5%) - maturing "sweet/savoury" nose, juicy and concentrated with solid mouth-feel and hints of coconut spice; firmly textured and powerful, still needs a couple of years or so to open up. 88-90

11300 Brugairolles. 0468 31 64 14 / www.domainegayda.com.

Roussillon: Bugarach or until the end of the world...

2011-12-05T17:33:00.000Z

Cue Edge style guitar strumming... remember the U2 song used for the soundtrack of that early-90s arty apocalyptic Wim Wenders movie? Well, I like a man with a sense of humour, and it makes a refreshing change to come across this Roussillon red in the cluttered wine world. As it says, translating from the back-label: "Inspired by the oldest legends, this Bugarach wine should survive the end of the world and help you get in touch with extraterrestrials. This wine will be at its peak in December 2012..." He's called Jean Pla (pic.) and is probably best known for the "resto-cave" he and his wife used to own in Maury, Le Pichenouille, which he sold this year to focus on his wine broking / making activities. I remember someone also once called him "the Godfather of Maury," with respek.
Bugarach is a tiny village found nearby in the Corbieres at the foot of the mystical 'upside-down' Bugarach peak, which for some reason will be spared next year's apocalypse according to some wise souls. Anyway, this wine is a 100% Grenache blend sourced from vineyards around St-Paul de Fenouillet where Jean lives, is available locally and in "Northern Europe" (a bit vague, see website link below) and in the US via the appropriately named David Vincent Selection (remember the star of the original Invaders TV series?).

Cuvée Bugarach 2010 vin de pays des Côtes Catalanes, Jean Pla Sélection (Grenache, 14.5% alc); subtitled as "S'il n'en reste qu'un, je serais celui-la" = "If there's only one left, I'd be this one."
Volatile "real cider" notes in that "natural" wild ferment / low sulphite winemaking style (I'm guessing), nice chunky palate vs rounded tannins with wild blackberry / cherry fruit, has a bit of oomph vs fresher bite, light touch of chocolate oak underneath with grainy texture, 'cidery' vs sweet fruit on the finish tinged with savoury black olive flavours too. €8
jeanplaselection.com

Languedoc: a tale of two Fitous...

2011-12-01T12:47:00.006Z

... Aka Domaine Jones update vs Cave de Mont Tauch update, just for the sake of making the post title a touch catchier. There's also a theme to my stream-of-conscious word outpourings, as you'll gather if you read this post from August last year featuring Domaine Jones and her first vintage release wines. Katie used to work for the Mont Tauch co-op in marketing but is now a fully-fledged winegrower/maker, and has a few wee vineyard parcels in the Maury area and now a massive 0.6 hectares (1.5 acres) in Tuchan in Fitou country (near where she lives) across the rocky Corbières border between Languedoc and Roussillon. The 2010 red tasting-noted below is hence her first vintage (although it says on her website that 2011 would be the first?!) from these particular mixed old vines, some of them 100 years and counting, which is looking good already. Katie's wines are also now available in the US via David Vincent Selection, in Sweden from Johan Lidby and at Bodaweinhaus and Weinhaus Gawron in Germany, so she has been busy.
In comparison or just to stir up a bit of mischief perhaps, I've slotted in a new (outside of France anyway) single-vineyard Fitou from Mont Tauch co-op winery (also from Tuchan) underneath, which was previously included in this post on some new southern French reds from M&S. Oh, and a little "local politics" might not go amiss here... Katie's partner Jean-Marc used to be president of said co-op but is now doing his own thing as well (he owns a few vineyards in the area), although was unfortunately a victim of some spiteful jealous moron, allegedly, who decided to wreck one of his vineyards causing €15,000 worth of damage, presumably because of some former conflict over "policy". There's progress for you, just when most of France has finally woken up to real competition in the big bad wine world, down south, in certain co-op worlds at least rather than forward-thinking ones or estate wineries, your competitor / enemy is still your neighbour! Anyway, as always, let's let the wines do the talking...

2010 Domaine Jones Fitou (Carignan, Grenache, Syrah; 14% alc): Sweet dark berry fruit and liquorice aromas with volatile edges, shows a light touch of chocolate/coffee oak adding grainy vs rounded texture, fair oomph vs attractive supple tannins, black fruits and subtle dark choc bitter twist. Drinking nicely already yet still structured and concentrated, ripe and rounded mouth-feel vs tarter blueberry fruit side. Quite dear at £20 but I understand she didn't make much at all, and it's good stuff for sure. Available on-line for UK delivery or see Katie's blog for other outlets: domainejones.blogspot.com.

2009 Fitou, Château de Montmal / Cave de Mont Tauch (Syrah, Grenache, Carignan; 13.5%): nice spicy black cherry and sweet liquorice vs smoky tobacco and volatile balsamic notes; powerful solid palate with tasty concentrated fruit, lush and lively with ripe maturing finish. Well-made attractive chunky style, a special-occasion red at the price: £12.99 M&S on-line only.
Previous MT wines and profile are here.

Languedoc: Château de Caraguilhes, Corbières

2011-11-21T19:33:00.012Z

UPDATE: the latest vintage release of one of their top Corbières reds, Solus 2009, crossed my tasting path a couple of months ago in London, which is available in the UK via Les Producteurs et Vignerons de France retailing for a wallet-thinning £16.99...

2009 Solus (60% Syrah, 25% Mourvèdre, 15% Carignan) - vibrant black cherry fruit with chocolate oak tones, structured palate still although has attractive texture with long spicy finish. Very good, needs a few months more to open up.

Click here for a glimpse of the 2010 Solus, an unfinished sample tasted in Montpellier six months ago. And read on for a profile of Caraguilhes with some previous vintages reviewed from 2006 to 2010...

Pierre Gabison, previously a shareholder in this vast picturesque estate and Pech-Latt, bought out Caraguilhes entirely in 2005 and has spent a fortune on restoring the chateau, looking at the sumptuous pictures on their website. He's also continuing a long-standing 'tradition' (true in this case) of organic farming and philosophy, apparently pioneered by the previous owner in the 50s and 60s, which was virtually unheard of back in the golden age of newfangled nasty synthetic sprays and fertilisers. The sizeable 100+ ha (250 acres) of vineyards have been organically certified since 1992, which must be hard work. They lie on pretty rolling hills at slight altitude (up to 180m / 550 feet) surrounded by huge tracts of forest and scrubland, in the middle of nowhere: it's about 30 km (20 miles) from the sea, 15km south of Lézignan and 25 km southwest of Narbonne. Pierre's team includes young Etienne Besancenot, the new-ish "technical director" (senior winemaker I guess in "Anglo-Saxon" speak, as the French love to say as a put-down) who I first bumped into at Chateau de Pibarnon in Bandol back in 2004 (he was working the vintage as part of his studies); and Bruno Averseng in the field, literally.

I tasted these wines at Millésime Bio 2009 in Montpellier:

2008 Domaine de l'Olivette Vin de Pays des Coteaux de la Cabrerisse (Grenache blanc, Marsanne) - nice crisp zesty style with floral and honeyed aromas / flavours. 80-85
2008 Caraguilhes white Corbières (Grenache blanc & Marsanne) - more intense with enticing citrus, honey and exotic fruits; crisp bite and length on the palate. 872008 Corbières rosé (50/50 Grenache & Syrah) - delicious, juicy and zesty rose petal and red fruit cocktail; quite big mouth-feel then very crisp to finish. 87+
2007 red Corbières (Carignan Syrah Grenache Mourvèdre) - attractive crunchy cassis and blueberry fruit; very vibrant and tasty with firm v fruity finish. 87+
2007 Solus Corbières (Carignan Grenache Syrah) - richer and more concentrated with a touch of chocolate oak texture, but it's mostly the lush v crunchy fruit that shines through; solid firm tannins countered by lots of liquorice and black cherry. Very nice. 90-92
2005 Prestige Corbières (Carignan Syrah Grenache) - oilier aromas and texture with maturing edges, still quite firm and dry with a touch of wood on the palate; big mouth-feel although has some rich dark fruit underneath, less seductive perhaps. 87+

Update: I paid Etienne a visit in late January 2010 and hence had the opportunity to tread some of the soil on this sizeable and handsome estate, found up a track off the main road between Thézan and St-Laurent. He's been overseeing a bit of ripping up and replanting including some Carignan, which is quite rare nowadays as most people only seem interested in (re)planting Syrah and Grenache. Etienne's pretty excited at being at the helm at Caraguilhes as he thinks "there's huge potential here." We tasted the latest vintages and a couple of experimental wines, which certainly confirm this:
2008 white (60% Marsanne + Grenache blanc) - quite exotic and rich with floral apricot and banana aromas underlined by yeast-lees notes; full and rounded vs crisp biter twist, nice clean vs fruity finish. 87
2008 Grenache blanc (barrel-fermented) - rounded and "sweet" mouthfeel vs quite crisp, vanilla notes but not too toasty overall; perhaps needs more bite and fat, although it's an interesting experiment.
2008 rosé (Syrah Grenache Carignan 13.5%) - very appealing strawberry / raspberry on the nose; weighty / oily palate then refreshing finish. Yum. UK: Waitrose stores. 87
2007 "classique" red - wilder "garrigue" tones vs very spicy black cherry fruit, ripe liquorice aromas too; quite concentrated with dry vs rounded tannins and lovely fruit too. Waitrose 88+
2007 "prestige" red (Grenache Syrah Mourvèdre) - more complex nose with its almost animal, meaty and savoury tones; less open on the palate, but it's a more exciting wine underneath showing subtle spicy finish; less charm now but give it a year or two. 89-91
2008 Solus red (more Mourvèdre and Syrah, less Grenache; cask sample) - estery aromas with wild black fruits; quite vanilla-coated adding "sweetness" countered by lovely depth of fruit, again good balance of dry and firm mouthfeel vs lush and ripe; carries the 15% weight well as it's surprisingly elegant and not overworked, finishing with tight bite. Needs 1 to 2 years to round out. 90-92
Caraguilhes reds are priced €6.90, €9.90 and €15 cellar door.

And previously at Millésime Bio organic wine fair in 2006:
2005 Corbières rosé - very appealing strawberry fruit and weight, then fresh crisp and long. 87+
2004 Corbières rouge - nice depth of youthful cherry fruit with tobacco edges, well handled tannins on the finish. 88-90
11220 Saint Laurent de la Cabrerisse. Tel: 04 68 27 88 99, www.caraguilhes.fr

Roussillon: Domaine of the Bee update

2011-11-18T16:54:00.004Z

Click here for profile and note on the 2007 vintage of their sumptuous old Grenache & Carignan based red and see below for my impressions of the recently released 2009. Other news includes their 2008 vintage now being available in the US via a distributor who sells in 35 states. More details are on their website domaineofthebee.com under 'Order your wine' then select USA, obviously!
There's a special offer running at the moment too "at the Domaine of the Bee shop," as the blurb goes. Use this code £10NOV2011 and they'll "take a tenner off your bill." One bottle is usually a somewhat pricey £27.95 delivered (£20 single bottle price + £7.95 p+p) so that makes it £17.95. The price does come down as the quantity goes up, here's the maths in a nutshell: 3 bottles = £60 + £7.95 minus £10 = £57.95, or 6 bottles = £108 + £7.95 minus £10 = £105.95, for example. The catch is it's limited to the first 50 people who order and is valid until Sunday 27th November (UK deliveries only). Enough of the sales pitch, you might well be saying (I don't have shares in the Bee incidentally), although you could combine this offer with the charity row (as in boat not argument...) Justin, whose father died of prostate cancer last year, is just about to do in aid of that cause. In their words: "Amanda, Philippe and I have decided to help raise funds by donating £10 to the charity for every 6 bottle case of Domaine of the Bee we sell before 20th November." Now over to that new-release wine:

2009 Domaine of the Bee IGP Côtes Catalanes (15%) - touches of coconut oak but not too much adding texture and roundness to its ripe tannins and fruit, offering up sweet liquorice and blackberry flavours; powerful mouthful although that 15% alc. is surprisingly well hidden among its concentrated lush black fruit and damson mix with nice peppery edges too; attractive soft tannins vs light bitter chocolate twist and subtle dry grip, this is drinking nicely already actually.

Languedoc: Domaines Paul Mas

2011-11-14T10:54:00.003Z

Update: the latest from the expansionist and thick cheque-booked Jean-Claude Mas camp is the purchase of vineyards in wild and woolly Terrasses du Larzac country (source: vitisphere.com ) and Domaine de Moulinas in Caux not far from Pézenas. He's also taking over running Domaine de Martinolles (see winery A to Z, right, for link to their profile) who's a fairly sizeable yet traditional Blanquette and Crémant de Limoux winemaker, which should complement Mas' already growing production of white and red wines in this area from their Domaine Astruc estate. This brings DPM to over 300 ha of owned vine-land across the Languedoc, plus those managed properties and partner-growers who supply grapes. Some people (usually certain small-minded French growers who think all big is bad) diss the Paul Mas operation as a simple churner-outer of lots of "unserious" varietals, largely because of their fun export brand Arrogant Frog I'd guess, which appear to be in-demand and are consistently good. But they've probably never tried their more serious single-vineyard or sub-appellation reds or Limoux whites, for example.
In addition, Domaine de Nicole estate winery, where the company's head office is located near Montagnac, has been expanded into a "wine tourism site" with a restaurant opening in spring 2012. I've tasting-noted some of their latest vintages below sampled over the last few months; and there's a fuller profile and lots more wines going back to 2004 underneath these. Their UK importer is Stratford’s Wine Agencies and they're well distributed in the States too (see website).

2010 Vermentino - floral peachy nose, spicy juicy palate with crisp 'gummy' mouth-feel, attractive lively dry white. £7.99 at Majestic allegedly although I couldn't find it on their site.

2010 Chardonnay - benchmark sunny south of France Chardy with juicy citrus and peachy fruit with milky yeast-less edges, quite weighty yet crisp finish. Fairly widely available under different labels.

2010 Sauvignon blanc - nice classic gooseberry vs ripe citrus SB style with soft-ish yet zingy finish. Different versions of this are sold in various retailers e.g. Majestic, Waitrose.

2010 Viognier - delicious V style with lighter zesty touches vs fatter exotic fruit, crisp intense vs rounded and towards weighty/oily mouth-feel. Sainsbury's do an Elegant Frog version and Asda has an own label on offer at the moment for under a Fiver.

2010 Marsanne - floral apricot aromas / flavours, zesty palate vs lightly creamy edges, has a bit of oomph too followed by tight zingy length. Asda and Majestic do different labels of this.
2010 Rosé de Syrah - strawberry and raspberry boiled sweet notes, lively and quite long with a attractive bitter twist, nice round vs zingy style.
2010 Grenache noir - seductive simple fruity style, touch of dry grip on the palate vs lively berry and spice combo.
2008 Mas des Mas Saint-Chinian red - lovely wild herby and floral liquorice nose, spicy white pepper tones vs sweet fruit, quite elegant and drinking well now.
2010 La Forge Merlot - herbal 'inky' tinges vs lots of juicy plummy fruit, a little closed up and firm when I tried it but shows the usual Forge concentration and Merlot style.
2010 La Forge Carignan old vines - 'reductive' nose and tight palate, has attractive fresh blueberry fruit though with intriguing tangy vs ripe profile; quite structured acid/tannin mouth-feel combo, needs a few months to open up but promising probably and different for sure. Majestic lists a version of this at £8.99.
2009 La Forge Malbec - complex spicy nose, aromatic vs richer side with grainy vs sweet texture; quirky Malbec style and tasty with it. Majestic lists a version of the 2010 vintage at £8.99.
2009 DPM Vignes de Nicole Cabernet Sauvignon/Syrah - touches of dusty oak or something ? (can't remember if this bottle was screwcapped or with a cork) but layered with cassis and dark cherry fruit, nice texture and depth with again tight finish.

2009 Château Paul Mas "Clos des Mûres" Coteaux du Languedoc (85% Syrah, 10% Grenache, 5% Mourvèdre) - quite chocolate oaky when I tried it with taut firm grainy texture, closing up on a big structured finish; but it's pretty concentrated and stylish too suggesting something much more promising and exiting once it opens up and softens. £12.50

You'll find more Mas wines buried in here (Languedoc vintage reports 2009 and 2008) and within a few mini-reports before and after this post on Limoux (based around 2010 vintage tastings). In addition, I've copied across all this stuff previously published on various pages of WineWriting.com:

Domaine de Nicole, one of four Mas family properties in the Pézenas area and now their HQ, has been refitted to house a tasteful tasting/reception area and shop with an enlarged "wine tourism site," including a restaurant, due to open in late 2008 (oops, see update above - planning permission delays etc...). If they get the planning permission through soon, that is (a somewhat French case of bureaucracy over progress it seems). A "Languedoc modernist," as their PR accurately calls him, with irreverent labels like Arrogant Frog (the wine’s good too) and lively varietal Vins de Pays such as La Forge Merlot, Chardonnay or Viognier; Jean-Claude Mas and brother Michel also produce serious, more 'traditional' Coteaux du Languedoc reds such as Château Paul Mas (see vertical tasting of five vintages below) and Les Faïsses. In addition, they've now launched wines from a recently converted organic vineyard plus three new 'single terroir' reds called Mas des Mas from the 2006 vintage (also below), which show great promise and knock on the head any thoughts that they're all marketing (although they're pretty good at that too). Oh by the way, guess which country is one of their main export markets? Australia! (2008)

These wines were sampled at Vinisud in Montpellier, February 2008:
2006 Château Paul Mas (all five are mostly Syrah plus Grenache Mourvèdre) - showing spicy coco oak layered with lovely black cherry fruit and peppery tones, attractive textured tannins balanced by depth of fruit, well-handled oak and power on the finish. About £10 in the UK, available shortly at Majestic. 90-92
2005 Château Paul Mas - a touch smokier and richer v firmer and more powerful palate, yet still ripe, rounded and showing great balance of oak/tannins/fruit; lovely concentration v solid grip, the alcohol is a little more noticeable but it works in this wine. 92-94
2004 Château Paul Mas - much more developed than the last time I tasted it two years ago at Vinisud (obviously perhaps but you know what I mean), showing complex liquorice and leather notes; 'sweet' peppery palate with solid structure, grippy tannins yet elegant finish. 92-94
2003 Château Paul Mas - dried fruits, leather and complex herbal v savoury nose; stonky tannins and weight v big rich fruit and power. 90-92
2002 Château Paul Mas - maturing rustic tones with leather and liquorice, further delicious liquorice fruit and savoury tobacco edges on the palate; again still firm tannins but nicely layered, drinking well now. 92-94
2006 Les Tannes Cabernet - Merlot (organic) - nice herbal v tobacco nose with ripe cassis, tangy tannins and quite concentrated & fine finish. 87-89
2006 Mas des Mas, Pézenas (mostly Mourvèdre) - quite closed on the nose, showing tight structure and quite austere in style, oak textured but very concentrated and long. Needs a year or two to open up. 90-92
2006 Mas des Mas, Terrasses du Larzac (more Syrah) - again structured and powerful but a bit richer with black cherry Syrah style; chocolate oak background to its concentrated, firm and commanding finish, yet well-balanced too. 92-94
2006 Mas des Mas, Grés de Montpellier (50% Mourvèdre) - more black fruits and liquorice in style and a tad more savoury too, also peppery with subdued oak; very firm tannins and big weight v 'sweet' fruit and black pepper coming back on its promising finish. 94+?
2007 'lower alcohol' Viognier (10%) - surprisingly characterful, aromatic and faintly exotic with fresh finish; winemakers normally say Viognier isn't an interesting variety unless fully ripe therefore 13-14-15% even. 80-85
2007 Enigma (late harvested Chardonnay blended with 10% Muscat and 20% Viognier both fermented dry, leaving 30 grams/litre residual sugar) - quite exotic v fresh citrus tones, doesn't seem very sweet thanks to its refreshing crisp finish. Nice wine. 87

Stop-press April 08: Jean-Claude had seven wines selected in the 'Top 100 Vins de Pays' competition, an annual tasting held in Britain aimed at the trade. They were La Forge Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 (Trophy for best Cab Sauv), Arrogant Frog Ribet White Chardonnay/Viognier 2007, Claude Val Rosé 2007, Paul Mas Rosé de Syrah 2007, La Forge Estate Merlot 2007, Paul Mas Merlot 2007 and Paul Mas Cabernet Sauvignon 2007.

2006 update: A few new vintages and releases from the JC Mas team, including some unusual blends and the cross-breed red variety Marselan from recently purchased organic vineyards near Pézenas. Tasted at Vinisud wine show:
2005 Sauvignon Blanc dA, Limoux - attractive crisp intense gooseberry and citrus fruit, fresh long finish. 85-87
2005 Viognier - lively and zesty showing lovely depth of rich apricot fruit and aromatic class. 89
2005 La Forge Chardonnay - attractive citrus and peach fruit underlined by subtle toast and cream flavours, good bite v weight on the finish. 90+
2005 La Forge Cabernet Sauvignon - tight focused cassis fruit, firm yet rounded mouthfeel; needs 6 months to come together, promising. 89-90?
Paul Mas 1892 (its name rather than vintage!) (Alicante, Carignan, Cinsault Grenache & Merlot) - stonky grippy palate, unusual meaty style, old fashioned chunky blend but good with it. 87-89
2004 Marselan - curranty juicy fruit, has fair depth and firm texture; different.87
2004 Château Paul Mas, Coteaux du Languedoc - the oak's quite strong at the moment, but this displays beautiful concentration of blackberry and chocolate; tight, fine yet weighty finish. 92+
2003 Château Paul Mas, Coteaux du Languedoc - similar power v finesse with richer wilder more developed fruit. 92+
2003 Les Faisses, Coteaux du Languedoc - lovely drinking now (with rack of lamb) yet concentrated and structured enough to develop much further; full, gamey and 'sweet' with firm rounded tannins. 92-94
2005 Sauvignon Blanc dA, Limoux - attractive crisp intense gooseberry and citrus fruit, fresh long finish. 85-87
2005 Viognier - lively and zesty showing lovely depth of rich apricot fruit and aromatic class. 89
2005 La Forge Chardonnay - attractive citrus and peach fruit underlined by subtle toast and cream flavours, good bite v weight on the finish. 90+
2005 La Forge Cabernet Sauvignon - tight focused cassis fruit, firm yet rounded mouthfeel; needs 6 months to come together, promising. 89-90?
Paul Mas 1892 (its name rather than vintage!) (Alicante, Carignan, Cinsault Grenache & Merlot) - stonky grippy palate, unusual meaty style, old fashioned chunky blend but good with it. 87-89
2004 Marselan - curranty juicy fruit, has fair depth and firm texture; different.87
2004 Château Paul Mas, Coteaux du Languedoc - the oak's quite strong at the moment, but this displays beautiful concentration of blackberry and chocolate; tight, fine yet weighty finish. 92+
2003 Château Paul Mas, Coteaux du Languedoc - similar power v finesse with richer wilder more developed fruit. 92+
2003 Les Faisses, Coteaux du Languedoc - lovely drinking now (with rack of lamb) yet concentrated and structured enough to develop much further; full, gamey and 'sweet' with firm rounded tannins. 92-94

Posted January 2005. Reviews of the latest releases from this go-getting Languedoc producer and exporter. Also read my article published in the weekly trade magazine Harpers: Is there a d'Oc in the house? (towards the bottom of that page) which includes a few comments by Jean-Claude Mas.

2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Vignes de Nicole, Vin de Pays d'Oc - Wow, needs time: plenty of toasty chocolate oak at the moment concealing big structure and concentration. 90+
2004 Carignan Vieilles Vignes - Tasted from barrique: lots of inky berry fruit with liquorice edges, spicy wood on the firm tight finish, yet shows plenty of nice ripe fruit to balance. Also one to watch. 87+
2004 Claudeval/Domaine de Nicole rosé (Syrah Grenache Cinsault) - Attractive rose petal and strawberry style, quite chunky fruit with a touch of crispness; nice quaffer. Try with tomato and avocado salad. Less than £4. 85
2004 dA Marsanne, Vin de Pays (sourced from the Limoux area) - Attractive honeysuckle aromas, zesty depth with fair concentration of waxy honeyed fruit too; should be rather good in a few months time. 85-87
2003 Ile de Conas Viognier, Michel Mas winemaker, Vin de Pays d'Oc - Quite fat yet flowery apricot fruit; however, this also has lovely bite and length balancing the weighty mouthfeel. Under £6 at Asda. 87-90
2004 La Forge Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Vin de Pays d'Oc - Vat sample: lovely balance of riper yet tangy blackcurrant fruit and liquorice edges, firm rounded tannins; will be super in a few months. 90+
2004 La Forge Estate Chardonnay, Vin de Pays d'Oc (40% sourced from Limoux, 60% from 'warm' climate vineyards) - Rich and creamy yet aromatic with fresh peach and pear fruit, more toffee-ish in the mouth but has crisp bite and length too. Yum, a bargain too at £5-6. Asda does the Ile La Forge label for £4.99! 90
2003 Les Faisses, Jean Claude Mas, Coteaux du Languedoc (Syrah Grenache) - Light cedar aromas underneath pure ripe blackcurrant, closed firm palate showing greater elegance than the Vinus, good depth of fruit v solid tannins, very long. Needs time to open up. 90-92
2004 Pinot Noir, Vin de Pays d'Oc - Tasted from barrique: not showing much on the nose, but the palate offers nice youthful cherry fruit set against a tight acid structure; you can see some savoury character underneath, wrapped in not too heavy chocolate oak. Could be good: 85-87. Aldi is now selling Ile la Forge Pinot Noir at £4.99.2004 Sauvignon Blanc, Vin de Pays d'Oc - Plenty of zingy grapefruit and gooseberry, shows nice balance of green v riper fruit, mineral v fatter palate, crisp length. 86-88
2002 Vinus de Jean Claude Mas, Coteaux du Languedoc (Syrah Grenache) - Hints of cedar mingle with ripe rustic fruit, very grippy and structured set against attractive rounded liquorice fruit, power v elegance on the finish. Very good for 2002, not a great vintage here. 90+

From Previous wines of the moment tasted July 2004

2003 Arrogant Frog Ribet Red, Vin de Pays d'Oc (13.5% Screwcap Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon) - Offers a touch of spicy oak, aromatic blackcurrant and cherry fruit, alcohol and some complex earthy notes on the nose; full fruity and spicy leading to firm bite, yet it's drinking well now and will roll out nicely with 6-12 months in bottle. I like your style. 87
2003 Hidden Hill Captivating Chardonnay Viognier, Vin de Pays d'Oc (13% Screwcap) - Fresh aromatic nectarine and apricot nose, nice zesty extract and zingy fruit, lively style and finish. 85-87
2003 Hidden Hill Charismatic Cabernet Shiraz, Vin de Pays d'Oc (13% Screwcap) - Needs a little air... then opens up to reveal spicy blackcurrant, cherry and elderberry fruit; tangy fruity palate finishing with a bit of grip and length. Appears to be suffering a little from "young red under screwcap" syndrome, i.e. displaying reductive notes in the background. 84-86
2003 Hidden Hill Memorable Merlot, Vin de Pays d'Oc (13% Screwcap) - Quite memorable: aromatic cherry, plum and raisin fruit with a tangy twist; reasonably firm palate to start but softens out, especially with food. Appears to be suffering a little from "young red under screwcap" syndrome, i.e. displaying reductive notes in the background. 84-86
2003 Hidden Hill Scintillating Sauvignon Blanc, Vin de Pays d'Oc (12% Screwcap) - Grassy gooseberry aromas lead to a tangy citrus palate, soft acidity adds a touch of crispness; not so scintillating but pleasantly easy going if kept well chilled. 80-83
2003 La Forge Estate Merlot, Vin de Pays d'Oc (13% Unfiltered) - Lovely nose showing rich smoky rustic black cherry and plum fruit touched up with aromatic oak, pretty dense and concentrated with nice thick tannins and fruit leaving a coating in the mouth; modern and chunky yet classical style balancing alcohol, power and subtlety. Bargain at £5.99. 90-92

Domaine de Nicole, Route de Villeveyrac, 34120 Montagnac. Tel: 04 67 90 16 10, paulmas.com / arrogantfrog.fr.

Southern French reds @ Marks & Spencer's

2011-11-10T18:34:00.004Z

Half-a-dozen new releases or new vintages of old M&S favourite reds gleaned from a sweeping swathe of the big south, taking in the Languedoc, Roussillon, Provence and Rhone Valley and all sampled / savoured at their recent London tasting (nice newish HQ building by the way). I realise the latter two regions are outside the alleged reach of this self-styled "specialist" blog, but I'll probably end up plonking all Rhone and Provence material from "old" WineWriting.com onto this one rather than my other WineWriting blog. Watch this, or that space even... Over to those promised red hot tips.

2010 Old Vines Grenache Noir, Roussillon - Vindivin (14% alc.): sexy ripe sweet juicy Grenache nose and palate, soft liquorice vs peppery punchy side, lush mouth-feel with a bit of grip vs pure fruity pleasure. £6.99

2008 Cuvée Extrême, Côtes du Roussillon Villages - Vignerons Catalans (Syrah, Grenache, Carignan; 14.5%): spicy vs maturing nose, quite rich and big with a touch of 'old wood' grain, powerful and grippy vs sweet / spicy fruit finishing with meaty edges too. That 14.5 alc. is a little hot but this has plenty of flavour to counter it! £9.99 150 stores.
Profile and Catalan wines tasted previously.

2007 L'Etoile de Romanin, Les Baux de Provence - Château Romanin (Mourvèdre, Cabernet, Grenache, Syrah, Carignan, Cinsault; 14%): interesting cocktail of varieties conjuring up a seductive smoky nose and palate, liquorice vs cassis fruit and savoury meaty and black olive tones as well; grip and power vs concentrated mouth-feel, attractive raisin vs olive flavours, lovely style balance and class. Dear though at £13.99 (150 stores), which is pretty typical of rich men's club and small production Baux de Provence. They sell most of it to well-off Parisians with holiday villas in twee places like St. Rémy de Provence. Jealous, moi...

2009 Crozes-Hermitage, northern Rhône - Domaine Collonge (actually made by Philippe and Vincent Jaboulet; 100% Syrah, 13% alc.): quite closed up on the nose, leads on to delicious Syrah spice style with dark cherry fruit and meaty edges, concentrated with dry grip vs lovely white peppery and fruity finish, rounded vs lively; well-balanced and classy. £12.99 in 150 stores.

2009 Saint-Joseph, northern Rhône - Cave de St-Désirat (100% Syrah, 12.5%): quirkier herbal-leaning nose moving on to lusher mouth-feel with dark vs savoury profile, chunky and more structured vs sweet peppery fruit then maturing meaty notes; much firmer finish than above but still good. £12.99 80 stores.

2009 Fitou Reserve, Languedoc - Château de Montmal / Cave de Mont Tauch (Syrah, Grenache, Carignan; 13.5%): nice spicy black cherry and sweet liquorice vs smoky tobacco and volatile balsamic notes; powerful solid palate with tasty concentrated fruit, lush and lively with ripe maturing finish. Well-made attractive chunky style although very much a special-occasion red at the price: £12.99 on-line only.

Click here and here for a couple of M&S southern French whites.
And here (goes to my other blog) for a couple of hearty Australian "reds of the mo" from Rhone / Med grape varieties...

Languedoc: Le Clos du Serre, Terrasses du Larzac

2011-11-02T17:59:00.001Z

Sébastien Fillon set up shop as a brave new winegrower in 2006 having spent a few years trying to find ‘the right spot’. Well, he found it - and 15 different parcels of old-vine vineyard (including some 85 and 110 year-old Carignan) - in those breath-taking elevated wine-lands around St. Jean de la Blaquière: there really are serious stoney terraces up here unlike other parts of the so-called, and somewhat flatter "Terrasses du Larzac" mini-appellation. The easiest way of finding it is by heading up the spectacular A75 motorway from Montpellier or Béziers and follow the signs (doh!). His 'Le Clos' red blend sampled below includes one third of this virtually extinct variety of Cinsault apparently (that's a new one on me) selected from one distinct and obviously cherished parcel. Sébastien had the bright idea of creating a kind of investor 'vineholder' scheme to reduce the sum of money he had to borrow (building and equipping a cellar is a very expensive business), which has amounted to no less than 80 people pitching in and buying their own vines. Further wisdom: leclosduserres.fr.

2009 Le Clos Languedoc (Syrah, Cinsault 'oeillade', Grenache; 13.5% alc.) - has ‘inky’ spicy and floral notes, dark vs crunchy fruit profile, firm mouth-feel with hints of chocolate oak and light bitter twist, tight closed up finish. Good, needs a couple of years to come out of its shell perhaps. £10.99 Premium Wine Collections.

2009 Les Maros Terrasses du Larzac (60% Grenache plus Cinsault & Carignan; 14.5% alc.) - ripe fruity nose with spicy dark fruit combo, liquorice vs pepper too; big solid palate, tight closed up finish again, very attractive style with a touch of class. £15.99 Premium Wine Collections.

Languedoc: Pinot Noir, Domaine de Clovallon

2011-11-01T18:52:00.001Z

Further to my comments chiselled into a piece posted on WineWriting.com (Pinot Noir: Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand) on a case of "Pinot fraud," I'd say this one’s definitely Pinot. It's from this slightly off-the-wall estate found in Bédarieux on the ragged fringes of the Massif Central mountains.
2008 Les Pomarèdes Pinot Noir vin de pays d’Oc Domaine de Clovallon - Succulent silky “sweet/savoury” style and attractive Pinot character, shows a touch of dry grip vs fresh acidity on the finish. Very good for Languedoc PN although kinda dear at £15.75 in the UK (Terroir Languedoc).

Click here to see my note on their lovely white wine...
Mind you, most of the best ones are made in Limoux: click here for a bit of a rant and a few recommended producers.

Languedoc: vibrant variety of whites

2011-10-20T19:50:00.000+01:00

Following on from my succinct yet poignant Roussillon: white wines post below this one, the general excitement surrounding quality, range of styles and now availability (in the UK anyway) of attractive whites also extends to the Languedoc, of course. So, here's right royal mix tasted and enjoyed in recent times including three lively Picpouls from the Thau Lagoon area, a few richer complex barrel-fermented/aged wines from the hills and a luscious Muscat with its toe tranquilly dipped in the Med. Mind you, there aren't any bargains among this lot; the least dear is an £8 one from M&S. The Languedoc does neatly churn out quite a lot of successful tasty varietals though, such as crowd-pleasing Chardy and increasingly good Viognier, it has to be said.

2010 Maison du Languedoc Picpoul de Pinet, JeanJean - nice juicy style from this ever-growing family wine group, with waxy honeyed notes then crisp vs fuller oilier finish. £10 D&D Wines International.

Lots more JeanJean here.

2010 L'Enfant Terrible Picpoul de Pinet, Domaine la Grangette - tighter and zingier, peachy fruit vs aromatic green fruits and melon, attractive length and style. £10.49 Hallgarten Druitt.
2010 Picpoul de Pinet Les Vignerons de Florensac (12%) - enticing yeast-lees notes on the nose, very steely and zesty mouth-feel with gala melon fruit, nice crisp 'chalky' bite too. £7.99 Marks & Spencer (100 stores).

More Picpoul de Pinet here - as you'll see, generally I wasn't hugely impressed by the 2010 vintage from this region, which usually makes some of my favourite unoaked dry whites in the Languedoc.

2010 Les Mûriers Coteaux du Languedoc, Mas Bruguière (Roussanne, Marsanne) – complex mix of tight and structured palate vs rich exotic fruit, subtle and quite unrevealing at the moment but very promising. £12.50 Yapp Brothers.

More Mas Bruguière wines and profile here.

2009 Les Aurièges vin de pays Haute Vallée de l'Orb, Domaine de Clovallon (Chardonnay, Viognier, Clairette, Petit Manseng) - quirky varietal melange produces a fairly exotic and lush wine, chunky texture vs 'mineral' bite, power vs a little freshness. Good stuff. £15.75 Terroir Languedoc.

2009 Cigalus pays d'Oc, Gérard Bertrand (Chardonnay, Viognier, Sauvignon) - pretty rich toasty and creamy, concentrated and honeyed with punchy finish, quite classy though with good substance, bite and fruit vs still a bit toasty. Should develop well. £20 Bibendum.

More GB wines inc. vertical of Cigalus white.

2008 Pierres d'Argent Coteaux du Languedoc, Chateau de Lascaux (Vermentino, Roussanne, Marsanne) - intricate maturing mealy buttery aromas & flavours vs crisp and 'mineral'. Lovely style, very good. £15 HG Wines.

2008 L'Incompris vdp d'Oc, Domaine du Mas Neuf / JeanJean (Muscat petits grains) - intense Muscat characters, sweet and punchy vs crisp underneath, delicious fruit pudding style. Grown on an amazingly isolated vineyard surrounded by pine forest sandwiched between the Med, nearby lagoons and a sheer limestone cliff face (the Massif de Gardiole). £25 D&D Wines.

2005 Virgile white vdp de l'Hérault Domaine Virgile Joly (Grenache blanc) - nutty Fino nose and palate, intense 'mineral' style with a bit of weight and roundness. Not everyone's cup of tea but it's still got hints of class. Expensive though at £27, Dudley & de Fleury Wines.

See Languedoc A to Z, right, for more Virgile Joly.

Roussillon: 3 white wines

2011-10-04T20:31:00.002+01:00

If you've been kind enough or bothered to read anything else Roussillon on this excitingly narrow-focused blog, you'll have noticed a slight enthusiasm for the sometimes superb white wines being made more and more often nowadays in the region. I tried these two below not so long ago, on the "South of France" stand at the London Wine Fair: both from well-known and well-regarded estates, very different in style, varietal make-up and with three years of age between them too (Ed: I've since added a third - scroll down).

Jean Gardiès' quite fine Clos des Vignes is crafted from Grenaches blanc and gris grown on an elevated (380m) vineyard in the Vingrau area, which were fermented and aged for 12 months in demi-muids barrels (600 litre size). It's sold in the UK by H2Vin Ltd. for about £17 retail, so it's no giveaway but has a bit of class, as I said.

Le Soula is joint-owned by Gérard Gauby and UK importer Richards Walford (their wines are handled by Peter Weygandt-Metzler in the US), and this nicely maturing white is made from a heady cocktail of Sauvignon blanc, Grenache blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne, Macabeu and Malvoisie; all grown at altitude on sites around St. Martin de Fenouillet, Feilluns and Le Vivier. It's also similarly grandiosely priced at £22.49: there's a list of UK retail and restaurant stockists on their website.

Domaine Gardiès 2009 Clos des Vignes white Cotes du Roussillon - toasty notes layered with peachy hints, quite steely mouth-feel vs those toasty edges adding texture and flavour vs attractive exotic apricot fruit underneath.

More Gardiès' wines and profile here (written in 2007 after I went to the winery).

Le Soula 2006 white vin de pays des Cotes Catalanes - enticing developing nose with quite rich hazelnut tones, roast nut flavours too and rounded mouth-feel; fairly intricate with mature vs still alive profile.

Blurb on Le Soula to follow.

UPDATED 1st November: found this one at Marks & Spencer's recent press tasting, the latest release of a Collioure dry white I've tried previous vintages of made by the Cave de l'Abbé Rous co-op winery. Much improved I'd say - it was always too oaky before - although it appears to have gone up by £3 in two years, so is very overpriced. I'm not blaming M&S particularly, just the silly prices now attached to the apparently fashionable Collioure appellation!
2010 Cornet blanc (60% Grenache gris, 20% Grenache blanc, 20% Vermentino; 14% alc.) - lightly toasty tones with yeast-lees edges vs oilier and more exotic side, steelier crisper palate than previous vintages with a touch of oak grain underneath vs nice weight and oomph, finishing with ripe peachy fruit and oily texture vs attractive bitter twist. Well-made, good quality foodie white. £11.99 in 100 stores.

And a few sexy Languedoc whites, just to develop the "theme"!

Languedoc: Domaine de Cabrol, Cabardès

2011-09-27T16:40:00.002+01:00

"Sally shovelling grape
skins out of a vat."
From domainedecabrol.fr

UPDATE: always a pleasure to have the chance to try or re-try one of Claude's lovely reds, which I did recently and is tasting-noted below and "scored" using my newfangled 1 to 3 system, as opposed to ye oldie 100-point thing for the wines below that sampled in situ when I visited him on the estate on the wilder side of Cabardès country back in April 2008. Anyway, just goes to show that Cabrol is probably one of the leading 'wineries' in this area.

Tasted on the 'Sud de France' stand at the London Wine Trade Fair:

2007 Vent d'Est (60% Syrah, 30% Cabernet, 10% Grenache) - complex herbal Syrah edges with very attractive dark vs crunchy fruit profile, lush and concentrated with 'tar' and liquorice notes vs underlying lively cassis, tight firm and powerful finish. Classy stuff. 2-3 £15 Seabright & Seabright, London.

And this is what I said and tried three and a half years ago:

Claude Carayol and his team work 21 handsome hectares of vines planted on this elevated - up to 300 metres / 950 feet altitude in parts - sprawling estate (the remaining 100 or so ha are scented scrubland and forest), out of which they coax a handful of exciting red wines. The most representative are perhaps the following three rich solid blends: Vent d’Ouest, or West Wind made mainly from Cabernet Sauvignon, Vent d’Est - East Wind with Syrah predominating - and the dense age-worthy La Dérive; which are up there among the Cabardès appellation’s best wines (as long as you like chunky tannins) and reflect its philosophy in terms of varieties chosen and the sites each one performs best in.

Finding the domaine can be tricky: access is through an old gated wall on the left off the D118 road heading north from Carcassonne towards Mazamet, just after the village of Villegailhenc (bit of a mouthful that one), where vineyards and landscape begin to get sparser and wilder before merging into the ominous Montagne Noire (Black Mountain obviously). See website below for more details on going there, but basically they're open for tasting from 11am-12pm (except in winter) and 5-7pm every day (earlier in the summer) including Saturdays: ring first anyway. Claude sells his wines mostly to wine merchants and restaurants in France, so is probably as yet undiscovered in English speaking wine circles... (see update above, he now has a UK importer at least).

2005 Vent d'Est (mostly Syrah 13.5%) - attractively floral, rustic tinged black cherry nose; moves on to tight, firm and fresh mouth-feel layered with dark chocolate and cherry fruit; needs a little time to open up. 89+

2003 Vent d'Ouest (mostly Cabernet Sauvignon) - nice herbal cassis and mint aromas with peppery undertones; dense palate, grippy v lush, 'sweet' v bitter twist; still pretty chunky and concentrated. 90+

2003 La Dérive (Cabernets, Syrah, Grenache) - smoky and liquoricey, again dense and extracted but it works, rich fruit v very firm tannins then savoury tang on the finish; wow, still youthful really. 92+

11600 Aragon. Tel: 04 68 77 19 06, cc@domainedecabrol.fr, domainedecabrol.fr.

International Grenache Day

2011-09-23T13:56:00.001+01:00

It's today folks. This blog, by its very French Mediterranean nature, is crammed full of Grenache based wines and talk. Just skim through the latest posts below to find several very recommendable wines made from one of my favourite red varieties: e.g. Galatée Cotes du Roussillon Villages by Piquemal, “Mais où est donc Ornicar” Minervois by Sénat, L’Extreme from the Côtes Catalanes by Les Clos Perdus and so on... Plus wine tasting & touring features such as "Banyuls & Maury, sweet seductive Roussillon," with the spotlight firmly on those delicious Port-style fortified reds made from, you guessed it, mega Grenache.

There are also a few Grenache-themed pieces on winewriting.blogspot.com: such as "Australia: Grenache" penned with enthusiasm back in June and quite a bit of Spanish wine blogging/reviewing, such as Borsao's seductive Tres Picos from Campo de Borja region in this post; or 2009 San Valentín Garnacha by Torres dug up at the recent Belfast Wine Festival.

So, please go forth and purchase, taste, enjoy, talk about and share a tasty warming red carved from purest red Grenache. Unless you fancy a full-bodied white made from white Grenache or rosé from "grey" Grenache, that is...

More info: internationalgrenacheday.wordpress.com

Roussillon: Domaine Piquemal, Espira-de-l'Agly

2011-09-21T18:18:00.001+01:00

The now pretty well-established Piquemal estate originally dates from the early 20th Century and comes to 50 ha (125 acres) lying across the Agly Valley in the beautiful untamed northern Roussillon. The family started replanting and acquiring vineyards in the 1970s, and restoring those old bush vine plots worth keeping, which lie on typically varied soils: "from one parcel to another, the earth changes notably from red to black to white," as they describe on their site, thanks to lots of lovely chalk/clay splashes and marl with chunky schist. Enough of the geology talk, ed...
As one of the area's pioneers in many ways, they bottled their first own-estate wines back in 1983 (as opposed to delivering grapes to a co-op or bulk vintner presumably), and have just built a shiny new winery outside of 'town' (not much choice really in Espira: no room between the houses and streets in this typical tight oldie Catalan village). The team comprises Annie and Pierre, who still like to keep a watchful eye over their 'kids' running the estate: Franck the winemaker and daughter Marie-Pierre, who looks after sales & marketing in France and export markets. Eyes right for enlightenment on those 1, 2, 3 "scores"...

Tasted May 2011 on the Sud de France stand at the London Wine Trade Fair:
2008 Galatée Cotes du Roussillon Villages (Grenache, Syrah, Carignan) - nice chunky Grenache-led style, powerful and rich vs firm and concentrated. 2+ £16.95 UK distributor: Seabright & Seabright.
2007 Pygmalion Cotes du Roussillon Villages (Syrah, Grenache, Carignan) - herbal 'reductive' and peppery nose, quite punchy and lush on the palate, impressive/extracted style in the end. £16.95 UK distributor: Seabright & Seabright.

From the Saint-Bacchus awards 2009:
2007 "Les Audacieux" Pierre Audonnet vin de pays des Côtes Catalanes (Merlot Syrah Grenache 13.5%) - smoky spicy liquorice aromas mingle with earthy herbal red pepper tones; turning into blackcurrant and plum with darker cherry and chocolate, chunky fruity style underpinned by a bit of grip and power; tasty and savoury vs "sweet" and spicy, nice now although has a good 2-3 years in it yet. 87-89
US importers: Beaune Imports, Berkeley CA and Idela Wines & Spirit co. Inc, Medford MA.

At a 100th anniversary commemorative event of the Winegrowers' Revolt held in November 2007 in the region:

2000 cuvée Justin Piquemal Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes – smoky and spicy with rich tar and meaty edges, concentrated v maturing finish. 90-92

domaine-piquemal.com

Languedoc: Charlotte & Jean-Baptiste Sénat, Minervois

2011-09-13T17:37:00.001+01:00

The Sénat's wine estate comes to 15 organically tended ha (37 acres) lying near the lost village of Trausse-Minervois almost in the shadow of the brooding Montagne Noire range. As their 'had enough, jack it in and start afresh' story goes, Charlotte and Jean-Baptiste Sénat upped and left a cosy Parisian life in 1995 to take on some abandoned vineyards and old cellar owned by the family in stunningly isolated Minervois country. Les Caves de Pyrène (lescaves.co.uk) ship these wines into the UK, which retail for about £10 to £15; or €10 and €13 cellar door if you get the chance to check them out first-hand.

2009 “La Nine” red Minervois (Carignan, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Syrah, Cinsault) - quite rich and punchy with tight tannins and structured palate, earthy vs sweet fruit mix, needs time to open up.

2010 “Mais où est donc Ornicar” red Minervois (Grenache 50%, Cinsault 25%, Mourvèdre 25%) - odd spicy Beaujolais cum Loire style although laced with sunshine, different anyway.

domaine-jeanbaptistesenat.fr

Languedoc: Domaine d’Aupilhac, Montpeyroux

2011-09-10T14:13:00.001+01:00

Sylvain Fadat (pic.) is the latest in a long line to steer the now organically certified ship (with biodynamic bits thrown in too), with five centuries of grape-growing under the family's belt apparently, although they 'only' built their own little winery/cellar in 1989. Most of the vineyard lies on southwest facing terraces on a site actually called "Aupilhac," where Carignan and Mourvèdre dominate; and the rest of the vines are found on a northwest facing slope called "Les Cocalières" at an altitude of 350 metres (1150 feet), where Syrah is king. This panoramic setting overlooks the old-as-time village of Montpeyroux, where they also have on-site holiday gite accommodation for rent: see aupilhac.net for details. These wines are shipped by Les Caves de Pyrène and cost about £10 to £15, or €9 to €13 cellar door. Understanding my "scoring" is as easy as 1, 2, 3... see right-hand column.

2010 “Les Servières” red vin de pays de l’Hérault (100 year-old Cinsault) - floral tangy cassis and blueberry notes, crunchy vs ripe and spicy vs ‘sweet’ profile; different. 1+

2008 “Les Truffières” red Languedoc "Montpeyroux" (Carignan, Mourvèdre, Syrah, Cinsault) - sweet and floral nose/palate with intense minty spicy tones, firm closed up tannins with a little fresh acidity too, long elegant finish. 2

Languedoc: Domaine Ledogar, Corbières

2011-09-09T16:10:00.002+01:00

From dynamicvines.com/producer/domaine-ledogar

Xavier Ledogar took over running this 22 hectare (55 acre) estate in 1997, which gently sprawls around the rather quiet village of Ferrals-les-Corbières. He's now working entirely with back-breaking, and very time-consuming, biodynamic techniques focusing particularly on organic fertilizers (bullshit, obviously, or sheep or donkey even as he does use a handsome couple as vineyard workers: follow the link under the pic above then click on "more photos"...), herbal and plant ‘teas’ (used as natural insecticide sprays), while closely watching those lunar cycles, man... These three wines are available via their UK importer Dynamic Vines priced from approx £6 to £15. Usual comment applies to mysterious 1, 2, 3...

2008 “Tout Nature” red vin de table (Mourvèdre, Carignan, Grenache, Syrah; no SO2) - meaty baked edges, rich vs crunchy fruit, lovely intense mouth-feel with subtle grip and lively finish. 2

2006 Corbières-Boutenac red (Carignan, Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre) - herby edges vs maturing and liquorice tones, still grippy palate with hints of cedary oak, lush vs tight profile; not so sure, lacks charm perhaps. 1

2010 white Corbières (Chenin Blanc, Macabeu, Grenache Blanc & Gris) - honey vs apple aromas, intense and concentrated vs rounded and oily texture. Yum. 2

Languedoc: Clos Fantine, Faugères

2011-09-05T22:31:00.003+01:00

The Andrieu family is the brains and brawn behind Clos Fantine, one of several high-quality estates dotted around the ‘village’ of Cabrerolles in the generally exciting Faugères appellation lying to the north of Béziers. They say their red wines see very "natural" handling as they're made with wild yeasts, no added sulphur dioxide and not fined or filtered, which can be a bit risky but the result speaks for itself here. Their extraordinary white is fashioned from the disappearing Terret variety, which you find here and there in isolated spots in the Languedoc and can make eyebrow-raising full-flavoured dry white wines, as you can see from my glowing note below. The downside of rarity and lovely quirkiness is a hefty price tag: this white goes for about £15-£20 from importer Les Caves de Pyrène, among one or two other wine merchants in London, while their enticing red is nearer £10…

2009 “Valcabrières” white (Terret) - oxidising style vs peach and dried apricot aromas/flavours, ‘sappy’ too; rich intense mouth-feel, concentrated yet elegant, quirky stuff. 2-3

2009 “Tradition” red Faugères (Mourvèdre, Carignan, Grenache) - quite ‘baked’ tones but this has lush ripe liquorice fruit, meaty and concentrated palate with solid yet still rounded tannins, pretty intense finish. 2
As usual, more on "1, 2, 3" on the right...

Languedoc: Domaine les Eminades, Saint-Chinian

2011-08-27T15:23:00.005+01:00

Set up by affable couple Patricia and Luc Bettoni, this spectacular-vista estate has been tended organically since the beginning in 2002, and they say they do as much "naturally" and by hand as possible. Their handsome old vines line up across dry stoney hillsides around the villages of Cébazan and Villespassan, mostly made up of senior-citizen Carignan (50 to 110 years old), Grenache (25 to 60 years), a splash of younger Syrah and some middle-aged Cinsault too.
The three wines below sell for about £15 to £25 in the UK via their London agent Aubert & Mascoli (or 10 - 13 - 24 Euros in situ) and were sampled at the ‘natural’ wine fair (click there for more info). See right-hand column for rant on "1-2-3" scoring.

2009 Silice white, Coteaux du Fontcaude (Sauvignon blanc) - toasty and yeast-lees notes, quite intense and concentrated, a tad yeasty still on its tight unrevealing finish. Try it again in a few months time please. 1

2008 "Cebenna" St-Chinian red (40% Carignan, 40% Grenache, 20% Syrah) - perfumed wild herb/shrub aromas, floral and spicy, elegant lighter style with lovely tasty finish. 2

2007 "Vieilles Canailles" St-Chinian red (100% single plot 1902 Carignan) - herby vs rich profile, more powerful and concentrated than above, still quite firm and tight mouth-feel yet with enticing liquorice vs savoury flavours. 2+

leseminades.fr les.eminades.free.fr

Languedoc: Mas de Daumas Gassac, Aniane

2011-08-15T13:37:00.002+01:00

Some of the family and some of the team

Update: The Guibert family – it was the now well-known names of Véronique and Aimé who started the ball rolling when they established the estate back in 1970 - produces a wide range of wine styles, quality levels and labels nowadays at many different price points. This includes pink fizz, single site and sweet wines, easy-going varietals, an organic Grenache/Syrah Coteaux du Languedoc (just the one organic red with their “natural” credentials?)… In addition to their classic MDG white (based on Chardy & Viognier etc.) and red blends (based on Cab Sauv) and limited edition “Emile Peynaud” homage cuvée. Overall, their wines go from about €5.50 a bottle for their starter range (if you buy a case in France) and upwards & upwards, although all the ones tasted below at London's swinging ‘natural’ wine fair (click there for more info) sell for £20-£30+ in the UK (sold by Les Caves Pyrene, Berry Bros, Big Red Wine Co. and Terroir Languedoc among others) and approx. $45+ in the US. Read on for a few comments and tasting notes I made five years ago, when I first met Samuel Guibert at Vinisud wine fair and then a few weeks later at the Mas in its pretty, rolling-valley setting just outside the village of Aniane. And, although certain wines are particularly good or occasionally towards sensational and often age very well; I couldn’t help feeling a little underwhelmed in general, like I have done before, given their huge reputation and kind of awe you probably feel you ought to experience when tasting the wines, if you see what I mean… See right-hand column for enlightenment on the "1-2-3 scores" front.

2009 Mas de Daumas Gassac white (Viognier, Chardonnay, Petit Manseng, Chenin Blanc and other more obscure varieties: see site for more info, bottom) – exotic oily and rich with a certain ripeness / ‘sweetness’ even, has a bit of bite but not much, finishing a touch flabby. €35 1

2003 Mas de Daumas Gassac white – quirky maturing and Fino notes, nutty and quite complex too; getting a tad old on the palate although it’s still an intriguing white wine. 1

2008 Mas de Daumas Gassac red (80% Cabernet Sauvignon + 10 others) – herbal tones on the nose, quite tight mouth-feel with lively berry fruit, closes up with refreshing elegant touches. Not very expressive at the moment. €37 1+

2004 Mas de Daumas Gassac red – maturing savoury side although still tight and herby too, nice balance and style even if lacks depth. 1+

2007 Cuvée “Emile Peynaud” (100% Cabernet Sauvignon planted in 1975, 2000 bottles made) – wilder wine with intense smoky and leather edges, quite lush with meaty notes vs still pretty solid, structured and powerful; needs a few years to calm down and come together, promisingly age-worthy I’d say. 2+

I said this back in 2006 after trying some of their wines and talking to Samuel at Vinisud trade show in Montpellier: "Still the legend of the south? MDG was one of the first to make top quality Vins de Pays in the Languedoc from a mix of Mediterranean, Rhône and Bordeaux varieties. There are now more growers reaching a similar standard; but their wines remain classy and elegant including a back catalogue of older reds, which few others can match and shows how well they age. As for the high prices they command, well that's a different argument and MDG aren't lacking in customers!"

2004 Eraus blanc (mostly Sauvignon Blanc) - quite concentrated with mineral intensity, not very Sauv Blanc but shows nice length and bite. 85

2005 MDG blanc - lively zesty fruit with oily depth v aromatic peachy notes, zingy and long. 89

2004 Guilhem rouge (Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache & Carignan) - nice soft youthful black cherry and liquorice fruit with a bit of dry bite to finish. 85

2003 Elise rouge (Syrah & Merlot) - attractive smoky tobacco and dried fruit aromas & flavours, soft mouth-feel v grip of tannin, elegant yet powerful finish. 87-89

2004 MDG rouge (Cabernet Sauvignon + 15 varieties, barrel sample) - tight elegant blackcurrant and cherry fruit, nice tannin texture v fruit concentration on its subtle length. 88+

2003 MDG rouge - more open and rustic, ripe liquorice fruit with wild herb notes; richer than the 04 with attractive tannins, softer texture v weight on the finish. 92

2001 Cuvée Emile Peynaud (Cabernet Sauvignon from selected parcels) - quite oaky nose yet shows developed fruit underneath, grippy powerful palate, the oak's still a little strong but it's also concentrated and richly textured. 90+

And these vintages at the estate with Samuel 13/3/06:

2005 MDG blanc - tight and crisp yet lively and intense: this offers perfumed apricot and peach fruit on a zingy palate, underpinned by a touch of yeast lees and very light toast adding complexity, length and richness. 87-89

2003 MDG rouge - lovely ripe smoky cassis and black cherry fruit with notes of leather, has softness v dry grip in the mouth with light creamy oak coating; quite elegant actually for this hot vintage, complex finish. 90-92

1995 MDG rouge - had been open for a few days so a bit oxidised; however, it displayed complex herbal v figgy flavours and again that perfumed leather edge, still quite firm and lively with maturing fruit on the finish. 92-94

daumas-gassac.com

Languedoc: Clos du Gravillas, St-Jean de Minervois

2011-08-08T17:53:00.000+01:00

Clos du Gravillas 2011 update: John Bojanowski was one of several winemakers from the region to make the trek to London SE1 for the mucho-mentioned, on this blog anyway, first ‘natural’ wine fair (click there for more info) back in May. Read on below for a wee profile on this always worth tasting/drinking/visiting estate. These wines are priced from about £10 to £20 in the UK available via their agent Les Caves de Pyrène (www.lescaves.co.uk); send him an email for info on where to buy in the US and elsewhere. Latest reviews feature my 1 2 3 "scoring system" (see right-hand column for explanation); previous words and notes from a visit and tastings in 2007 and 2010 feature ye olde 100-point thing. And there's more here too, an enthusiastic note on their delicious Muscat de Saint-Jean 2009. As usual, it seems, my favs in London were his top Carignan, the 2007 Lo Vièlh ("the old one" in the Occitan lingo, I think) and the 09 vintage of their dry white Minervois was/is pretty impressively done as well.

2009 L'Inattendu white Minervois (mostly Grenache Gris/Blanc/Muscat) - honeyed nose and palate with subtle toast and creamy lees tones, refreshing mineral mouth-feel vs concentrated and quite rich, elegant balanced finish too. Unexpected in fact (ho ho: what it means in French...) 2

2009 Sous les cailloux des grillons red blend (see below for varieties) - nice juicy cherry fruit with soft tannins, has a bit of attractive 'bite' too. 1

2007 Rendez-vous du soleil red blend (see below for varieties) - liquorice with enticing wild herby edges, tight intense mouth-feel with nice spicy notes, gets lusher on the finish vs still firm and structured. 2

2007 Lo Vièlh (senior-citizen Carignan) - maturing nose with savoury and leather notes vs rich concentrated palate, lovely 'sweet/savoury' profile, again still quite solid vs nicely textured tannins then attractive smoky blast. 2-3

Nicole, and later American John Bojanowski (becoming husband: "I just came here to drive the tractor," he quipped), arrived in the timeless Languedoc outback over ten years ago. They have since planted Syrah, Mourvèdre, Counoise, Cabernet Sauvignon, Viognier, Marsanne and Muscat among others, to complement Nicole's original 1 ha/2.5 acres of cherished 1911 Carignan and Grenache Gris. The estate now amounts to over 6 ha planted with no less than 13 grape varieties (a bit of a ner-nerdy-ner-ner to Chateauneuf-du-Pape perhaps?); all found on a 300m/950 foot-altitude plateau composed of the meagre chalky gravel soils that surround the tiny village of Saint-Jean, set in a stunning remote spot between the gorges of St-Chinian and the old Mediaeval city of Minerve (a must-visit when you're in the area). Their signature reds Le Rendez-vous du soleil and Lo Vièlh are made from old-vine Carignan (the above mentioned, almost 100 year old plus 1 ha planted in 1952 and relatively youthful 1970) - the RdV is now a broader blend, by the way, see below below. John is a big fan of this sometimes unloved variety and founder-member of a growers' group called Carignan Renaissance, who are actively shouting about their wines crafted from this awkward Med grape (see www.carignans.com). The family (there is a petit Bojanowski) also rents out the converted old village café, a two-bedroom gîte with terrace and quite nice view! Details are on their website below.

I tasted these wines with John on a visit in sunny but chilly late November 2007:
2006 L'Inattendu Minervois blanc (Grenache gris Grenache blanc, 14%) - milky and toasty with honeysuckle notes; full, rounded and quite rich finishing with attractive bite and freshness. 87+
2005 Vous en voulez en voilà Vin de pays Côtes du Brian (that's a local river, by the way, rather than Monty Python homage; made from all reds except Grenache, 13.5%) - ripe blackberry/currant, floral and spicy with liquorice tones; rounded and fruity palate v serious edges as well, firm and quite long. 89+
2003 Le Rendez-vous du soleil (Carignan plus a touch of Cab Sauv) – maturing smoky and white peppery, quite complex; liquorice and tobacco flavoured palate, concentrated and lush with fresh tannins and bite; very nice wine. 90+
2006 Muscat de Saint-Jean de Minervois – very floral and perfumed with white peach notes, the sweetness is nicely cut by alcohol and acidity, so it doesn't end up so sweet. 87

2010 update: I caught up with John and Nicole at Millésime Bio in Montpellier (meaning they go officially organic this year) and sampled some new vintages and new wines too. They are now distributed in the UK, US and Canada as well as Japan, Germany, Netherlands and Belgium.
2007 L'Inattendu white (Grenache gris, Grenache blanc) - nutty, lightly leesy, exotic and oxidative style nose; rounded with subtle wood tones, mature feel vs mineral touch. 87
2008 "sous les cailloux des grillons" (similar red blend to RdVdS below plus Counoise/Terret Gris) - lively cherry and blueberry fruit with smoky edges; juicy and tasty with mouth-watering finish, very nice now although has enough depth to hold back. 85-87
2007 Rendez-vous du soleil (Carignan, Syrah, Cabernet, Mourvèdre, Grenache) - firmer and more savoury in style; somewhat closed up and unrevealing yet has appealing, subtle intensity. 87+
2006 Lo Vièlh (ancient Carignan) - developing smoky fruit with ripe blueberry notes and a hint of tobacco; juicy vs solid with underlying sweet oak, great depth of fruit plus enticing dry vs ripe and rounded texture, powerful yet elegant. Needs a couple of years yet. 90+
2007 Côté obscur (Carignan) - "I've wanted to make a wine with this name for ages!" John explained (it does indeed mean "dark side" so start your Darth Vader heavy breathing now): wilder, funkier and spicier aromas; lively tasty fruit with crunchy berry vs liquorice profile, intense and long too. 89+

Clos du Gravillas, 34360 Saint-Jean de Minervois. Tel: 04 67 38 17 52, nicole or john@closdugravillas.com, www.closdugravillas.com.

Languedoc: Domaine Alain Chabanon, Montpeyroux/Terrasses du Larzac

2011-07-28T15:55:00.001+01:00

Alain Chabanon worked for the legendary (in his own particular way) Alain Brumont of Château Montus in Madiran country after getting his degree in viticulture and winemaking; then returned to the Languedoc in the late 80s, where he bought a few plots of vines around Montpeyroux and Jonquières. He made his first vintage in 1992 and the rest is history, as the cliché runs, since Alain now enjoys quite a reputation for his quality and sometimes slightly quirky wines - you wouldn't perhaps expect Merlot planted up here let alone that it makes good wine too, and his white from Vermentino and Chenin Blanc is something special as well. These blends/varietals are sourced nowadays from 20 ha (nearly 50 acres) of vineyards lying around his home in Lagamas on the way up to the awesome Larzac terraces, which spectacularly fall off the bottom end of the Massif Central range. Alain is a certified organic winegrower and also uses biodynamic techniques; the resulting wines are available in the USA, UK (distributed by Dynamic Vines) and Ireland among many other places: more info @ www.domainechabanon.com

My notes and reviews below spring from four different occasions (hence the mix of 'new' and 'old' scoring systems), although I only met Alain for the first time at the "natural" wine fair in London in May 2011 (the wines with the 1-2-3 ‘scores’: see blurb on the right-hand column) and previously to that (reviewed with the old ‘100 point scale’) in March 2010 and March 2009 at the “Languedoc Millésimes” tasting road-show in the region; and further back into the mists of time at Millésime Bio 2008 organic wine show in Perpignan (Jan 08). To add one of my “interesting to note” themed comments, just for the hell of it, I’ve rated two vintages of Alain’s Campredon red higher than three of his more expensive L'Esprit de Font Caude (although two of these were unfinished cask samples). Perhaps because the latter is less approachable when young – although I wasn’t so wowed by the 2004 vintage tasted recently alongside his other wines, for some reason – or perhaps I’m just too facile?! Or perhaps a winemaker’s reasons for pricing certain wines aren’t always obvious… personal taste vs so-called ‘intrinsic’ quality? Funny old game this wine-tasting lark: answers on an e-card please…

2007 Trelans white vin de pays d’Oc (Vermentino, Chenin Blanc) – complex maturing toasty notes with honeyed and buttery overtones, still lively actually and long. 2 £10-£15

2008 Tremier Languedoc rosé (Mourvèdre, Carignan, Grenache) – yeast-lees-y and rich with toasted red fruits, not sure about this style of rosé...

2008 Le Petit Merle aux Alouettes red vin de pays d’Oc (Merlot) – ‘sweet’ vs red peppery and herby aromas, quite concentrated vs fresh tight palate, nice style of Merlot actually. 1-2 £10-£15

2008 Campredon Coteaux du Languedoc (50% Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache, Carignan) – really minty and spicy on the nose with enticing black cherry fruit, delicious elegant style with taut tannins/acidity and good length. 2+ £10-£15

2006 Campredon Coteaux du Languedoc (Syrah Mourvèdre Grenache Carignan) - nice smoky black cherry fruit with light coconut edges; extracted tight palate leading to very dry finish, but there’s good depth of fruit underneath. 89+

2009 Esprit de Font Caude (50/50 Syrah, Mourvèdre; cask sample) - concentrated and spicy with nice "sweet/savoury" profile, solid mouth-feel although quite subtle too vs tighter commanding finish. €25 87+

2008 L'Esprit de Font Caude (cask sample) - a bit closed and unrevealing although it has fair depth of spicy floral v riper fruit then firm texture. 87+

2004 L'Esprit de Font Caude (Syrah, Mourvèdre) – maturing smoky leather tones, concentrated and meaty with light wood grain vs still quite firm tannins. 1+ £15-£20

2007 Le Merle aux Alouettes vin de pays d’Oc (90% Merlot, 10% Carignan) – richer than the “little” version above with a tad of oak still coming through, quite concentrated / extracted even, closes up to unrevealing finish. 1-2? £15-£20

Les Clos Perdus, Corbières / Roussillon

2011-07-26T13:23:00.000+01:00

Update: Paul Old, the winemaking half of "the lost vine-plots" which he established with Hugo Stewart in 2003, was showing and pouring their wines at the first "natural" wine fair in London back in May (click there for more info). These wines are imported by Dynamic Vines (goes to their site's "where to find our wines" page) in the UK. Read on for more wise words and tasty wines dating from my travels 2007 to 2010 (extracted from WineWriting.com). Look at the little blurb on "wine scores" on the right for an explanation/rant on my curious 1-2-3 "marking"...

2009 L’Extreme white VDP des Côtes Catalanes (Grenache gris) – grainy toasty edges vs exotic peachy fruit, soft rounded mouth-feel then crisper finish. 1 although expensive at £15-£20.

2010 Macabeu (not bottled) – steely tight white wine developing light nutty tones, bright floral citrus fruit with a nice bitter twist, subtle refreshing finish. 1+

2007 L’Extreme red Côtes Catalanes (Lledoner pelut/Grenache) – a little closed up at first but it’s nicely perfumed slowly revealing peppery liquorice notes, has savoury leather touches on its rounded vs powerful palate, real depth too. 2+ £15-£20

2009 Cuvée 71 Corbières (mostly Carignan) – ripe berry aromas lined with hints of dark chocolate and vibrant black cherry, attractive dry vs ‘sweet’ tannins. 2 £10-£15

2006 Mire la Mer Corbières (Mourvèdre based) – maturing ‘sweet/savoury’ profile, black/blueberry fruit with ‘forest floor’ undertones; lovely concentration and style with firm yet still lively mouth-feel and elegant length. 2+ £10-£15

This scattered collection of old-vine parcels is owned, and transformed into the wines below, by English farmer Hugo Stewart and Australian winemaker, former dancer Paul Old (now there's an interesting combination of talents), who have vineyards in the Corbières region and in the northern Roussillon near Maury (hence the title of this post and inclusion in two 'guides'). They follow many biodynamic principles and tend the vines and their environment entirely by hand; well, using a few viticultural tools no doubt. The cellar is located in Peyriac-de-Mer on the coastal side of the Corbières, not far from Sigean and the sea obviously. Sampled at the Fenouillèdes in April 2007:
2005 Prioundo Corbières (around Villesques: Grenache Cinsault Mourvèdre) – quite tight and fresh, peppery v cherry fruit, a touch bitter perhaps but it displays nice elegance. 85-87
2005 Cuvée 31 Corbières (Peyriac area: Mourvèdre Carignan Grenache) – meaty black olive characters, more weight and power, again fresh bite and tangy grip but balanced. 87-89
2005 Mire la Mer Corbières (Mourvèdre Carignan Grenache) – splash of vanilla oak with black fruit coating underneath, rounder finish yet still pretty extracted; quite attractive in the end but lacks soul (too much wood probably).
2005 L'Extreme Vin de pays des Côtes Catalanes (Maury area: Lladoner Pelut/Grenache Syrah Mourvèdre) – lush palate v quite toasty oak, closes up on the finish; difficult to tell, could be good... come back to it in 6 to 12 months. 89+?

Clos Perdus update January & April 2009
I popped in to see Hugo and Paul in their well-chilled cellar in Peyriac in Jan. and tasted a few more wines on their stand at the Fenouillèdes wine show, in Tautavel in April. Latest news is the purchase of some "very old" Grenache Gris vines between Mas Las Frédas and Maury, to boost their white wine range; something I'm seeing more and more of generally, with increasingly impressive results.
2008 Grenache Gris (off the lees) - yeasty intensity v crisp mineral bite.
2008 Grenache Gris (older vines) - a bit more barrel adds nice roundness and texture v orange peel zestiness.
2007 Prioundo Corbières (mostly Grenache + Cinsault, from tank but final blend about to be bottled) - really perfumed and peppery with liquorice notes; fresh then fatter palate, very nice style. 87+
2007 L'Extreme (mostly Lladoner Pelut + Syrah from Mas Fred, nearly finished sample) - smokier and richer black fruits and spice; lively bite and length v light coconut oak texture. Paul wasn't "entirely happy" with this blend and might tweak it, but it's still v. promising though. 88+
2007 Mire la Mer (Mourvèdre Carignan Grenache) – dense smoky black olive, berry and cassis; dry and firm mouth-feel v lovely fruit, power and well-balanced tasty finish. 89+
2007 Cuvée 51 Corbières (mostly Peyriac: 50% Carignan + 35% Grenache + Mourvèdre, 14% alc.) - quite rich and medium concentrated with lively floral and dark fruit and light chocolate backdrop. 87+
2008 Lladoner Pelut (from tank) - tangy cassis v spicy v ripe dark fruit, dry rounded texture.
2007 Le Rosé (mostly Mourvèdre 13.5%) - deep orange colour, chunky and juicy with ripe raspberry fruit turning creamier, weighty v dry finish. Nice style. 87
2008 Cinsault - floral and plummy.
2008 Mourvèdre - floral v black olive.
2008 Le Blanc - nice leesy edges v citrus and mineral bite; fresh and dry turning more interesting on the finish. 85
2008 L'Extreme blanc - fatter and more exotic, again nice yeast-lees and mineral bite v apricot notes. 87
2008 Le Rouge (Grenache) - very white peppery and explosive berry fruit; ripe v dry mouth-feel, attractive style. 87

2010 UPDATE: Paul was manning a stand at the enigmatically named "Salon du X" - it's not that much of a mystery, actually, a tasting organised by agent Xavier Peyrot des Gachons with a dozen Languedoc & Roussillon winegrowers present (there were originally 10, I think) hence the X - in April at Domaine Gayda's impressive winery & restaurant complex between Limoux and Castelnaudary.
2009 Le Rosé (90% Mourvèdre) - wild and herby edges vs creamier red fruits; tight and quite lean mouth-feel vs a bit of weight and roundness. 85+
2006 Mire la Mer Corbières (70% Mourvèdre etc. 14% alc.) – chocolate/coconut oak notes vs rich and smoky backdrop, quite toasty yet layered with ripe dark fruit and spices; attractive full rounded finish, tasty and well balanced in the end. 88-90
2007 L'Extreme vin de pays Côtes Catalanes (mostly Lladoner Pelut/Grenache + Syrah) - juicy black cherry, lush with "sweet" liquorice vs spicy undertones; quite soft tannins and finish vs 14% weight. 87+

17 Rue du Marché, 11440 Peyriac-de-Mer. Mobile France: 06 70 08 00 65, UK tel: 01725 511119; hugo@lesclosperdus.com, www.lesclosperdus.com.

Roussillon: Domaine Ferrer-Ribière, Terrats

2011-07-21T18:09:00.000+01:00

Update: Denis Ferrer was at the hotly attended ‘natural’ wine fair (click there for more) in London a couple of months ago (doesn't time fly...) alongside several other Roussillon and Languedoc "natural" winegrowers. Read on for a bit of blurb about the people and estate, notes on some previous vintages and an indication of retail prices in euros. Their UK agent is the splendidly portfolio-ed Yapp Brothers, who sell these wines for about £10-£15. Refer to explanation on 1-2-3 "scoring" in the right hand column.

2009 Grenache blanc Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes – quite fat and juicy, a tad grainy perhaps (or something slightly intrusive?), lush and rounded although falls a bit flat on the finish. Preferred the 2008 (see below).

2007 Carignan Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes – ‘sweet’ ripe vs maturing savoury side, nice dry vs lively mouth-feel, quite elegant for warm-vintage 2007. 1-2

2007 Côtes du Roussillon red “tradition” – herbal peppery edges, again mature with ripe liquorice and turning meaty, a touch of oak grain on attractive tannins then lingering ‘sweet/savoury’ fruit. 1+

2007 Cana Côtes du Roussillon Les Aspres (Mourvèdre, Grenache noir) – richer with a tad more oak, again has that hallmark ‘sweet/savoury’ thing with liquorice then wilder edges; more concentrated too with firm punchy finish, needs a year or two to open up. 2

Set up in 1993, Denis Ferrer and Bruno Ribière are the partnership (not forgetting their wives of course) behind this slightly elevated (up to 250 metres / 800 feet altitude) estate - hence their original tag "terroirs des Hautes Aspres" (not heard that one before) - that spreads across different plots around the villages of Terrats and Fourques. Over 40 ha / 100 acres are now tended organically with 2010 being the landmark vintage as their first to be officially "certified" (where's that straight-jacket...). These two down-to-earth guys make quite a wide range of wine styles, from classic to quirky, at different qualities and prices; so, there should be something for everyone here.

I tasted these at Millésime Bio show in January 2010 in Montpellier:
2008 Grenache blanc Empreinte du Temps, Vin de Pays Catalan - nutty fino like nose and palate; peachy and lightly toasty flavours vs mineral streak, bit of rounded weight too. €9 87
2008 "F" Vin de Pays Catalan (Carignan, Grenache) - delicious juicy cherry, cassis, blueberry and liquorice fruit; tasty and crunchy palate making it an attractive quaffer. €5 85+
2007 Carignan Empreinte du Temps, Vin de Pays Catalan - quite elegant and tight in style showing sweet/savoury notes; quite concentrated actually with firm, spicy and leather-tinged finish. €10 87-89
2006 Cana Côtes du Roussillon Les Aspres (Grenache, Mourvèdre, Syrah) - pretty concentrated and chunky with wood spice tones; maturing vs tight palate with attractive texture and fruit underneath. €16 88+

20 Rue du Colombier, 66300 Terrats. Tel: 04 68 53 24 45, www.vinsferrerribiere.com.

Languedoc: Mas Bruguière, Pic Saint Loup

2011-07-18T16:13:00.003+01:00

Guilhem, Isabelle, Xavier and Majorie Bruguière’s serenely nurtured 12 hectares (30 acres) and wine cellar are found down the road from Domaine de l’Hortus not far from the village of Valflaunès. The family farming and winemaking history goes back to the dawn of time – well, since the 13th Century and the Revolution respectively anyway – and the Bruguière name has become rather cult among Pic Saint Loup and Languedoc aficionados. I tasted these three wines with Xavier at the first ‘natural’ wine fair held in London, meaning they do vines organically, naturally (ho ho), and "prefer not to fine or filter" their quite sublime wines, it has to be said. See right-hand column for more on 1-2-3 ratings/rantings. UK importer: Yapp Brothers. mas-bruguiere.com
Photo = Xavier and Majorie Bruguière.

2010 Les Mûriers white Coteaux du Languedoc (Roussanne, Marsanne) – fresh and tight style vs milky edges and apricot fruit, nice texture and refreshing length. £12.50 2

2009 L’Arbouse red Pic Saint Loup (Syrah, Grenache) – lovely spicy cherry and cassis fruit, peppery vs ‘sweet’ profile with dry yet nicely textured tannins, tight fine finish. £11.50 2

2008 La Grenadière red Pic Saint Loup (65% Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre) – similar floral spice notes and tightly textured tannins, more intense though and firmer too, tasty elegant and long. £16.50 2-3

More Pic St. Loup here, or find other PSL estates by browsing the winery A to Z (right-hand column).

Domaine les Enfants Sauvages, Opoul / Fitou

2011-07-14T12:30:00.000+01:00

Update: I chatted and tasted with Carolin and Nikolaus at the first "natural" wine fair held in London back in May (click for more info); there's a bit of detail and philosophy on "the wild children" below scribbled after a laid-back visit to their cellar a couple of years ago. These wines sell for £10-£15 in the UK available via their agent Dynamic Vines; and from two US importers: Williams Corner Wine in Charlottesville, Virginia, and another one whose name escapes me in Boston. They're all monikered as vin de pays des Cotes Catalanes (read on for explanation...) and 'scored' using my now world-famous 1-2-3 'system' (see blurb, right hand column):

2009 Cool Moon white (Grenache blanc, Grenache gris, Carignan blanc) - very appley and nutty nose, almost fino/cider like; perhaps a tad too much so as it's verging on acetic, but not quite... that's "natural" for you.

2007 Les Enfants Sauvages red (Grenache, Carignan) - no wood: nice dark berry with fruity vs tangier side, easy going and ripe style with maturing edges, soft elegant finish. 1
2007 Roi des Lézards (Carignan) - aged 2 years in large casks: perfumed ripe blueberry vs liquorice hints, again attractive maturing fruit and tannins, subtle flourish. 1-2

Hesitating whether to head up this profile as Roussillon or Languedoc, since the "wild children," aka Carolin and Nikolaus Bantlin and sons (not so savage really), have a little winery/cellar underneath and adjoining their house up the hill in the village of Fitou itself; but the wild-child vineyards lie just over the 'border' towards Opoul, which is what counts at the end of the day if we must locate them on paper, so to speak. Carolin and Nikolaus' story is the kind-of love story I've written about before on this site, but I certainly don't mind telling it again. They fell in love with a beautiful place frozen in time, which was the catalyst for leaving their native Germany and settling in the area as soon as they could. So, in 1999 they bought some old vineyards surrounded by dry scented scrubland a few kilometres inland from Fitou and an elderly house in the village, which was refitted in 2004 to accommodate a new cellar.
Right from the start, like many young couples from elsewhere turned independent growers, they decided to nurture the eight ha (20 acres) of vines that "came with the land" as naturally as possible, using that "new-old approach" as they call it and by extension a minimalist winemaking touch as well. As their goal was to be certified organic (they are, as well as practising certain biodynamic methods), they realised - encouraged by Olivier Pithon among others - it didn't make a lot of sense to carry on being co-op growers (2001-2) and waving goodbye to their treasured grapes once picked. So, they took the plunge, went back to school and fused a mini-winery into their home, as I said. Good job too, otherwise these lovely wines (notes below) might not ever have seen the light of day. All the promising 2008s were tasted from vat or barrel (unfinished obviously) in March 2009.
2008 Carignan blanc - attractive fresh acid structure, tight and long palate; the barrel fermentation doesn't overpower it at all.
2008 Grenache blanc - slightly more exotic fruit aromas, again fresh tight and long in the mouth with a tad of light coconut flavour / texture.
2008 Grenache gris - fatter and peachier with apricot notes too vs nice taut mouthfeel and framework.
2008 Grenache rosé (barrel-fermented) - rounded and full-bodied rather than overtly fruity, long dry finish. Unusual.
2008 Carignan (60%+) Grenache Mourvèdre blend - six days maceration with foot-treading. Delicious black fruits and spice, firm framework on the mouth, fresh with lively fruit and attractive tannins. Lovely.
2008 Carignan (90%) Syrah - more perfumed with enticing blueberry fruit, 'sweet' and ripe vs tangy and tight, rounded tannins again.
2006 Roi des Lézards (Carignan Grenache Mourvèdre 14%) - nice "vinous" fruit and mouthfeel (wine like!) with very light chocolate / coconut texture; cherry and black olive notes, turning savoury & leathery vs vibrant and refreshing, solid yet rounded finish. Yum. €12 88-90
Muscat Vin Doux Naturel - very aromatic orange peel and grape nose; zingy and zesty with lovely fresh bite vs quite sweet and lush. 87+

10-12 rue Gilbert Salamo, 11510 Fitou. Tel: 04 68 45 69 75, www.les-enfants-sauvages.com.

Roussillon: Domaine Vinci, Estagel

2011-06-29T16:43:00.001+01:00

Domaine Vinci

Updated May/June 2011. Read on below for a Vinci profile and notes/reviews spanning 2007 to 2010 (years, that is, not vintages). I caught up with co-owner cum winegrower/maker Olivier Varichon at the first ‘natural’ wine fair held in London (click there for more info) and tried/retried these little 'natural' gems (again, scroll down for detail on varieties, where from, where available etc.), judged with the now world-famous 1-2-3 'scoring system' (see blurb, right hand column):
2006 Coyade white – maturing appley nutty aromas/flavours, rounded and creamy mouth-feel vs still crisp and zingy, very nice now. 1-2

2006 Rafelot red – maturing dried fruits with savoury vs liquorice tones, delicious complex fruit with style and balance. 2-3

2007 Rafelot red – ripe cherry and liquorice, concentrated and lush vs crunchy side, lovely tannins and length. 2

2005 Coste red – resin-y wild edges vs concentrated sweet dark liquorice-tinged fruit, then meaty tones on its long powerful yet classy finish. 2-3

2009 Coste rosé (Mourvèdre, Carignan) – powerful Bandol rosé style, zesty with light red fruits vs oomph and rounder finish. 1-2

You'll find Olivier Varichon and Emmanuelle Vinci's garage-cellar cum office located, unobtrusively, on the main road out of Estagel heading towards Maury. But call first if you want to visit, as they're just as likely to be elsewhere lost among their different parcels of vineyard spread across the Agly Valley. These four plots all have their own identity and each wine is named after them, whether a varietal or blend. In total, seven hectares are planted with Macabeu, Grenache Blanc and Carignan Blanc (now rare) for the whites; and red Grenache, Carignan (some of which dates back to the late 19th Century - see below) and a not bad amount of Mourvèdre too.
Olivier explained his philosophy: "we decided to work only with so-called local varieties to avoid any style homogenisation by having Syrah or others like Cabernet Sauvignon." All their wines are labelled as vin de pays des Côtes Catalanes, as "appellation laws are restrictive and a typically French absurdity!" coming from a slightly anarchic French winemaker, who did admittedly work in the wine biz in London for several years. He carried on letting off steam: "French wine regulations are a lung cancer for any business, and the AOC system just makes it more confusing for wine consumers. We need to keep it simple using branding and prioritising education on the Roussillon region and its wines."
The following frank comments have been taken out of context a little, due to lack of space, but you get his point: "Honesty isn't the grape-growing industry's forte, so how can you recommend a label that unfortunately doesn't necessarily reflect what the wine or terroir really is. Apologies for sticking the boot in to our viticultural hypocrisy!" Vinci's vineyards are farmed organically as "by and large, the environment gives us the freedom to. But being organic in the vineyard doesn't necessarily mean quality wine. You've got to follow through with the same logic." Wines below were tasted in March 2007 (and read on for annual updates, latest from Oct. 2010): all priced €20 in France; also available in the UK (approx £25, see bottom of page), Switzerland and Belgium.
2004 Coyade blanc - fresh floral tones set on hazelnut richness, nice mixture of oily rounded palate v zesty lemon and mineral bite. 87-89
2005 Coyade blanc (just bottled) - fresher chalkier style, milky with light toast v nice crispness, riper softer fruit than the 04; needs a few months to open up. 87-89
2004 Coste (Mourvèdre Carignan) - attractive dark fruit with black olive and gamey edges; herbal v 'sweet' flavours, elegant and ripe with tangy freshness v liquorice finish. 88-90
2004 Rafelot (Carignan, some of which dates from 1889!) - a bit smokier with more chocolate/coconut notes, perfumed black cherry/currant fruit; tighter firmer and more intense, fine length with light choc coating, needs a few years to express itself. 89-91
2004 Inferno (Grenache at altitude) - a little closed up with light perfumed cherry, spice and liquorice; tighter palate still, lovely freshness and bite v power and rounded fruit, great length. 91-93
2006 Mourvèdre (vat sample) - deliciously perfumed fruit with black olive notes, fresh and peppery with pretty ripe tannins. Promising.

Vinci update 2009: I called in on loquacious and enthusiastic Olivier at the cellar in March and tasted, well, just about everything in tank and barrel plus the latest vintage releases in bottle! Very worthwhile trip that confirmed they - Olivier and Emmanuelle - really are making some of the most exciting wines in the Roussillon.
2006 Coyade white (Macabeu Grenache blanc Carignan blanc, 13.5%) - they blend the must of these three varieties before fermentation, unusually, let it settle out then drain into barriques for 12 months followed by 8 months in stainless tanks. Lightly toasty vs exotic and fat then dry and crisp; tight palate closing up a little, quite fine actually with appley tones vs yeast-lees richness, coconut spice and aniseed finish. 88+
2005 Coyade white - quirky maturing hazelnut and real cider aromas vs still perfumed floral and peachy; yeast-lees fatness vs steely, mineral, almost salty bite; full-bodied with oily texture, tasty and still quite fresh with very dry finish, spicy apple and aniseed too. 87-89
2006 La Coste (Mourvèdre Carignan 13%) - smoky liquorice and black olive tones; juicy and rich with nice crunchy fruit vs firm punchy mouthfeel, well-structured yet quite silky too with rustic fruit and wild herbs vs fine lively finish. 90
2006 Rafelot (very old Carignan, 13.5%) - perfumed floral blueberry, cassis and black cherry fruit vs smoky tobacco edges; delicious cherry fruit, very concentrated with tight acid / tannin framework although still attractively rounded, spicy long finish with lovely lingering wild fruit / herb cocktail. 92+
2007 Inferno (Grenache tasted from 6 year-old barriques, will spend up to 18 months total, 14%) - toffee-ish & liquorice aromas turning meaty and savoury vs underlying 'sweetness'; chunky tannins vs fresh acidity, very dry long and promising finish. 90-92
2007 Rafelot (from barrel, 13%) - wild fruits with tobacco tinges, again meaty vs crunchy juicy fruit then floral cassis on the finish; delicious firm and dry palate with enticing coating of fruit and tannins, very long and quite fine really. 92+
2007 Mourvèdre - smoky yet perfumed with black olive notes, lovely liquorice fruit vs tangier and wilder side; very firm texture at the moment although has nice meaty concentration and dark fruit finish. Superb although not to everyone's taste! 93-95
2008 Rafelot and Inferno were both looking very good with dense fruit and fine dry silky tannins and 'sweet vs savoury' style. I look forward to trying all the 2008s again after a bit of barrel ageing.
2004 Coste (Mourvèdre Carignan) - powerful, complex, spicy and earthy with wild herb and savoury/leathery dark olive notes vs lively cassis & blueberry fruit; punchy palate with fresh acidity and dry bite still vs juicy spicy fruit, big and rounded turning savoury vs dark chocolate on the finish. Dense mouthful of wine yet multifaceted and maturing nicely into a kind of traditional Bandol style. Good with pan-fried lamb steak. 88-90

2010 Updates
1. Olivier had the following new and older vintages up for tasting at the enigmatically named Salon du X: it's not that much of a mystery, actually, a tasting organised by his agent Xavier Peyrot des Gachons with a dozen Languedoc & Roussillon winegrowers present - there were originally 10, I think - hence the X. That was back in April at Domaine Gayda's impressive winery & restaurant complex found between Limoux and Castelnaudary. Refer to wines above for varieties, as they do more or less the same blends each year for each wine; hence the name of a wine = the name of the parcel.
2006 Coyade white - wild lees-edged nose with intense hazelnut and aniseed; concentrated and lively vs oily nutty texture, powerful and long. Lovely. 88-90
2005 Coste - very meaty with black olive notes, smoky and rich vs grip; very nice now although still pretty solid. 89-91
2004 Rafelot (sampled a few weeks earlier at a tasting of 100% Carignans) - slightly grainy tones vs quite lush blueberry, smoky earthy vs rich and spicy; nice rounded fruity mouth-feel yet still structured and quite tight, maturing vs punchy with subtle depth and spicy finish. 89+
2007 Rafelot (sampled a few weeks earlier at a tasting of 100% Carignans) - quite pungent reduced nose at first (had just been bottled I think), which did slowly lift off revealing juicy "sweet" fruit vs crunchier herby spicy profile; again concentrated and powerful, hopefully that "awkward" side should sort itself out in bottle...
2007 Rafelot - still a touch reduced or something on the nose. Moves on to lively crunchy berry fruit, concentrated and chunky with "sweet/savoury" profile, spicy and firm with tight finish needing 2-3 years to open up. Wow. 88-90
2007 Inferno - rich almost cooked nose, concentrated and meaty/leather with grippy solid mouth-feel vs lush and full-bodied. 90
2006 Rafelot - smoky liquorice notes vs cassis and blueberry; more elegant firm vs ripe profile, nice balance of full-on vs restrained. 90+
2. October 2010
Olivier and Emmanuelle had just finished picking when we called by, with Olivier describing it as a rather stressful and short vintage, to say the least. "We lost a lot this year," slightly gloomy but nevertheless characteristically enthusiastic, "...less than 50% of what we usually get!" This was thanks to strange weather throughout the growing season with huge wind during flowering (let alone the snow I've mentioned a few times beforehand back in March) followed by a vicious hailstorm followed by drought! Challenging, this winegrower/maker thing, even in a supposedly ideal climate for wine grapes. Apart from tasting some of their 2006/07/08 reds, it was also great to try four vintages of Vinci's Coyade (the 09 from barrel) side by side, which give me good reason to think this lovely white is already a Roussillon classic...
2006 Coyade (Macabeu/Grenache Blanc/Carignan Blanc 14%) - maturing nutty rich and exotic nose with nice lees edges, towards Riesling "petrol-y" almost too! Lush oily and mealy palate vs "mineral" aniseed and peach stone notes, developing well yet still has a certain freshness keeping it relatively youthful. 89-91
2007 (13%) - much less golden in colour with yeastier and lightly toastier tones; tighter less developed palate, intricate lees notes and very lively crisp and steely finish; nice balance of mouth-watering vs concentrated showing promise, needs a year to express itself. 89-91
2008 (just bottled) - closed up estery nose, more floral and nutty too; very crisp "mineral" mouth-feel with appley notes vs oily texture vs creamy toasty and hazelnut, closes up on the finish. Again v. promising, think quite fine Burgundy! 89+
2009 - quite yeasty nose (obviously), lovely and complex though; full-bodied buttery and nutty with nice refreshing balance, aniseed and mineral undertones vs quite lush finish. Could be pretty sensational... 90-92
2007 Rafelot (very old Carignan) - spicy and aromatic with wild fruits vs meaty earthy edges; quite lush vs complex (sulphide?) notes and crunchy berries, long and tight vs full and developing. 89-91
2006 - smokier with more tobacco and liquorice, spicy too; delicious "sweet/savoury" palate with attractive juicy vs dry texture, lovely tannins and maturing fruit. 92+
2006 Coste (Mourvèdre Carignan) - gorgeous nose, wild smoky and ripe with meaty leather touches yet still aromatic as well; intense concentrated mouth-feel with tasty meaty texture/flavour vs "sweet" and rounded vs dry finish. Star red. 92-94
2008 (100% Mourvèdre this vintage!) - wild aromatic and earthy with ripe black olive, liquorice, leather and pepper; firm and taut palate, intense and lively though with rich fruit underneath vs tight "chalky" finish. Promising too. 90-92+
2008 Inferno (Grenache) - very ripe and powerful nose, peppery and Porty almost; crazy wine, punchy and rich with lots of liquorice and pepper plus a touch of underlying wood grain. Wow: very popular with the Brits, I'm told! A bit OTT on its own but worth a go, has plenty of flavour for sure in a dry Maury way!
Domaine Vinci's wines are available in London from Eminent Wines, Aubert & Mascoli and the Wine Library for about £25 a bottle. US distribution might follow next year.
19 avenue du Dr Torreilles, 66310 Estagel. Tel: 04.68.52.04.99 / mobile: 06.18.49.11.21, www.domainevinci.com.

Roussillon: Domaine Matassa, Calce

2011-06-29T16:07:00.000+01:00

Domaine Matassa
Matassa is the name of the original vineyard bought in 2002 by Tom Lubbe (originally from South Africa although has worked in a few countries), his wife Nathalie (Gérard Gauby's sister) and Sam Harrop MW (a New Zealander winemaking consultant based in London); which is now part of 14 biodynamically farmed ha (35 acres) located roughly in two spots: around the village of Calce, where they live and where the cellar is, and a fair way west of here near Le Viviers on the Fenouilledes hills at over 500 metres altitude. Tom is rather sceptical about "appellation" and prefers to label their wines as vin de pays Côtes Catalanes, which he believes "... has more resonance for us and others."

I took that comment and the following ones from a survey done over three years ago, so he might have changed his mind on some of these ideas; but I doubt it. When asked about plans afoot in the region to create new "cru" appellation zones, he said: "I think more bureaucracy is not so desirable, but that particular villages or areas will create, re-create their own identities for the future." Arguably, this is already happening in Calce (Matassa, Gauby, Padié, Pithon etc: see A to Z, right). And on the topic of organics, is it really a major asset for the Roussillon in particular? "It should be," but obviously still difficult to convince everyone...

I tasted this first batch of wines with Tom at Millésime Bio wine fair 2010 in Montpellier. The "three trees" wines are a new, earlier drinking (and less expensive) range, by the way.
2009 three trees blanc (Macabeu, Carignan blanc, Vermentino) - nice juicy leesy style with lively crisp finish. 85
2008 Marguerite blanc (Muscat, Viognier) - very intense mineral notes vs rich exotic and spicy aromas/flavours; lovely length and bite vs concentrated fruit and creamy lees tones. 89+
2008 Matassa blanc (Grenache gris, Macabeu) - nutty cider aromas with again that intense mineral side vs oily, concentrated peachy and peppery. Wow. 90-92
2009 three trees Cabernet Franc - reduced notes on the nose (not a finished wine sample) but has attractive, spicy, leafy, tobacco edges and red fruit cocktail; appealing "sweet" vs spicy/savoury finish. 85+
2009 three trees Grenache / Carignan - enticing lively juicy style with liquorice flavours and soft peppery palate. 85+
2007 Romanissa rouge - also a tad reduced, leading on to firmer closed up palate; yet again shows delicious spicy liquorice leather and wild berry notes, intense powerful finish needing 1 to 2 years to come together. 90+
2006 Romanissa (mostly Grenache & Carignan + Mourvèdre, Cabernet Sauvignon) - slightly wild, volatile and complex nose; intense concentrated berries and spice, a tad of background oak adding texture, lively peppery finish turning meaty/savoury with hints of leather. 90-92

UPDATE May/June 2011:

I caught up with Tom at the first ‘natural’ wine fair held in London (click there for more info). On the much talked-about issue of 'low-sulphite' winemaking (yawn), the show organiser wrote this in the catalogue: “For us, low sulphite levels means that the grower is ultimately aiming to add little or no SO2 (sulphur dioxide) at all… dependant (sic.) on the year.” Tom told me he sets a more technical level for this at “less than 20 milligrams per litre total SO2 in bottle,” which is readily measurable in a lab and about one-fifth to one-tenth of what might be in a ‘normal’ wine (and permitted). It's worth adding that all wine contains some sulphites, even if no SO2 is added, as a natural by-product of fermentation etc. Tom also talked about copper based treatments, the traditional ‘natural’ choice for combating e.g. a particular type of mildew, as copper (present in the human organism in minute quantities but toxic at higher levels) can hang around and pollute rivers. “In a well-run organic or biodynamic vineyard (i.e. not using synthetic fertilizers or pesticides, working the soil in the old-fashioned way etc.), you don’t see a build up of copper… or a desert effect…” as a living soil manages to diffuse these solutions. And something else missing from the NWF’s manifesto is sulphur itself, which is also a mainstay of organic viticulture in a ‘natural’ form.

These wines are priced from about £6 to £20 in the UK, available via their agent Les Caves de Pyrène (www.lescaves.co.uk). Reviews feature my new 1 to 3 "scoring" system (see right hand column for explanation).

2009 Three Trees Le Cayrol white (Macabeu, Rolle, Chenin Blanc) – zesty mineral side with nutty edges, juicy fruit palate with fairly delicate yet tight finish. 1

2009 Three Trees Metairie Brugens red (Cabernet Franc) – herbal red pepper and soy sauce notes, juicy fruity vs crisper finish. 1

2009 Marguerite white (Muscat, Viognier) – quite rich and exotic peach/apricot fruit vs appley twist and mineral bite, attractive combo of these two varieties with fair substance too. 1-2

2008 Domaine Matassa white (Grenache gris, Macabeu) – toastier and ‘fatter’ with enticing hazelnut edges, tangy and intense too with good concentration, dry long and exciting finish. 2-3

2006 Domaine Matassa ‘Romanissa’ red (Carignan, Syrah, Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon) – maturing savoury nose with rich dried fruit, firm vs ‘sweet’ palate with a touch of grainy tannin and grip vs lovely maturing fruit. 2+

2008 L’Estanya red (Carignan) – intense ‘sweet/savoury’ style, black vs crunchier blue fruit cocktail, perfumed vs liquorice finish. 1+

Previous Matassa here (Vinisud show 2006).

10 Route d'Estagel, 66600 Calce. Tel: 04.68.64.10.13, www.matassawine.com.

Montpellier: Les Caves de Trinque Fougasse

2011-06-24T17:09:00.001+01:00

Trinque Fougasse is a lively Montpellier wine bar and restaurant institution, and I finally went there not so long ago having tried at least once in the past but couldn't find it! Montpellier isn't the easiest of cities to navigate your way around, for the uninitiated non-local (well, I did live nearby for six months going back a few years) - especially with yet more serious roadworks currently underway thanks to the latest ambitious tram-line extensions (a good thing of course, when all completed...) - and Trinque Fougasse is found a bit of a way north of the centre lurking among university buildings etc. Anyway, it's worth the trek for its usually buzzing atmosphere, fairly huge wine selection from the Languedoc & Roussillon and no-nonsense hearty Med food.
They describe their cuisine as "ni gastronomique ni cantine" meaning it's somewhere inbetween: not trying to be fancy or pretentious but certainly not school dinners and still good quality. Set menu options include: at lunchtime, the day's special for 12€ or for 14€ combine it with a starter or dessert; or go the whole hog and have 3 dishes for 16€. The kind of thing they're good at is tasty charcuterie - cured hams and sausage - mussels, tapenade and brandade (olive paste, very garlicky mashed salt cod and spud), sizzling squid on a hotplate, beef tartare and steaks, "Emincé de magret," a kind of cottage pie but with duck, cheeses from the south etc. They do a large combo-platter including some of these dishes plus homemade orange gâteau for 20 euros at lunchtime and 25 euros for dinner.
As you go in, you pass through their wine shop so can browse the wine list on the shelf (not actually a huge difference in price between drinking it in or carry out, from memory), and they have a bigger range available for sale on-line. TF also organizes regular tasting events with winegrowers showing and talking about their own wines, run a mini wine school and hold jazz evenings etc.

1581 route de Mende, 34090 Montpellier. Tel: 04 99 23 27 00, and lots more info @ trinquefougasse.com

Montpellier: Château de Flaugergues & Folia restaurant

2011-06-13T19:32:00.003+01:00

Château de Flaugergues was no doubt once set among rolling fields basking in splendid isolation; now, it nestles somewhat incongruously in the Quartier du Millénaire just on the outskirts of the sprawling Montpellier metropolis, next door to the firestation, chain hotels and office buildings. But, as soon as you turn into their palm-tree lined driveway alongside the first plot of vines you see, it feels a bit like “let’s do the time warp again…” Ironically perhaps, this area’s name (= the millennium district) is quite fitting for a noble estate that’s notched up a few hundred years of history. Descendant Etienne de Flaugergues acquired it in 1696 and the family has occupied the place ever since. Current incumbents Brigitte and Henri de Colbert are, I understand, also relatives of Louis XIV's Finance Minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert, and their son Pierre is now in charge of vineyards and winery. They've restored/maintained the château, rooms and gardens keeping a period feel although they do actually live here too. They do tours around this lovely old property, including a wine tasting of course, for a small fee; and can host private receptions as well: see flaugergues.com for more info.

The de Colberts have also opened an on-site eatery called Folia, serving “market cuisine”, where I tasted most of Flaugergues’ range with Pierre and a group of other scoffing wine journos back in late March (see my notes below). The chef’s certainly making an effort to grab your attention, although personally found they were perhaps trying a little too hard to be kinda trendy fusion blah, e.g. beef stir-fry in a very lemony sauce (refreshing but what wine with that?) or ling (‘julienne’ in French, a fish I’ve never heard of in English but have come across it before in Med France) with sort-of red fruit crumble! And, call me old-fashioned, I quite like seeing and enjoying the texture of vegetables rather than everything in a puree. But certain combinations and dishes were good, especially the desserts. Set daily menu: €16 for two courses, €19.50 for three. The restaurant’s open Monday to Friday lunchtimes and for group bookings only evenings and weekends: phone (+33) (0)4 99 526 635.

Château de Flaugergues ‘Foliae’ 2010, La Méjanelle (Grenache blanc, Rolle, 12.5% alc.) – aromatic pear with quite exotic peach and pineapple flavours vs zesty/chalky texture, attractive, quite light and easy style. 1 €7

Château de Flaugergues ‘Cuvée Sommelière’ white 2010, Languedoc (Grenache blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne, Viognier, Rolle) – a bit closed up to start, fatter mouth-feel and quite exotic fruit with lees-edged roundness; lacks a touch of acidity, it might open up and blossom. 1 €9

‘Le Vin de l’Oncle Charles’ 2007 (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot) – “as it says on the label,” from his uncle’s vineyard: a bit overly chocolate oaky, nice enough sweet fruit underneath and a bargain at €3.50.

Château de Flaugergues red 2008 (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre) – a tad lean maybe vs some simple berry fruit.

Château de Flaugergues ‘Les Comtes’ red 2008 (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre) – quite subtle I guess, again not showing much. €6

Château de Flaugergues ‘Cuvée Sommelière’ red 2007, Grés de Montpellier (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre; 13.5%) – this one was a little closed up on the nose too – most of these wines were screw-capped, from memory, by the way – but it gets richer and spicier with tight tannins, quite classy in the end. 1-2 €9

‘Cuvée Colbert’ 2006, Grés de Montpellier (Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache) – oaky although has fairly lush texture with black cherry and liquorice notes, grainy texture and again quite tightly structured vs bit of oomph. 1 €12

‘Natural wine’

2011-06-06T14:47:00.002+01:00

The first ‘natural’ wine fair (NWF) was held in London last month, and I’m certainly not the first person to go on about it or ask the inevitable question: what exactly is ‘natural’ wine? And do we need to define and label it anyway, when there already are systems and rules in place for those winegrowers/makers who want to go that extra kilometre (or ten) and get themselves certified as an organic or biodynamic producer. The NWF catalogue included a ‘Charter of Quality’ giving a few definitions:

“All grapes are, at a minimum, organic. All grapes are hand-harvested. No added yeasts. No added sugar. No rectified acidity. Basically none of the dozens of additives often found in wine, except perhaps a little sulphite (a preservative among other uses) added during fermentation or at bottling*. Some of the wines won’t have anything added at all.”

All sounds perfectly fair enough and commendable but nothing more than what many/most organic and all biodynamic producers already adhere to. That * clause about sulphites is perhaps one of the key things here, certainly in terms of ‘controlling’ winemaking (there’s a subtle difference between keeping the upper hand on the process and swamping a wine with technology). “A little” isn’t very specific or scientific for sure; they quantify this by adding: “For us, low sulphite levels means that the grower is ultimately aiming to add little or no SO2 (sulphur dioxide) at all… dependant (sic.) on the year.”

Tom Lubbe of Domaine Matassa in the Roussillon sets a more technical level for this at “less than 20 milligrams per litre total SO2 in bottle,” which is readily measurable in a lab and about one-fifth to one-tenth of what might be in a ‘normal’ wine (and permitted). It's worth adding that all wine contains some sulphites, even if no SO2 is added, as a natural by-product of fermentation etc. Tom also talked about copper based treatments, the traditional ‘natural’ choice for combating e.g. a particular type of mildew, as copper (present in the human organism in minute quantities but toxic at higher levels) can hang around and pollute rivers. “In a well-run organic or biodynamic vineyard (i.e. not using synthetic fertilizers or pesticides, working the soil in the old-fashioned way etc.), you don’t see a build up of copper… or a desert effect…” as a living soil manages to diffuse these solutions. And something else missing from the NWF’s manifesto is sulphur itself, which is also a mainstay of organic viticulture in a ‘natural’ form.

At the end of the day, there were many exciting wines and wineries on tasting at the show, which was obviously the point. Due to lack of time, I stuck to sampling producers from the Languedoc & Roussillon, some I knew and some I didn’t, and wasn’t disappointed. But I also overheard several people who attended comment on certain wines, which were just plain ‘bad’ in the sense of very faulty, which, as Isabelle Legeron MW said - one of the event organisers along with importers Caves de Pyrene, Dynamic Vines, Aubert & Mascoli and Yapp Brothers - is always the danger. “Producing natural wine is like walking on a tight rope without a safety net. Great natural wine producers are brave men and women who dare to go against the grain of the modern wine world…”

Totally ‘natural’ wines, e.g. SO2 free, can easily include all the undesirable stuff too, the stuff that makes wine behave, look, smell or taste odd, unstable or ‘off’; such as wild spoilage yeasts, uninhibited oxidation or excessive acetic bacteria. You could argue whether it really matters if a natural product contains these things that come with nature; but, if left unchecked, it’s about the difference between a wine tasting good, complex, wholesome or even quirky and teetering over the edge into not nice. A common character I’ve noticed on ‘natural’ white wines is a kind of ‘real-cider’ aroma/flavour, which can be attractive if not over the top (i.e. verging on cider vinegar). But I don’t think it suits a red wine. Like balancing those sometimes complex, wild, smoky or almost leather/‘animal’ notes vs a red that smells of farm compost.

Profiles and notes on these sampled estates to follow over the coming weeks: Matassa, Enfants Sauvages, Vinci, Ferrer-Ribiere, Clos Perdus, Ledogar, Clos Fantine, Les Eminades, Clos Gravillas, d’Aupilhac, Sénat, Alain Chabanon, Daumas Gassac, Mas Bruguiere.

Languedoc: Minervois & Muscat

2011-06-02T15:24:00.002+01:00

“What, no reds?” is possibly the first thought that permeates your enquiring mind, but Minervois is also a little corner of Muscat heaven in the Languedoc. Especially the stunningly back-dropped lost little corner of Saint-Jean de Minervois, a blink-and-miss-it village lying “out there” on the northeastern edge of the appellation roughly between St-Chinian (town) and awesomely Mediaeval Minerve itself (a must-see in the area). Here they grow (100% ‘Petit Grain’ variety, AKA Muscat d’Alsace, Moscatel de Douro, Moscato d’Asti, yellow Muscat in Germany & Hungary) and make a small quantity of traditional sweet fortified Muscats (Vins Doux Naturels), as well as, increasingly, dry Muscat, late-picked barrel-aged Muscat and even ‘Fine de Muscat’ (a rather good ‘eau de vie’ or grappa actually, see below). Certain estates are at the forefront of this almost ‘adapt or die’ movement, e.g. Barrubio, Sacré Coeur, Clos Gravillas and the Saint-Jean co-op winery too.

Most of these wines were sampled at the ‘Chai de Port Minervois’ in Homps - a wine shop on the Quai des Tonneliers that also holds tutored tastings - at the end of March, where a group of us landed after an energetic bike ride alongside the Midi canal (and slightly hazardous, as it was stormy the week before so the path was nicely branch-strewn). By the way, there’s a handy rental company called Mellow Vélos (mellowvelos.com) that will deliver bikes to any spot in the area then pick them up again at an agreed rendezvous and time, so you can peddle as far as and take as long as you want.

2010 Domaine de Barrubio Muscat sec – lively aromatic and grapey, crisp mineral mouth-feel vs nice Muscat fruit, attractive dry style. 1

2009 Muscat de Saint-Jean de Minervois VDN, Cave Coop – nice and fresh and relatively light, a bit of kick and sweetness vs fair bite too. 1

2009 Domaine du Sacré Coeur ‘cuvée Kevin’ – more exotic and sweeter, quite rich vs still has nice bite though. 1

2010 Domaine de Barrubio Muscat de SJM VDN – nice and fresh with citrus vs pineapple notes, lovely balance and classic style. 1+

Barrubio Muscat de St-Jean ‘Vendanges d’Automne’ (barrel aged) – dried apricot, candied and complex oxidative notes, oily texture vs light oomph. 2

2008 Barrubio Muscat ‘cuvée Nicolas’ (selected late-picked grapes) – delicious exotic marmalade aromas/flavours, concentrated and lush vs a touch of underlying freshness. 2

Fine de Muscat ‘Esprit de Barrubio’ (44% alc.) – very Muscat-y aromas, quite fine actually despite that ‘wow’ kick. A small shot after a big dinner would be nice.

Tasted at the Natural Wine Fair in London, May 2011:

2009 Clos du Gravillas ‘Douce Providence’ Muscat de St-Jean – delicious style, floral with orange peel twist, refreshing vs sweet finish. 1+

A few other Minervois wines worth including tasted during the “Millésimes en Languedoc” event in late March 2011, mostly while eating, as you do. I’ve used my simplified scoring system of one, two or three ‘ticks’ (good, very good, fabulous); or just plain 1 to 3 above and below.

2010 Domaine de Barrubio rosé (red, white and grey Grenache; saignée or ‘bleed’ method) – attractive elegant style with zingy mouth-feel and light red fruits tinged with rose petal perfume. 2

2008 Château Sainte-Eulalie, La Livinière red – quite rich and smoky, maturing lush palate vs oak backdrop, fairly supple tannins and fresh bite; more concentrated than some 08s with nice ‘sweet’ black cherry finish. 2

2009 Villerambert-Julien white (Roussanne, Viognier) – attractive exotic honeyed nose vs aromatic floral and lees-edged, good concentration and juicy ‘fat’ fruit vs crisp finish. 2

2010 Château La Grave rosé – elegant crisp with pink rose tones, subtle red fruits with zingy lees-y finish. 1

2007 Château La Grave ‘Privilege’ red – still quite tight and firm in the mouth vs underlying smoky/savoury side and dark fruit. 1-2

More to follow, maybe.

Cabardès

2011-05-15T17:39:00.001+01:00

Languedoc: Cabardès

Cabardès reds: "...wacky mix of Med, Rhone and Southwest grapes..." (removed and lost by Blogger due to techno issues: if they don't put it back, I'll redo it at some point...)

Languedoc: Corbières & Boutenac

2011-05-15T16:28:00.001+01:00

Corbières-Boutenac is one of those new-fangled Languedoc "cru" subzones covering 10 villages (one of them is called Boutenac) and 22 producers in the northern Corbières, lying across a still fairly sizeable 1400+ hectares (3500 acres) of rolling, although hardly very hilly terrain. Apart from claiming to implement a stricter selection for wines destined to become Boutenac, what arguably makes these red wines more distinctive is their policy of not allowing too much Syrah in the blends while focusing on up to 50% Carignan (often from the oldest vines although not exclusively; old doesn't always mean good of course). I'm not saying Syrah is bad - far from it - but there doesn't seem a lot of point in launching a new wine area with wines that taste the same as anywhere else in the Languedoc. And, a few vintages down the line, quality is pretty evenly high. But, as I said in my report on previous editions of the "Languedoc Millésimes" tastings held in the region in March, these wines should be good as prices are already quite high for a new appellation with less than a five-year track record (although technically since 2005 as the rules were back-dated I believe).

Happy New Year from Ollieux Romanis!
from http://www.facebook.com/pages/CH%C3%82TEAU-OLLIEUX-ROMANIS/56944658574

The 2010s on the table were unfinished cask or tank samples but, on this showing, this vintage is looking a real star here. 2008 again threw up some inconsistency, although overall they were showing better than certain other appellations and definitely much better than red Corbières as a whole (see below below). And the few 2009s sampled here are all very promising too, even if more difficult to taste at the moment. Tastings took place at Château de Pennautier near Carcassonne (profile to follow) or at Trinque Fougasse wine bar in Montpellier (post on that lively establishment on the way too). I’ve used my ‘new’ scoring system of one, two or three ‘ticks’ (good, very good, fabulous); or just plain 1 to 3 here. Euro prices are cellar door per bottle inc. taxes and were added after the event.

Château Maylandie "Villa Ferrae" 2008 (40% Grenache, 30% Carignan, 30% Syrah) - vanilla cherry and cassis fruit, a bit light and oak heavy vs quite extracted/grippy tannins. €11

Château Maylandie "Villa Ferrae" 2010 - slightly leafy/herbal with aromatic cherry and “garrigue” notes, tight and tangy palate vs concentrated, structured and firm vs rich and lightly meaty fruit. Promising. 2

Château Maylandie "Carnache" 2008 (50/50 Carignan/Grenache) - richer nose with herbal/red pepper edges, pretty structured/extracted and certainly has freshness but tannins are a bit lean. 1 €13.80

Château Ollieux Romanis "Atal Sia" 2008 (50% old-vine Carignan, 23% old-vine Mourvèdre, 23% Grenache, 4% Syrah) - delicious maturing sweet cassis, blueberry and cherry nose, wild flowers and herbs too; concentrated vs fresh and tight, much nicer tannins, elegant long finish vs a bit of oomph. 2-3 €17

Château Ollieux Romanis "Atal Sia" 2010 – closed to start, perfumed blue fruits vs liquorice, more elegant and less grippy although lots of structure and dark ripe fruit vs nice perfumed characters. 2-3

Château Ollieux Romanis “Or” 2009 – the oak’s quite strong but again it has nice perfumed blueberry/cherry fruit and fresh vs firm finish. 2

Celliers d'Orfée "B de Boutenac" 2008 (50% Carignan, 40% Grenache, 10% Syrah) - enticing maturing ‘sweet & savoury’ nose, turning oily and sweet with subtle depth, dry tannins but not aggressive, again fresh bite and length too. 1-2 €13

Celliers d'Orfée "B de Boutenac" 2010 - oak dominating at the mo so it’s pretty charred/choco in tone, but again concentrated/extracted and impressive; hope it soaks up that oak. 1-2

Château Meunier St-Louis "Exégèse" 2008 (Syrah/Carignan/Grenache) - oaky start, is some nice blue fruit and liquorice underneath but a bit heavy on the vanilla at this stage; tannins are quite attractive and again has fresh and elegant length. Pity about that oak! 1 Dear at €32.

Château les Palais "Randolin" 2008 (50% Carignan, 20% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 10% Mourvèdre) – a bit baked and fading, short. €12

Château les Palais "Randolin" 2010 - again a deliciously perfumed 2010 with blue and black fruits, wild flowers and mint; grippy and concentrated with lovely lush fruit underneath, tight structured powerful finish. 2-3

Château Les Palais: trio of oldie vintages of their “Randolin” red tasted over dinner in the Hotel de la Cité’s restaurant in Carcassonne oldie town (how appropriate).

1998 – minty vs maturing/savoury, oxidising and meaty vs still a bit of firmness and fruit, looking pretty good still. 2+

1995 – much older, a tad dusty perhaps? Mint vs leather, tannins drying out a little vs alcohol holding it up. 1
1991 – very meaty/oxidised, quite dry firm and over the hill… Still, thanks for bringing them along all the same!

Gérard Bertrand "La Forge" 2009 - complex herbal vs liquorice and oak underneath, grainy texture vs nice concentration, pretty grippy yet rounded, oak still strong but good depth of sweet fruit and bite/oomph. 2-3

Gérard Bertrand Domaine de Villemajou 2009 - similar profile to above with a bit less oak and more perfumed fruit, nice grip vs depth, tannins a bit less fine but again it's got substance. 2

Domaine de Villemajou 2008 – subtle perfumed berry vs liquorice notes, firm texture vs elegant and refreshing finish. 1

Gérard Bertrand "La Forge" 2008 – complex herby berry nose, intense and rich vs subtle underlying oak vs lovely fruit, young and tight with fine length and well-balanced tannins/acidity. 2+

Domaine Sainte Lucie d'Aussou "Ladybird" 2009 or 2008? (discrepancy in the tasting booklet/tech sheet. 50% Carignan, 30% Grenache, 20% Syrah) - up-front and jammy with nice wild flower/herb undertones, grippy and powerful vs rounder sweeter side. 1-2 €14

Château Saint-Esteve "Ganymede" 2010 – a bit malo-lactic but shows rich tasty dark cherry/blueberry and liquorice with savoury edges, lovely concentration vs power, grip vs textured and intense finish. 2-3

Château La Voulte Gasparets 2010 - lovely perfumed blueberry and peppery pure damson, floral and fruity vs big tannins vs lush and dark mouth-feel, grippy and tight finish but v. promising. 2-3

Château de Caraguilles "Solus" 2010 - chunky and concentrated, dry vs grainy vs sweet choco tannins, power vs finesse, closes up but v. promising. 2-3

Ledogar 2010 – a bit awkward and firm; not sure, would like to try it again.

Corbières

I sampled a lot of Corbières wines in all colours and ended up leaving out a lot too, especially from 2008 vintage which, frankly, proved quite hard work finding wines with any real charm. I wasn’t the only one who thought this; and, although better overall with more substance, there weren’t even that many seductive 2009s with too many wines showing clunky hard tannins. The tasting line-up was disappointing this year, as I’ve been known to have a bit of a soft spot for Corbières, for good reason; but where were the likes of Pech-Latt, Clos l’Anhel, Auzines, Caraguilhes, Lastours, Embres et Castelmaure, Grand Arc etc? Obviously you can’t have every wine on tasting from a vast region like the Corbières, but it makes sense to have some of the top producers out on the table (some of them were at least e.g. Sainte Croix).

Having rather stuck the boot in, there were a lot of wines priced at €5 to €8 here making Corbières much more affordable than certain other areas of the Languedoc (perhaps it’s the reverse “not very near Montpellier” factor?!). In addition, about a dozen 2010 red cask samples were up for trial, which all showed a pretty evenly high standard so that’s one to watch out for when ready and released. And the 2009 and 2010 whites and rosés lined up along the catwalk once again convinced me that Corbières is a good place to look going beyond the confines of red wine.

Red Corbières 2009

Château Sainte Lucie d’Aussou (48% Carignan, 17% Grenache, 35% Syrah) – enticing black cherry fruity peppery and minty nose, forest floor notes, not bad concentration and depth of fruit vs firm and punchy vs some roundness. Finishes a little ‘hot’ though. 1 €5.50

Château du Vieux Parc “Air de Rien” (50% Syrah, 40% Grenache, 10% Carignan) – tannins are a bit too stonky and dry, but at least it’s got some solid fruit. 1 €5.20

Château Prieuré de Borde-Rouge “Rubellis” (45% old-vine Carignan, 38% Grenache, 17% Syrah; converting to organic) – sweet vs smoky nose, fair depth of chunky fruit vs better tannins, less aggressive with rounder side vs grip and smoky black fruits. 1 €5.50

Château Les Palais “tradition” (50% Carignan, 25% Grenache, 25% Syrah) – undemanding with nice spicy black cherry notes vs some savoury vs wilder side, fairly soft vs chunky mouth-feel. 1 €6.20

Château de Bubas “Prieuré de Bubas” (50% Carignan, 25% Grenache, 25% Syrah) – ripe raisin edges vs firm but fairly attractive texture and fruity vs savoury finish. 1 €6

Domaine Sainte Croix “Le Fournas” (30% Carignan, 34% Grenache, 36% Syrah; organic) – dark fruity vs perfumed vs meaty edges, chunky and solid palate but tannins are textured despite that firmness, good concentration. Needs a few years. 2+ €8

Château de Sérame “Réserve” (65% Syrah, 16% Carignan, 19% Grenache; converting to organic) – a bit ‘reduced’ on the nose, moves on to vibrant dark cherry and solid but round tannins, fair depth length and balanced too. 1-2 About €7.50

Château Meunier St-Louis “A Capella” (mostly Syrah + Grenache) – minty herby nose, nice sweet fruit vs dry but attractive tannins, pretty firm finish vs underlying wild herbs/flowers/mushrooms and dark fruit, light savoury edges too. Might transform into something really nice. 1-2 €10.45

Château de Bubias “Clos Bubas” (50% Syrah, 40% Carignan, 10% Grenache) – chunky fruity modern style, grippy vs extracted fruit, not bad although expensive. 1 €16

Château Coulon-Veredus (organic) – nice spicy vibrant Syrah-led black-cherry style, chunky and tight with attractive tannins and ‘sweet & savoury’ finish. 1-2

Red Corbières 2008

Château Montfin “Carignena” (not clear whether 08 or 09 actually; 80% Carignan, 20% Grenache; converting to organic) – a bit reductive? and awkward, moves on to tight and fresh palate vs underlying perfumed fruit, grippy and taut vs touch of herby sweetness. 1+ €5

Domaine Serres Mazard “L’Origine” (40% Syrah, 30% Carignan, 30% Grenache) – maturing herbal berry tones, quite dry palate but has some elegance and freshness vs maturing fruit. 1

Château Sainte Lucie d’Aussou “Le Secret de Rudolph” (35% Syrah, 50% Carignan, 15% Grenache) – nice perfumed herby vs maturing nose, quite light but attractive ‘sweet & savoury’ thing vs tight dry tannins. 1 €7

Château Le Bouis Cuvée Roméo (70% Syrah, 30% Carignan) – Syrah-heavy and -friendly style, peppery black cherry vs bit of choco oak vs firm but much rounder than others. 1 €32!

Rigal/Château du Grand Caudont “Impatience” (45% Carignan, 35% Syrah, 20% Grenache) – a touch rustic/’bretty’ and soupy but it’s lusher at least with fair depth of fruit vs maturing savoury tobacco side, firm vs sweeter finish. 1 €9.50

Château du Vieux Parc “Selection” (40% Carignan, 40% Syrah, 10% Grenache, 10% Mourvèdre) – has some aromatic crushed red and black fruits, softer and maturing texture, although still quite firm and punchy but underlying attractive ‘sweet & savoury’ going on. 1 €9.50

Château la Cendrillon “Inédite” (10% Carignan, 65% Syrah, 25% Grenache; organic) – shows quite a bit of ‘charming’ choco oak but there’s some substance at least, intriguing herbal/reductive note vs ‘sweet & savoury’ fruit, fairly attractive tannins and finish. 1+ €18

Château Coulon-Veredus “Réserve” (mostly Carignan) – herby vs savoury vs quite lush with leather tones, quite intense vs elegant. 1

Red Corbières 2010 (unfinished cask/tank samples)

Domaine des Anes “L’Enclos” – rich dark vs meaty side, chunky tannins vs vibrant fruit, pretty big and grippy vs attractive black cherry and damson. 1-2

Château Montfin “Mathilde” – again nice sweet vs spicy vs chunky, rounder tannins and less extracted/concentrated but nice fresh bite too vs good fruit. 1

Château de Lastours “Simone Descamps” – delicious dark cherry vs perfumed blueberry, nice firm vs fine tannins, grip vs elegant length. 2

Grand Moulin “Terres Rouges” - oak dominates at the mo vs pretty extracted vs rich ‘sweet & savoury’ fruit, difficult to taste but impressive depth. 2

Hauterive Le Haut – lively spicy cherry and cassis, pretty grippy and extracted but again vibrantly fruity vs structured. 1-2

Martinolles Gasparets – more subtle, nice crunchy blackberry, firm vs sweet, attractive even if a bit simple. 1

Château Meunier St-Louis “A Capella” – lovely pure spicy black cherry Syrah-esque style, chunky vs round tannins with ‘sweet & savoury’ edges, quite elegant finish despite the oomph and grip. 2

Meunier St-Louis Boutenac – leaner and less revealing, very tight and fresh, could be good. 1-2?

La Bastide – ‘biscuity’ youthful chunky fruity, nice grip vs sweet, simpler perhaps but lingers. 1+

Château Cascadais – a tad finer and tighter, cassis and black cherry, quite intense, nice coated tannins. 2

Château du Vieux Parc “Selection” – spicy and juicy, firm vs sweet; vibrant cherry on tight solid finish, that spicy herby side carries through nicely. 2

La Baronne “Les Chemins” – soy sauce tones, not v. revealing but it’s tight and concentrated, fair grip vs touches of underlying dark fruit. 1-2?

Beauregard-Mirouze – grippy vs spicy and tasty savoury side, powerful stuff vs chunky fruit. 1-2

Profile on Beauregard-Mirouze to follow.

White Corbières 2009

Château Trillol (85% Roussanne, 15% Maccabeu) - nice enough fresh aromatic pear and citrus vs weightier peach and honey, juicy mineral-ish finish, a tad short but fairly attractive vs a bit of oomph too. 1 €6.90

Château de L'Ille "Emilie" (55% Bourboulenc, 25% Vermentino, 20% Grenache Blanc) – lees-ier and edgier, more intense citrus vs fatter side, quite zingy and tight still; again nice enough style although not super exciting. 1 €7
Château Beauregard-Mirouze "Lauzina" (70% Roussanne, 30% Vermentino; converting to organic) - touches of toasty oak, gets creamier and fuller, ends up a bit too toasty although has some freshness vs weight. 1 €11
Château Maylandie "Exquises Esquisses" (100% Grenache Blanc) - banoffee pie nose, quite rich and rather vanilla-y, comes back a bit with nice weight and bite but a bit heavy. 1? €11
Château Ollieux Romanis "Prestige" (50% Roussanne, 50% Marsanne) - toasty and buttery, nice richness and concentration vs toasty finish, turning more hazelnutty although the oak's quite strong still; has fair oomph too, should integrate thanks to that fruit and attractive stirred-lees character. 1-2 €16

White Corbières 2010

Domaine La Bouysse "Cyprius" (60% Grenache Blanc, 35% Maccabeu, 5% Terret; converting to organic) - zesty zingy and very crisp, aromatic and light lees, bit lean perhaps but would be OK with seafood. 1 €8

Château Aumèdes Réserve (40% Grenache Blanc, 20% Roussanne, 40% Marsanne) - floral grapey almost Muscat-y kinda character, quite simple but nice enough fruity aromatic quaffer, dry and crisp. 1 €6
Roland Lagarde/Domaine Roque Sestière "Carte Noire" (45% Grenache Blanc, 35% Maccabeu, 10% Bourboulenc, 10% Vermentino) - nice zesty estery style vs a bit more substance, lees-y intensity vs fresh acidity vs touch of oily exotic. 1+ €5.50
Château Meunier St-Louis "Prestige" (Grenache Blanc) - quite rich vs banana aromatics, nice oily texture vs mineral bite, crisp steely and long vs lingering sweet fruit. 2 Value at €5.50!
Roland Lagarde "Vieilles Vignes" (55% Maccabeu, 35% Grenache Blanc, 10% Roussanne) - similar to his above white but definitely more intense, aromatic floral then exotic vs very crisp acidity and oomph too, long and quite classy. 2 Good value again €7.
Château du Vieux Parc “Selection” (mostly Grenache Blanc + Vermentino, Muscat) – toasty notes, toffee and banana vs aromatic and zingy, creamy coating then more mineral. Good, tad too much oak perhaps but it’s young of course. 1-2 €11
Gérard Bertrand “Blanc de Villemajou” - not much nose, builds up to buttery vs zesty palate, quite delicate actually with touch of toast vs bite. 2

Corbières Rosé 2010

Bonfils/Château Vaugelas “Presige” - candied red fruit cocktail, juicy fruity ‘vinous’ style, rounded oily creamy vs crisp-ish finish. 1

Domaine La Bouysse "Floréal" (90% Syrah, 10% Grenache; converting to organic) – full-on fruity, strawberry and raspberry, nice rounded creamy palate vs zesty undercurrent. 2 €7

Château Maylandie “Le Cabanon” (40% Cinsault, 20% Syrah, 40% Grenache) - zestier tighter/lighter style, more Provence with chalky length vs light pink rose petal. 1 €5.90

Château Ollieux Romanis "Classique" (60% Grenache gris, 40% Cinsault) - similar elegant style, mouth-watering and delicate with rose petal and red cherry/cranberry. 1+ €7

Vignerons de Camplong "Peyres Nobles" (14% Cinsault, 36% Syrah, 50% Grenache) - attractive chunky ‘modern’ style, candied red fruits and crisp enough finish. 1 €4.75

Château Les Palais "tradition" (50% Cinsault, 25% Syrah, 25% Grenache) – perfumed rose petal and redcurrant, subtle crisp texture vs light fruit and zesty edges. 1 €5.50

Gérard Bertrand “Le Rosé de Villemajou” - quite tight and elegant vs red fruity, crisp and closed up at the mo. 1+

Château Vieux Moulin (30% Cinsault, 20% Syrah, 50% Grenache; converting to organic) - again quite tight and elegant vs rounder creamier vs red fruit tang, nice foodie probably. 1+ €5.50

Languedoc: Pézenas

2011-05-10T14:50:00.001+01:00

From roujan.blogspot.com

Lying roughly between Béziers and Montpellier, the Mediaeval town of Pézenas' main claim to fame is as a one-time hang-out for playwright Molière and his merry theatre troup in the 1650s; and is now the focal point of a new Languedoc village-appellation for red wines. There were a few good and very good ones to try here, which confirmed the positive vibes I've got from tasting some of these wines before. However, apparently several Pézenas producers submitting samples accidentally entered their wines under the straight Languedoc AOC category, which I didn’t taste this year so obviously didn’t get the complete picture. It appears that people like Domaines Paul Mas, Les Aurelles (their 2008 and 2009 “Aurel” were filed on a different table, although I did find a 2010 sample and I tried their 2005 one evening over dinner) and St. Jean de Bébian (ditto, except for a 2010 sample) were missing from this line-up…

Once again, the serene setting was Château de Flaugergues (profile to follow) during the annual “Millésimes en Languedoc” tasting sessions in late March 2011. I’ve used my ‘new-fangled’ scoring system of one, two or three ‘ticks’ (good, very good, fabulous); or just plain 1 to 3 for the wines below. Euro prices are cellar door per bottle inc. VAT, added after the event.

Remparts de Neffiès - Domaine Pech Rome “Clemens” 2008 (60% Grenache, 15% Carignan, 15% Syrah, 10% Mourvèdre; 14.5% alc.) - maturing perfumed minty cassis and black cherry, turning savoury with nice fruit, grip and fresh bite, subtle and long. 2-3 €12

Domaine Pech Rome “Opulens” 2005 – aromatic sweet/savoury fruit, ripe vs grippy texture with well-balanced elegant finish. 2

Allegria "Tribu d'A" 2008 (70% Syrah, 30% Mourvèdre; 14.5% alc.) – again attractive aromatics with grainy wood too, bit dried out vs some subtle fruit? €9

Domaine du Clos Roca 2009 (40% Carignan, 10% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 20% Mourvèdre; organic) – meaty/savoury tobacco touches vs rich dark fruit, chunky tannins dominate at the moment vs solid fruit core; very tight and unrevealing finish with punch. 1-2 €7.90

Domaine Turner Pageot "Le Rouge" 2009 (80% Grenache, 20% Syrah; biodynamic) – ester-y cherry fruit, extracted and firm style although has some nice smoky notes and dark ‘tar’ side; needs time perhaps although those tannins are a bit hard. 1 €11

Château Condamine Bertrand 2009 (50/50 Grenache/Syrah) - scented oak and wild berries with herby touches, pretty intense cassis then darker fruit, tight and fresh vs firm but attractive texture, punchy and long but quite fine. 2 €16

Alignan du Vent Cépages "Hadrien" 2009 (70% Syrah, 30% Grenache) - vibrant chunky spicy black cherry, pretty grippy vs lively fruity and punchy too; maybe a touch ‘overdone’. 1 €6.90

Domaine Magellan 2009 (50/50 Grenache/Syrah; 14.5% alc.) - enticing sweet berry vs tobacco fruit, firm vs sweet mouth-feel, lighter touch than some of the others, nice style. 1-2 €12

Domaine Les Aurelles “Aurel” 2005 (2/3 Mourvèdre + Syrah/Grenache) – very white peppery with resiny/savoury edges, quite concentrated vs elegant, nice style and drinking well now. 1-2

“Aurel” 2010 (cask/tank sample) - rich dark and spicy, nice big mouthful, concentrated and chunky tannins, lovely fruit and oomph. 2-3

St. Jean de Bébian 2010 (cask/tank sample: SGM) - oaky/malo-lactic notes dominating, a bit clunky and awkward at this stage, need to try it when finished and ‘together’.