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Listed in alphabetical order
(ignoring Mas, Domaine, La, des etc). As most of these producers are
one-man/woman bands or hubby&wife operations, it's best to email or ring in
advance if you want to tour, talk and taste with the owner/winemaker. Otherwise
you might find the only one at home is the faithful winery dog! If calling from
outside France, add 0033 and drop the first 0.
Page 1: A to L.
Vignobles Bernard Magrez
Winery
& vineyard mogul
Magrez owns or is a partner (with larger than life actor Gérard
Dépardieu in the Languedoc) in 35 vineyards around the
world, including this relatively recent foothold in the
Roussillon (I visited in May 2007). He bought and tastefully
refurbished (despite his gigantic signature across the front) the
old co-op cellar in the sleepy village of Montner, located
between Estagel and Millas, across the road from the
worth-checking-out Auberge du Cellier restaurant/chambres d'hôte.
Their first vintage was 2002, when they only had eight ha / 20
acres to play with; they now have 43 ha planted with mostly red
varieties (as you might expect in ascending order:
Syrah,
Grenache, Carignan
and Mourvèdre)
and five ha of white grapes (Muscat
à petits grains,
Macabeu and
Grenache
Blanc).
“We acquired producing vineyards and grafted most of the
white varieties over to Syrah,” Jean-Marc Raynal (Magrez's
production director in southern France and Spain) explained.
Making VDN sweet wines doesn't appeal, as it's “not group
policy,” and reds are clearly their focus, although
Jean-Marc believes in the potential for interesting dry white
blends, like many other leading estate owners.
“Bernard
Magrez is very attached to the Languedoc and Roussillon,”
he added, “the wines fit in with his global range... And
Roussillon perhaps has a better quality image than the Languedoc
(which is an unusual point of view, often the other way round
except for those in the know!), it has very different terroirs
and varieties.” Nevertheless, they decided to take a
clearer simpler approach by dropping the 'Villages AOC' and
opting to label merely as Côtes du Roussillon, plus the
'Sud de France/South of France' generic term (which you'll be
seeing more of) that features on their whole Languedoc and
Roussillon range. I guess it also helps to have the governor's
name on the label, as well as the backing of his distribution
network. The BM Group is dabbling in various wine tourism
ventures in Bordeaux but not in the Roussillon for the moment
(shame), although they won't turn you away if you make an
appointment!
2006
white (fermented
in 'demi-muids', 400-600 litre capacity barrels) – lightly
toasty v exotic apricot and honey notes, creamy yeasty mouth-feel
showing weight and crisp length. Nice wine.
87-89
2004
'Si mon père savait',
Côtes du Roussillon red (14.5%) - 'If my father knew':
lovely pure fragrant black cherry and liquorice fruit, peppery
and rustic undertones with vibrant blackcurrant edges; juicy
fruit layered with background coco and choc oak, well balanced
with tight fresh grip. Again nice style.
87-89
2004
'La Passion d'une vie' (15%)
- richer colour and aromas with white pepper tones, similar fruit
profile to above but more intense liquorice and berry notes;
delicious palate of fruit, spice and a finer silky texture; power
v elegance (despite high alcohol), juicy fruit v finesse, good
length.
90-92
Grande
Rue, 66720
Montner.
Tel: 04 68 80 24 81,
www.bernard-magrez.com
 Domaine de Majas
Agnès and Alain Carrère's 20 ha (50 acre) property
nestles in the rugged countryside around the blink-and-miss-it village of Caudiès; the most far-flung north-western corner
of Roussillon vineland, before crossing into green hills and sliced gorges of
neighbouring Aude country. With certain vineyard parcels at 350 metres altitude
(1000+ feet) the microclimate is cooler here, hence why they have to wait until
the end of September to pick the best Syrah plots and haven't so far risked
temperamental Mourvèdre. It also means drought (the soil's deep too) and vine
heat-stress are less common, increasingly problematic for growers in the south
of France. By the way, they have a few Alicante and Morrastel (=Graciano) vines in addition to
the usual suspects.
The Carrère's make half appellation wines and half vin de pays from Cabernet,
Chardy and Merlot (stifle that yawn please, the wines are pretty decent: see
below), good cash-cows especially in big bag-in-box. They bought and refitted
their old cellar in 1992, the year the domaine was established. "It's a lot of
work for two people," Alain said philosophically, "in the long term we hope
we'll earn a good living." UK stockists are Terroir Languedoc and Easy Wine /
Wine of Course (north London).
Tasted 4th Sept 2006:
2005 Chardonnay cuvée Alexandra - nice
gentle peachy fruit with fresh aromas, light acidity v elegant juicy mouth-feel.
€5 80+
2005
Côtes du Roussillon rosé (Syrah Grenache)
- appealing subdued aromatic red fruits, lighter and more refreshing than some.
€4 83-85
2005 Merlot cuvée Lucie - attractive
fragrant plum and light red pepper notes, meaty v 'sweet' v tangy finish. €3.90
85
2004 Cabernet - Merlot
Clos la Grave - nice cassis and liquorice flavours, quite full in the mouth
turning tighter and fresher on the finish, firm v fruity. €5
85-87
2005 Cabernet Sauvignon cuvée Gaëtan -
upfront black cherry fruit, fairly tight and tangy on the palate though showing
some richness v firm tannins; should round out a little in bottle. €5
87
2003 les Hauts de Majas
Côtes du Roussillon (13%) - scented vanilla and coconut, quite full mouth-feel
with riper black fruit profile, again tight and fresh finish (especially for
2003) with attractive texture; personally, just a bit too much oak to hit 90
points. €8 87-89
Tasted July 2007
2006
Côtes du Roussillon rosé (Syrah Grenache
12.5%)
- attractive enough aromatic redcurrant and strawberry fruit, quite light and refreshing;
keep it cold as it gets a bit boring when it warms up. Usually €3.50, Auchan did
a bargain buy 6 for the price of 4 promo (= €2.50). 83
21 Rue de la Bartasse, 66220 Caudiès-de-Fenouillèdes.
Tel: 04 68 59 94 41, mobile 06 21 61 38 74;
domainedemajas@wanadoo.fr
 Château Mossé
Jacques Mossé has trimmed his
picturesque estate to around 50 ha (125 acres) having ripped up "the less good
parcels," and sells off extra wine "not considered appellation standard." The
vineyards climb gently up behind the twee village of Ste-Colombe, neighbouring Thuir, and
downhill towards Terrats. He
makes both good traditional Roussillon styles, including aged 'vins doux
naturels' (sweet fortified wines), and more 'contemporary' barrique influenced
reds.
Wines below tasted 31/1/06 - see Previous Wines of the Moment
for more Mossé (dry Muscat and rosé).
2003
Côtes du Roussillon tradition (Syrah, Grenache
& Carignan) - nice maturing nose, sweet and
perfumed; the palate's still firmly textured, rounded out by quite concentrated
fruit. €5 85+
2003 Temporis (80% Syrah
aged in barriques) - spicy coconut oak aromas set the scene for lightly choco
texture, good depth of fruit too; more supple than the tradition yet still
structured and long. 87-89
2003 Le Carignan - appealing rustic ripe cherry aromas, lovely depth of
'sweet' fruit then firmer and more powerful on the finish.
90+
Tasted July 2006:
2005 Le Rosé,
Côtes du Roussillon (13%) - nice chunky oily textured style, less perfumed
than some but more serious on the palate; drink this with an anchovy salad. €5
85-87
Tasted summer 2007:
2006
Le Rosé,
Côtes du Roussillon (13%) - similar to the 05 but a little tighter fresher and
more refined even. Still a foodie rosé though. 87
Domaine Mossé, 66300
Sainte-Colombe de la Commanderie.
Tel:
Tel 04 68 53 08 89, fax 04 68
53 35 13;
chateau.mosse@worldonline.fr,
www.chateau-mosse.com.
 Clos
de l'Origine
New
age Marc Barriot, who's working towards biodynamic certification,
is a pleasure to talk to, always buzzing with ideas and opinions,
which he doesn't hold back on! Click
here
for previous notes on his wines, and here's a little
philosophical snippet translated from his website: "As wine
should be and remain a living product, I don't aim to make
perfect boring wines..." Way to go, Marc, as our
transatlantic friends might say. As you'll see from the picture
(right), he does sometimes use a mule to get rid of unwanted
weeds and churn the soil on his vineyards' trickiest slopes. Marc
has disparate parcels totalling 5 ha (12.5 acres) around Maury
and in Calce, Estagel and Montner; so he must clock up quite a
bit of kilometreage knowing how much time he spends in the
vineyard. He's also experimenting with low or no-sulphur
winemaking and keeping things as natural as possible; a bit of a
cliché, I know, but in his case it seems genuine. He's
also something of a Greenpeace-type when it comes to
environmental issues, local or global. Marc's experimented with a
variety of arty and/or humorous labels; the current ones feature
portraits of 'the big guy himself'. I tasted these wines at the
Fenouillèdes
wine show in April 2007:
2005
L'Original blanc,
Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes (Macabeu
Muscat
à petits grains)
– attractive juicy apple fruit with intense mineral palate,
crisp v concentrated.
85-87
2005
Soif de Plaisirs, Côtes
du Roussillon red (60%
Carignan,
Grenache
Syrah)
– nice ripe black cherry and liquorice intensity tinged
with a touch of VA complexity; quite concentrated and rich with
subtle grip and length.
87-89
2004
Clos de l'Origine,
Côtes du Roussillon red – pure aromas with more
intense blackcurrant/cherry notes, again showing that hallmark
intensity; subtle concentration with appealing fresh bite and
length wrapped in liquorice fruit.
90
1
Route de
Lesquerde, 66460
Maury.
Tel: 04 68 53 10 38, mobile 06 75 03 71 71;
closdelorigine@gmail.com,
closdelorigine.free.fr
 Clot de l'Oum
Eric
Monné and Lèia Obara are making some stylish wines
sourced from the exposed, elevated vineyards around wild Bélesta
country; a stunning spot for vineyard walks as well as a bit of
tasting, of course (there are a few other great estates around
here, such as Ch. Caladroy:
see page 1). Eric very neatly, and
bluntly, summed up the Roussillon's strengths and weaknesses
thus: "Varied terroirs, dream landscapes, low land prices,
ideal micro-climate at altitude and a new wave of talented
growers often from elsewhere." On the other hand: "Building
up its image, promises not kept (hinting at the powers that be),
sometimes an endemic lack of sincerity (go for it), regulatory
bodies favouring one wine style and production method, mafia,
lack of fine wine tradition..."
Clot de l'Oum comprises
15 shrinking hectares (37 acres) planted with the region's 'big
four' red varieties plus a few white vines too (they make about
10% dry white wine). Over half their production is sold outside
France and the rest at the cellar door or to independent wine
merchants, locally and nationally. Bottle prices are typically
€12, €17 and €25 respectively (see red 'hierarchy'
below). Eric also believes the Roussillon authorities and growers
should develop more 'cru' sub-zones, as long as "we're much
more demanding on quality and less conservative (meaning in terms
of varieties, yield, authorised methods etc.)." As for
organic viticulture, "it's the only way forward and not just
in the Roussillon..." Hear hear! These four wines were
sampled at the
Fenouillèdes
wine show in April 2007:
2005
La Compagnie des Papillons
blanc
– lightly
toasty undertones on a mostly appley & juicy nose and palate,
elegant and undemanding finish.
85
2004
La Compagnie des Papillons, Côtes
du Roussillon Villages (mostly 50+ year-old
Grenache and
Carignan)
– perfumed violet and cherry with leather and blackberry
tones; chunky v elegant and soft mouth-feel, subtle concentration
and length with lightly dry bite and bitter twist.
87-89
2004
Saint Bart vieilles vignes (Syrah
'Grenache Pelut' Carignan)
- less
aromatic but more concentrated and weighty, again has that lovely
floral dark cherry fruit with liquorice and lighter leather
notes; nice coating of fruit and ripe tannins with a touch of
fresh acidity as well.
88-90
2003
Numéro Uno,
Côtes du Roussillon Villages Caramany (85%
Syrah
Carignan)
– rich smoky nose showing more oak although a lot of ripe
fruit too; drier firmer grip balanced by attractive fruit
coating, concentrated and long without being noticeably
extracted.
90+
Domaine
Clot de l'oum, 66720
Bélesta
de la Frontière.
Mobile: 06 60 57 69 62, fax 04 68 62 19 78; emonne@web.de,
www.clotdeloum.com
 Clos de Paulilles
Clos de
Paulilles is a 90 hectare
(220 acre) estate, the biggest in the area with most of the vines spread around
the stone cellar; something you don't often see amid the intricate collage of
vineyards running along the coast from Collioure to Cerbère.
Vines and
winery
nestle close to the sea on a picturesque bay between Port Vendres and Banyuls-sur-Mer,
and the outdoor restaurant is open throughout the summer. The Dauré
family also offers al fresco dining at Château de Jau, their property near Cases
de Pène tucked away
in the northern Roussillon countryside. They own
a Chilean winery
as well called Viña las Niñas. Tasted Oct 2006:
2005 Collioure blanc (Grenache blanc
& gris part fermented in barriques) - a bit
cold for tasting (as opposed to nice temperature for quaffing) but shows floral
notes, crisp mineral and aniseed palate with nutty rounded yet fresh finish.
85
2005 Collioure rosé (Grenache Syrah) - lots of vibrant red
fruit aromas and flavours, quite chunky mouth-feel, textured and tasty v crisp
and long. 87-89
2002 Collioure rouge (70+% Mourvèdre & Syrah) -
smoky and ripe, nice grip v mature fruit, still could develop; good for a 2002.
89
2003 Banyuls 'Vintage' (= Rimage, see below. 100% Grenache) - lovely fresh black cherry
fruit, solid dry tannins v sweet fruit, attractive style.
90
2002 Banyuls Cap Béar (aged in
bonbonnes = glass demijohns.
100% Grenache) - more tawny in style with rich dried fruits,
softer tannins and leather & raisin notes, long fine finish.
90-92
By the way, I also tried these
Château de Jau wines (a tasting measure of each
I hasten to add) with the grilled lunch menu at their idyllic
restaurant in September:
2005
Côtes du Roussillon blanc (Vermentino Roussanne
Marsanne) - fresh and mineral with crisp citrus fruit v touches of yeast-lees.
Served with fougasse aux olives, a Mediterranean flat bread.
2005 Le Jaja de Jau rosé, vin de pays d'Oc (Grenache Syrah)
- fun quaffable fruit juice to go with toasted tomato bread & cured ham.
2002
Côtes du Roussillon Villages (Syrah Mourvèdre Carignan Grenache)
- mature rustic style, nice dried cherry fruit on an easy palate; drinking now,
it won't get any better. Grilled lamb cutlets.
2005 Muscat de Rivesaltes - lovely intense
lemon and grape aromas, refreshing bite v rich sweetness; works well with the
Roquefort.
Clos de Paulilles,
66660
Port-Vendres
(signposted off the main road between Port-Vendres and
Banyuls-sur-Mer). Tel: 04 68 98 07 58,
daure@wanadoo.fr.
Domaine Pechpeyrou
Bertrand de Guitaut, who started
Pechpeyrou in that year-of-heat 2003, makes slightly eccentric
wines in the micro-winery underneath his house above Banyuls town
(you're not allowed to build a cellar on farm land i.e. next to
the vineyard, stupid rules huh), using grapes sourced from his
tiny 1.7 ha of vineyards (about 4 acres) to produce a grand total
of 3000 bottles. One parcel is located on the way towards the Col
de Banyuls, the thrilling little 'road' that climbs over the pass
into Spain behind the town, which is 100m higher top to bottom
and planted with mostly red Grenache
and Carignan & Mourvèdre
(see sample 1 below) plus a couple of white varieties (mainly
Grenache gris
and blanc),
all mixed together. The other overlooks the sea and contains a
bit of clay in the soil, planted with red Grenache
(sample 2) and again a few whites.
Bertrand thinks: "it's
the best way to go for Collioure and Banyuls if you have small
plots, by naming each cuvée after the parcel, or its
Catalan name, like a 'clos' in Burgundy" (where he's from
originally). In addition, he follows organic growing methods,
thanks largely to "300 windy days a year" making mildew
and oidium less of a threat. In 2007 for example (I visited in
the spring), "I only applied sulphur (treatments) twice."
Anyway, I tasted the following wines in his not-quite-finished
cellar down below and panoramic kitchen upstairs.
2006
red (vat sample 1, no sulphur
dioxide) – lovely rich black fruits and olives, very lively
and fresh yet quite lush and powerful with subtle grip and
length; fine v fruity with attractive dry coating. 88-90
2006
red (cask sample 2, made in
5th-fill barriques and not de-stemmed) – less open than
above but still showing richer dark chocolate tones suffused with
very subtle spicy oak, firmly structured and dry v rounded
mouth-feel with nice depth of fruit; finally closes up a bit on a
solid peppery and fresh finish. 90-92
2006
white 1
(from both parcels, part barrel-fermented separately) –
lovely fragrant honeysuckle and apricot with very light coconut
spice, slightly oxidised nutty side too; powerful finish (16%
alc!) with a little residual sugar remaining.
2006
white 2
(with first pressings from sea-facing parcel, just GG
& GB)
– less exotic and spicier with again honeysuckle and peach
tones, quite rich v citrus zest on the palate. 89+
2006
white 3 – ("bottom of
the vat mixed with barrique wine") – spicy cider notes
v fatter apricot and toasted nuts, attractive texture v freshness
as well.
These three white samples will probably end up as one
blend...
2005 Capa Casa,
vin de table blanc (blend of vat and barrique wine, 15%) -
lightly fizzy with orangey colour; nutty toffee fruit enhanced by
honeysuckle and dried apricots, spritzy fresh bite v weighty
mouth-feel, slightly yeasty tanginess in a Fino kind of way yet
not oxidised. Odd but it works, try it with anchovies, marinated
grilled peppers, goats cheese etc. 87-89
2005
Soula d'en Convartet, Collioure
rouge (14.5%) - dark cherries and elderberries with chocolate
tones, aromatic and fruity with liquorice richness v dry finish
and solid structure; nice balance between fruit, tannins and
freshness on the finish. 88-90
12
Les Hauts de Marisol, 66650 Banyuls-sur-Mer.
Tel: 04 68 82 57 24, mobile: 06 70 76 22 76,
bertrand.evelyne@wanadoo.fr.
 Domaine
de la Perdrix
A very brief
snapshot of André and Virginie Gil's well-regarded
30 ha/75 acre estate, including four vintages of their extraordinary white Côtes du
Roussillon called Cuvée J-S Pons: 2006, 2005, 2004 and 2000.
These complex rich barrel-fermented whites do age well and show that the
Roussillon isn't just red wine country, given the right varieties, vine age,
site etc. (JS is made from 100% old-vine
Grenache blanc
rooted on rolling slopes at slight altitude). We tasted them over a casual
summer barbecue in semi-darkness at Domaine Treloar, along with their rather
tasty 2005
Carignan.
So I do have a slight excuse for not delivering proper tasting notes and
assessment. From memory, the 2006 showed lightness of touch in terms of creamy
oak and quite fine acidity lending nice balance; the 05 was similar but fuller,
the 04 again quite fine and beginning to show oily maturity; and the 2000 a real
treat, all buttery and nutty in a quality white Burgundy kinda way. Call back
when I've completed this profile; I really must pop down to their winery sooner
rather than later...
7 Rue des Platanes, 66300
Trouillas.
Tel: 04 68 53 12 74,
contact@domaine-de-la-perdrix.fr;
www.domaine-de-la-perdrix.fr
 Les Clos Perdus
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 Corbières and near Maury (hence why they're
in this guide). 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 in the
Corbières region, not far from the sea obviously. Sampled
at the
Fenouillèdes
wine show in April 2007:
2005
Prioundo,
Corbières rouge (Carignan
Grenache Mourvèdre)
– quite tight and fresh, peppery v cherry fruit, a touch
bitter perhaps but it displays nice elegance.
85-87
2005
Cuvée 31 (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
(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
(Lledoner
Pelut
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+?
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
 Domaine Piétri-Géraud
The feminine touch of mother and
daughter Maguy and Laetitia
Piétri-Géraud perhaps explains this small-scale winery's more elegant yet still
structured Collioure reds, such as their Moulin de la Cortine sporting less
Grenache, more Syrah and Mourvèdre. They also make a scarcer white Banyuls as
well as very attractive examples of all the red styles: lush fruity Rimage to
oxidised toffee-like Cuvée du Soleil, which is matured outdoors entirely in
bonbonnes, glass demijohns. They have a tasting shop in bijou old town Collioure and cramped little cellar up the road a bit. I
sampled the following wines in October 2006 - Laetitia
also does a tasty rosé but didn't have any left
to try!
2004 L'Ecume Collioure blanc (Grenache blanc
& gris Vermentino, 13.5%) - oily nutty oxidising
style, dry and mineral with very light oak texture; subtle intensity and
freshness. €11 85
2004 Collioure red (Grenache Syrah Mourvèdre Carignan)
- nice perfumed ripe fruit, light bite and easier drink-now style. €9.50
85
2004 Le Moulin de la Cortine Collioure (Grenache Syrah Mourvèdre)
- peppery smokier fruit, tighter firmer palate, long and elegant; needs a bit of
time to open up. €12 87-89
2004 Banyuls blanc - quite floral and honeyed v lightly oxidised
almond notes, sweet v interesting fresh cut. €14.50 87
2004 Banyuls Rimage Mademoiselle (fortified on the fruit and skins before
pressing) - lovely raspberry summer fruits, soft mouth-feel with dried fruit and
light leather to finish; very fruity v nice bite of tannins/alcohol. €11
88
1998 Banyuls cuvée Joseph Géraud (aged for 7 years in large casks plus
some in barriques outside) - delicious maturing dried fruits with rich fig and
raisin notes, seems less sweet on the finish with those oxidised pecan nut tones
and the alcohol lending freshness. €12 89+
2000 cuvée Méditerranée (5 years in newer barrels) - more aromatic
with intense prune fruit, drier grip and more structured finish. €14
90+
2000 cuvée du Soleil - much more toffee-ish and roasted
pecans, actually doesn't taste so oxidised, more Madeira like; long and
sumptuous. €20 50cl 90-93
22 rue Pasteur,
66190
Collioure
(shop,
tasting and barrel store – their cramped cellar is on rue du Docteur Coste).
Tel: 04 68 82 07 42, fax 04 68 98 02 58;
domaine.pietri-geraud@wanadoo.fr.
 Olivier Pithon
This
much talked-about domaine is found on the high street in sleepy
Calce: to find it, look for a clue outside on the pavement such
as the odd winery hose or empty palette. Olivier started doing
his own thing in 2001, having worked for Gérard Gauby
among others, and thinks the Roussillon "has a big future in
quality wines" thanks to its "rich variety of very
different terroirs and old vines." He now has 15 ha / 37
acres spread out around the village and up towards the Col de la
Dona (a lovely spot for a drive or walking), planted with about
60% red varieties. He also believes that "the best white
wines in the Languedoc and Roussillon are from around here! The
region has everything going for it, you can do lots of different
styles – simple, big, elegant, less heavy... We just need
to build up its image, new growers are arriving all the time
hoping to follow in the footsteps of people like Gauby."
And, like many, feels the Roussillon's main advantage over parts
of the Languedoc is that "people kept their old vines and
it's cooler (relatively) and windier here, favouring the
production of finer wines."
Here are a few wines I tasted
from vat in Olivier's garage cellar (in the sense of compact
premises rather than home to overblown styles) back in March
2007:
2006
Cuvée Laïs white
(Macabeu
Grenache
blanc)
– quite rich and toasty v perfumed and exotic apricot
fruit, fresh and long with nice poise on the finish.
87-89
2006
La D18 (named after the road!) white
(100%
Grenache
blanc)
– very
different from above, more mineral and appley with lightly creamy
and spicy edges, again fresh acidity to finish.
2006
red (mostly
young
Carignan)
– shows nice floral cherry fruit with light grip, peppery
and fruity.
85+
2005
Saturne (Grenache
Carignan Syrah)
– about to be bottled: complex wild flowers and ripe cherry
fruit, liquorice palate with a tight, dry and fresh finish.
89-91
19 Route d'Estagel, 66600
Calce.
Tel/fax: 04 68 38 50 21,
pithon.olivier@wanadoo.fr,
www.domaineolivierpithon.com
 Domaine
Pouderoux
Catherine and Robert Pouderoux coax a pretty impeccable range of Côtes du Roussillon
Villages and Maury (all styles) from their 18 ha (45 acres), it has to be said.
The vineyards are split between the village itself and Latour-de-France, about
10 km southeast, planted mostly with red grapes - just
Grenache
for AOC Maury, the latter plus Syrah, Carignan
and Mourvèdre for CdRV - and one parcel of
Grenache blanc. Robert took us out for a drive above Maury (take the Cucugnan road), where you get a great view of the whole
appellation and very much beyond: buttressed between the Corbières proper and
a coupled ridge. This particular spot "is too exposed" (it hit 35°C = 95F that
4th Sept day by the way!) according to Robert; his vineyard is over the other
side, where there's some 100+ year old Grenache. Very dry, handsomely gnarled
bush vines,
difficult to believe they're still alive.
In the cellar, there are several different sizes and materials of vat to enable
them to "vinify all parcels separately, even the same varieties." Hence the
names on the labels reflect specific plots. The good news for readers of my
vinous drivel is that Pouderoux is very export orientated - 70% and increasing -
and their Maury 'mise tardive' (late bottled) is now listed in 100 Waitrose
stores (£9.49, see note below); for other wines available in the UK contact Thorman Hunt, London
SE11.
2004 Roc de Plane, white vin de pays (it has to be by law, as if anyone
outside of France cares: AOC requires 3 grapes and this is 100% lovely
Grenache blanc. Bureaucrats you know where you can
stick your paperwork!) - barrel fermented and aged (12 months total) giving nice
fatness set against floral peach and aniseed notes, celery and mineral freshness
on the finish too. 87-89
2003 Latour de Grés Côtes du Roussillon Villages (50% Carignan
plus old Mourvèdre and Syrah,
13.5%) - complex and delicious nose, liquorice & spicy
garrigue notes turning into leather & chocolate; concentrated and weighty
with very light spicy choco oak tones, firm and fresh length.
90-92
2003 Terre Brune Côtes du Roussillon Villages (50%
Grenache plus old Mourvèdre and Syrah,
14%) - more perfumed than above showing black cherry & olive with earthy
undertones, ripe juicy black fruit palate with depth and style, light coating of
choco oak and textured tannins, 'sweet' v savoury profile; more powerful than
above yet still has finesse and freshness. 92-94
2003 La Mouriane (Grenache Syrah, 14.5%) -
barrel fermented with hand plunging (they take the top off): toasty dark fruit,
quite oaky yet perfumed and fresh too, 'sweet' choco coating v very rich, tangy
black olive savoury fruit; powerful finish, out of kilter at the moment and
difficult to read, should be good though (only 200 cases made, €30 a bottle)!
2004 Maury - lovely cassis and black cherry aromas, concentrated rich
mouth-feel v dry bite and freshness, very lively fruit v firm tannins and dark
choco finish. 90-92
2002 Maury 'late bottled' (2 years in barrel) - perfumed cinnamon and jam
notes developing intricate coffee edges, black cherry fruit seems sweeter and
lighter than above, but this also has attractive coating and bite of tannins v
alcohol; very nice now. 90+
Maury Hors d'Age (15 years' average age) - developing leather and dried
fruit notes, soft sweet raspberry palate, seems fierier and more Port like;
lingering coating of fruit and tannins. 90
Maury Grande Réserve (part aged in demijohns outside) - more developed
still in an old tawny fashion, bitter choco v dried fruits, fatter and sweeter
mouth-feel; attractive although less interesting style perhaps (in my opinion
anyway).
2004 Muscat de Rivesaltes - all the 05 is already sold out, so this was
an indicative sample: still retains charming freshness and citrus edges, sweet &
concentrated yet nice cut adds elegance. 88
2
Rue Emile Zola, 66460
Maury.
Tel:
04
68 57 22 02, fax:
04
68 57 11 63;
123pou@free.fr
 La Préceptorie de Centernach
For
your pure enjoyment, here are some tasting notes on a few well-shaped white and red,
dry & sweet, wines from man of nature Vincent Legrand
(pictured right). La Préceptorie covers some 40 ha/100
acres (that's a lot of ploughing) producing mostly Vin de Pays
wines in all colours (5700 cases) followed by AOC Roussillon
styles and 2000 cases of small bottles of luscious Maury. I
tasted these in March 2007 along with Domaine de la Rectorie's
range (see below, they work together) at their Argeles warehouse
and office:
2006
Coume Marie Réserve
l'Almandin, Côtes du Roussillon blanc (Grenache
Gris Macabeu 14.5%)
- barrel sample: milky and juicy with fresh mineral length, the
high alcohol and light wood toast aren't very noticeable and
should integrate nicely.
87-89
2006
Les Terres Nouvelles Réserve
l'Almandin "écrits de lumière", vin de
pays Côtes Catalanes blanc (Grenache
Gris 13.5%)
- barrel sample: delicious flowery white peach aromas with very
light creamy tones, fresh bite v power and poise.
88-90
2005
Zoé vin
de pays Côtes Catalanes rouge (Syrah 13.5%) - nice juicy black
cherry fruit with fragrant spicy edges, attractive full palate v
light dry bite.
87-89
2005 Coume Marie,
Côtes du Roussillon rouge (14.5%) - richer and more
structured but still has fragrant black cherry and spice, quite
brawny v tangy fresh fruit.
89-91
2005
Cuvée Aurélie Pereira de Abreu,
Maury (Grenache
&
Carignan
17.5%) -
youthful aromas and flavours, shows enticing lush peppery
blackberry fruit with lightly savoury leather notes; the
alcohol's a bit obvious at the moment but it has attractive sweet
texture, bite and finish.
90
Centernach
near
Maury: 1
Route de Lansac, 66220
St-Arnac.
Tel: 04 68 81 02 94 / 06 82 67 04 17,
legrandvin@wanadoo.fr. See
La Rectorie below for more web contacts.
Vins
Pujol -
Domaine La Rourède
Certified for organic viticulture
five years ago to "protect the countryside and honour the true character
of our terroir," Josiane and Jean Luc Pujol
practise their way of life on 65 ha (160 acres) around the village of
Fourques, south of Thuir. They're planting more Syrah and Mourvèdre while
maintaining the old vine Grenache and Carignan, and also plan to produce
organic vinegar and grape juice. Wines tasted Jan 06.
2003
Côtes du Roussillon tradition (Grenache,
Cinsault, Syrah
& Carignan) - attractive ripe smoky leather and
spice nose, quite rich and concentrated, displaying maturing fruit with
earthy blackcurrant and mint notes on a soft long finish. €4
87+
2003 Cuvée La Montadella (Carignan & Mourvèdre)
- leaner style needing time to open up and express itself, this has a
touch of background oak on a quite austere palate with firm grip and
powerful finish. €9.20 89+
2005 Muscat de Noel - lovely pure grape and citrus fruit, long and
fresh in the mouth balancing out the sweetness. €8
87
2002 Rivesaltes Ambré - complex amontillado-like nose of coffee and
pecan nuts, soft and sweet palate showing good balance and bite. €7
89
2002 Rivesaltes Grenat - more toffee and date than above with
plenty of ripe blackberry and spice, dry grip of tannins v sweetness on
the finish. €8 88
3 rue de la
Rourède,
66300 Fourques.
Tel: 04 68 38 84 44, fax 04 68 38 88 86;
vins.pujol@wanadoo.fr.
Domaine Rancy
Brigitte and Jean-Hubert Verdaguer are real
specialists in aged Rivesaltes ambré VDN wines (70% of production), although
started making tasty Côtes du Roussillon reds six years ago; 11 out of 17
hectares are old vine Macabeu destined for this purpose. I was lucky enough to
try their 1969? Rivesaltes, I think (from memory I didn't note the vintage down)
when visiting La Coume Majou
(his personal stock!), which was quite extraordinary. Brigitte and Jean-Hubert
have plans to refit part of the cellar into a dining room to do lunches with
wine & food matched menus. Despite the fact they sell 80% of their production at
the cellar door, very little of this comes from tourists as they are a bit off
the beaten track. So hopefully this kind of meal thing will entice people out
into the countryside. Believe me, good wines aside, it's definitely worth the
trip: the Latour area offers a beautiful backdrop for driving or better still
walking. I sampled these wines at the
Fenouillèdes wine show in April 2007:
2005 Côtes du Roussillon red
– nice juicy black cherry notes set the scene for a quite soft and forward
palate v light grip and weight.
85
2005 Latour-de-France Côtes du Roussillon Villages (Carignan
Grenache
Mourvèdre)
– lightly volatile nose (vat sample) gives way to lovely rich blackberry fruit,
lively fresh mouth-feel v power, dry grip and delicious length.
90-92
2003 Côtes du Roussillon Villages – attractive lush wild fruit cocktail with
maturing leather tones, firm palate showing further developing savoury and
rustic fruit with underlying 'sweetness' too.
88-90
2003 Latour-de-France Côtes du Roussillon Villages (50%
Mourvèdre
plus Carignan Grenache)
– similar profile to above although more intense, savoury black olive notes and
less rustic; more grip and muscle on the finish.
89-91
2001 Côtes du Roussillon Villages (Carignan
Syrah Grenache) – their first non-fortified
red: complex herbal wild fruit with maturing meaty edges, lush rustic yet still
perfumed palate with dry bite and a bit of oomph; those tannins finish up a tad
firm, however this is good and quite elegant actually.
89-91
11 Rue Jean Jaurès, 66720
Latour-de-France. Tel: 04 68 29 03 47 /
06 87 11 15 18, info@domaine-rancy.com,
www.domaine-rancy.com
 Domaine de
la Rectorie
The
Parcé brothers Marc, Pierre and Thierry have built up this
old family estate into something approaching cult, although they
wouldn't like that nomenclature. Marc in particular, as president
of the Collioure growers' association and a countrywide lobby
group called Sève, is very committed to shaping the
appellation's future and promoting it beyond the region. They've
also gone into partnership with Vincent Legrand at La
Préceptorie de Centernach near
Maury (see above), having set up a sales & distribution
company.
La Rectorie covers 27 ha/70 acres making mainly red
Collioure, although over the last five years Banyuls production
and sales have steadily increased. Before that, the Parcés
almost gave up on VDNs because of appellation politics and the
type of wines & quality that appeared to represent its name.
Anyway,
it's worth clicking on the link below to their website: it's got
some nice black and white pictures on it. Here are my notes on
some of their sensuous Collioure & Banyuls wines tasted in
March 2007:
2006 L'Argile Collioure
blanc (14.5%) - barrel
sample: milky toasty edges to its lovely honeysuckle fruit,
powerful mouthful, concentrated and big; a bit hot on the finish
but very interesting style.
88-90
2006
Côté Mer Collioure
rosé (Grenache
Carignan Counoise Syrah 14%)
- very creamy and rich raspberry/redcurrant style, oily texture
with a tart edge; nice fruity finish with fresh acidity and
punchy alcohol.
87-89
2005
L'Oriental Collioure rouge
(Grenache based, 15%) - a
little closed to start, violets and blackberry fruit develops,
powerful yet has gentle fruit concentration; firm framework with
long rather alcohol dominated finish, pity as it has lovely
fruit/tannin layering, would've scored it higher.
89-91
2005 Côté
Mer Collioure
rouge (14%) - more
savoury v delicious pure fragrant and spicy black cherry fruit,
better balance, length and style.
90-92
2005 Côté
Montagne Collioure
rouge (14.5%) - more
structured and backwards than above, concentration and power but
also freshness and lively length.
90-92
2005
Cuvée Léon Parcé Banyuls (Grenache
16.5%)
- meaty and chocolatey with lively spicy black fruit combo, sexy
coating and panache.
90-92
54
avenue du Puig del Mas, BP 35 66651
Banyuls
sur mer.
Tel: 04 68 88 13 45 / 06 82 67 04 10
(Pierre
Parcé),
vignesorientales@orange.fr/larectorie@wanadoo.fr,
www.la-rectorie.com.
 Domaine Rossignol
Pascal Rossignol (which means nightingale)
and his wife Fabienne have 25 hectares (62 acres) of vineyards in Les Aspres
zone just outside the village of Passa, west of the A9 motorway between
Perpignan and the Spanish border. Originally co-operative growers, they decided
to do their own thing and built a cellar and visitor centre a few years ago to
focus on quality estate wines. Tasted Feb/March 06:
2002
Côtes du Roussillon Futs de Chene (Syrah, Grenache &
Carignan, 14%) - needs a little air to open
up, developing earthy plum fruit with light red pepper notes; quite firm and
chunky tannins yet also has good depth of fruit for this vintage, rounded out by
a touch of chocolate oak. €7.50 87
2004 Muscat d'Alexandrie sec, Vin
de Pays d'Oc (Muscat, 13%) - yet another nice
example (see below) of a fresh, dry, crisp and mineral Muscat; this one has
aniseed characters too and is quite
concentrated with elegant length, try with Thai food. €4.20
87-89
2004 Côtes du Roussillon rosé (Syrah
& Grenache, 13%) - gentle ripe red fruit cocktail
with elegant acidity adding freshness. €4.50 85-87
2004 Côtes du Roussillon rouge - attractive young berry fruit combines with
lightly dry tannins to produce a nice red for drinking with simple food.
83-85
2004 Côtes du Roussillon Les Aspres 'Bérénice' (Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre &
Carignan) - just bottled when I tasted it, so the
spicy aromatic oak is a little dominant at the moment; however, this has
attractive texture and elegant depth of perfumed fruit underneath, subtle length
too. 87-89
2003
Côtes du Roussillon Futs de Chene 'Le Graal' (Syrah, Grenache &
Carignan, 14%) - some
complex sulphide notes on the otherwise closed nose, powerful concentrated and
grippy mouthfeel; very young, needs at least 2 years to show itself.
89+
Tasted June 2007:
2006 Muscat sec, vin de pays des Côtes Catalanes
(13.5%) - floral grape and white peach aromas with light aniseed notes; soft yet
full palate, nice and fresh but rounded too. €4.50 87+
2005
Côtes du Roussillon rouge (Syrah Carignan Grenache
14%) - attractive perfumed spicy plum and black cherry nose; nice juicy ripe
fruit v lightly dry bite and grip, rounded and soft v power too. €5
87
2004 Côtes du Roussillon Les Aspres Bérénice (Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre &
Carignan) - vanilla coco oak tinged with spicy
floral cherry fruit; medium depth, rounded v extracted grip. Quite elegant I
guess but seems a bit simple and obvious in terms of overdone new oak v depth of
fruit. €9.50 however! 85-87
Route de Villemolaque,
66300
Passa.
Tel/fax: 04 68 38 83 17;
domaine.rossignol@free.fr,
domaine.rossignol.free.fr.
Domaine Rouaud
Jérôme Rouaud and his wife set up their
domaine less than 5 years ago, farming nine hectares (22 acres) organically from the
start; which means they got certified status from the 2005 vintage. Before that, Jérôme worked in the car industry in Paris (yawn) then for Nicolas wine shops; went to
Bordeaux to study winemaking and viticulture, moved to the Roussillon to work as
a winery assistant, and finally bought, ripped out and rebuilt an old cellar in
Pézilla west of Perpignan. Wines tasted June 2006:
2005 Têt
blanc
(Carignan blanc) - he has a
few, rare white Carignan vines mixed in with the red ones. Mineral tones with light
toast and creamy edges, fat mouthfeel v lively intensity v power too;
interesting. 87+
2005 Frivole doux (Muscat petits-grains) - less
residual sugar than Muscat de Rivesaltes with 33
grams/litre and 12% alc. Nice fresh grapey style, more medium dry really on its
clean finish. 85
2004 Barbacane Grenache, vin de pays Côtes Catalanes -
attractive spicy black fruits with tobacco tones, ripe with soft tannins and
attractive pure flavours. 87-89
2003
Côtes du Roussillon rouge (Syrah Carignan Grenache)
- lovely dried fruits displaying liquorice and black cherry notes, appealing
maturing spicy fruit with oily texture and background dry tannins; weighty
length with lingering tobacco fruit. 89+
2004 Têt Pourpre, Côtes du Roussillon Villages (Syrah Carignan Grenache)
- more overt coconut oak immersed in delicious spicy fruit, blackberry/olive;
full bodied with good depth v firm tannins, tight lively length, beginning to
develop on the finish. 90+
2003 Tuilé (will go back into barriques before bottling) - intense
peppery oxidised plum and tobacco aromas, rich and sweet v nice cut of alcohol.
2005 Frivole rosé, Vin de Pays Côtes Catalanes
(purely so he can put Syrah Grenache on the label)
- juicy red fruit style, quite chunky without being blowsy, nice fresh finish.
87
These wines are priced from around €5 to €10.
More of them here and
here.
7
Rue du Portal d’Amont, 66370
Pézilla-la-Rivière.
Tel: 04 68 92 46
59, mobile: 06 98 17 22 81; email:
rouaudvigneron@aol.com
 Château Saint-Roch
This
stunning estate and
château were owned by Emma Florensa and Marc Bournazeau,
who make a pretty spotless range of vin de pays, Côtes du
Roussillon and Maury wines. I say 'were' as the expansionist
Domaine Lafage has recently (late summer 2007) bought the
property, although things are still a bit up in the air while
they finalise all the fine detail, I'm told. Nevertheless,
Saint-Roch has to be on your Maury-area visiting list, found down
a track off to the right before the village, where the road bends
around and crosses the river. The domaine has now reduced to
around 30 ha/75 acres and produces quite a broad gambit of styles
including more commercial offerings, such as 'Pink' rosé,
Sauvignon Blanc etc. in addition to the local 'classics', which I
tasted in situ in April 2007.
2003
La Bastide blanc
(mostly
Grenache
gris plus
Macabeu)
– quite subtle toasty notes with aniseed, spice and creamy
overtones; honeyed v mineral flavours with soft rounded finish,
good but drink now as it's freshness is disappearing.
85-87
2003
Chimères Côtes
du Roussillon Villages (60%
Grenache plus
Carignan
Syrah)
– ripe and resiny with wild herbs, liquorice and black
fruits; 'sweet' v maturing savoury palate with firm dry bite
keeping it nicely alive.
88-90
2004
Kerbuccio Côtes
du Roussillon Villages (Grenache
Syrah
Mourvèdre)
– fragrant coconut oak aromas bolstered by nice berry and
black olive notes, developing savoury edges v light chocolate
texture; firm tight long finish needing time to fuse properly,
although the oak is much better balanced than previously. €23
90-92
2004
Maury – attractive
youthful spicy blackberry and dark chocolate flavours, quite firm
at the moment with underlying sweetness and alcohol present.
89
Tasted
February 2008:
2002 Chimères
Côtes du Roussillon Villages (60% old-vine
Grenache
10%
old-vine
Carignan
30%
Syrah
13%
abv) – mature prune fig and gravy notes underpinned by coco
oak, attractive savoury leather v dried fruits on the palate, the
tannins are rather dry and extracted but it has quite good length
and style; coming back to it the next day, it's rather grippy and
hard v remaining fruit. Good with Catalan sausage and mushroom
risotto! On offer at Champion supermarket for €5.20 (stock
clearance perhaps? Worth a go though at the price).
87-89
More
St-Roch wines
here, from the 6th Fenouillèdes
Wine Fair.
Château Saint-Roch, 66460
Maury.
Tel: 04 68 29 07 20,
www.chateau-saint-roch.fr,
chateausaintroch@aol.com
 Domaine Sarda Malet
Bearing in mind it’s
located on the city's southern outskirts not far from the motorway, this
sizeable
estate (50 hectares, 124 acres) isn't easy to find. And once you get there, you feel like
you're in the middle of nowhere: best approached from the by-pass between the
two N9 turnoffs - Girona and Perpignan centre or vice versa - look out for the prison
on the other side of the road! Or try the Perpignan south - Canohès rough back road. One of the leading
lights in the Perpignan area, the winery and vineyards are run by Suzie
Sarda-Malet and her young estate manager Vincent Bascou. Their
Carignan and Grenache
were mostly planted in the 1930s and 40s; in the 80s, Suzie and her father
stopped using synthetic sprays to return to traditional manual work in the
vineyards. At the same time, they started replanting Syrah
and Mourvèdre
and white varieties Roussanne,
Marsanne, Malvoisie
and Viognier to supplement the old
Grenache blanc & Macabeo.
I tasted some of their range on a warm sunny mid October day:
2005 Le Sarda Côtes du Roussillon blanc - perfumed and floral with
lightly volatile complexity, interestingly fresh
and mineral palate. 85
2005 Le Sarda Côtes du Roussillon rouge - delicious black
cherry / currant fruit leads to a liquorice palate, juicy and attractive v light
tannins in the background. 85-87
2003 Réserve Côtes du Roussillon rouge - intricate leather and
spice notes, ripe and rounded showing subtle oak v plenty of developing fruit;
good bite and length, elegant for a 2003 (hot vintage).
88-90
2003 Terroir Mailloles (low yielding parcels of
Syrah and
Mourvèdre)
- enticingly smoky nose, lush dark fruit and background oak; oakier on the
palate but there's more of those nice black fruits with chocolate texture,
concentrated and powerful yet hides its 14% and new-ish oak quite well.
89-91
L'Insouciant 4 (100% low yielding
Grenache, 2004 vintage but they aren't allowed to
state the year - hence the cryptic 4 - as it's classed as table wine!) -
attractive 'sweet' fruit and spices, soft and leathery v oomph (the 15% isn't
obvious though); in the end quite fine actually, very enjoyable mouthful.
90-92
2003 Terroir Mailloles blanc
- toasty yet has lots of floral apricot fruit, quite rich and fat then fresher
finish; pretty oaky but it works thanks to that lovely maturing fruit.
89
2005 Muscat de Rivesaltes - appealing
freshness v concentrated and sweet, plenty of flavour and pizzazz on the finish.
89
1999 La Carbasse, Rivesaltes (Grenache)
- liquorice and ageing fruit, oxidised truffle notes too; dark chocolate
mouth-feel with delicious complex maturing fruit, not so sweet in the end with
very long finish, keeps opening up. 92-94
Chemin de
Sainte Barbe, 66000 Perpignan. Tel: 04 68 56
72 38;
suzymalet@wanadoo.fr,
www.sarda-malet.com
Domaine de la Serre
Jean
Louis Vera's
promising estate is comprised of several plots spread around the
Maury area and is run by his winemaking son Arnaud. I sampled the
wines below at
the
Fenouillèdes
wine show in April 2007; and I did visit their winery once a
couple of years before that, although then it was a building site
with new vats and barrels positioned here and there wherever
there was space. Meaning the domaine name and cellar have only
been around in recent times, but the family were co-op growers
for many years before going down their own vinous path (that's
enough of the literary drivel, ed.).
2004
Cailloux blanc
(Grenache
blanc
Macabeu
Muscat)
– still quite fresh and mineral with a weighty mouth-feel
(14.5% certainly helps), but it's surprisingly drinkable
actually.
87
2005
Cailloux rouge
(Grenache)
– lively juicy cherry style, easy and tasty.
83-85
2003
Serre Longue
Côtes
du Roussillon Villages (Grenache
Carignan
Syrah)
– fair splash of oak but it's rich and lively, grippy dry
texture v sweet fruit and oak; quite well balanced despite its
punch (14.5%).
88-90
2002
Hypogée
Côtes
du Roussillon Villages (Syrah
Grenache
Carignan)
– again toasty vanilla is up-front (50% new barrels used)
but it has lovely savoury v liquorice flavours, structured chunky
tannins and power (15%) v 'sweet' roundness.
89-91
2002
Serre Longue
– attractive
savoury leather edges, a touch oxidised although still quite lush
v firm backdrop, potent and long.
89
2003
Pierres Levées
– rather
coconutty with dense black fruits underneath, dry yet rounded
tannins; that oak lingers somewhat, will the fruit outlive it?
89
10
Rue du Docteur Pougault, 66460
Maury.
Tel: 04 68 59 18 36.
 Domaine
Serrelongue
Julien
Fournier is commendably focused on Mourvèdre and Grenache,
excited even judging by his up-front labels (example, right) and
the red blends he creates.
Mourvèdre makes up 30% of both his
'starter' wine, Saveur de Vigne (€9), and top cuvée
Esprit de Vin (with 60%
Syrah and 10
Grenache,
priced at an ambitious €28); and 60% M for the Extrait de
Passion label (€22). Grenache makes up the remainder of the
latter, is also 40% of Saveur (the rest Syrah) and 100% for
Julien's Maury VDN, of course. Confusing and geeky percentage
figures aside, the Grenache all grows on the classic Maury area,
warm exposed dry schist soils; and the M and S come from his
other vineyard, made up of big pebbles on clay-limestone. All in
all, another very promising estate; I do hope Julien moderates
his fondness for new oak! I tasted these two barrel samples at
the
Fenouillèdes
wine show in April 2007:
2005
Saveur de Vigne – quite
a bit of oak but it's well handled, attractive generous fruit and
underlying richness with a chocolatey finish.
89-91
2006
Saveur de Vigne – lively
herbal black cherry fruit tinged with chocolate oak notes,
certainly promising and quite elegant.
Find more
Serrelongue wines
here, from the 6th Fenouillèdes
Wine Fair.
149 Avenue Jean Jaurès, 66460
Maury.
Tel: 04 68 59 02 17, julienf66@aol.com;
www.serrelongue.com
 Domaine Singla
Young
Laurent de Besombes' stimulating range of Catalan-titled wines is
born out of two very different vineyard sites. He has 70 ha/175
acres in total: 45 in the Salses-le-Château area snuggling
up to the Corbières hills (called Mas Passe Temps), and 25
near
Camélas
in Les Aspres zone (called Mas d'en Alby) between Thuir and
Ille-sur-Têt. However, for the moment only about 11 ha of
selected varieties are the source of the Singla label, launched
in 2001. Laurent has 24 ha of Muscat and other whites used to
make Rivesaltes VDN styles, and he sells off the rest in bulk to
the local co-op. His Singla reds are priced between €8 and
€10 a bottle, because "I want to stay reasonably priced
despite all the work involved (he farms organically too). It's
difficult to try and make a name for yourself straight away with
very expensive wines. In this region, you can find neighbours
where one sells for €50 and the other's losing money. It's
more about getting the most out of, and highlighting the
different
terroirs."
Hence
Laurent claims to be "super selective about what fruit goes
in," and "there's no press wine in the blends either. I
use whole berries, foot treading and usually no temperature
control, apart from doing 'rack and return' on the big cuve to
cool it down." (Literally emptying one vat into another then
back again, which helps aerate the must, lose some heat and
extract colour/tannin.) The range is a mix of Côtes
du Roussillon and Vin de Pays, as "if the taste matches AOC
regulations, then fine; if not, I don't care." Good for you,
I say...
I tasted these wines in April 2007 in Laurent's
Rivesaltes cellar (which he's doing up into a more suitable
'tasting space' and shop), and the leftovers over the next few
days.
2004
Castell Vell (mostly
7 year-old
Syrah,
14.5%) - nice juicy fruit with light coconut tones v meatier
savoury edges; fairly full with attractively chunky tannins and
finish, dense grippy and savoury.
87-89
2005
La Pinède, Côtes
du Roussillon (old vine
Grenache
Carignan Syrah,
14%)
- attractive pure blackcurrant/cherry/berry fruit with very light
spicy oak, turning more black olive and liquorice after one day; quite tight and firm with fine length and freshness,
chunkier than above with dry textured tannins
needing 6 months or more to open up.
89-91
2004 La
Pinède,
Côtes du Roussillon (Grenache
Carignan,
14%)
- more forward and juicy-fruity with black cherry and wild herbs, nice
solid yet elegant fruit and fresh length v
tight firm and powerful; well-balanced and quite fine, the oak
melted into the wine after one day open.
89
2004
Passe Temps,
Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes (mostly
Grenache,
14.5%) - succulent rich black fruits and liquorice, turning
savoury/rustic on the palate with a touch of bitter chocolate oak;
quite lush and weighty (14.5%) v firm and
fresh bite and length with lingering wild fruits and leather.
88-90
2004
El Molí,
Côtes du Roussillon (Syrah
Grenache Carignan
14%)
– delicious black cherry fruit with coco/cedar oak notes, soft
yet dense
fruit v dry textured grainy tannins; once again nice bite and lively finish
v lush liquorice and (alc) weight.
89-91
2004
La Crinyane,
Côtes du Roussillon (mostly old vine
Carignan plus
Grenache,
14%) - a little closed to start off, light oak v fine liquorice
and dark plum
fruit on the palate with soy sauce edges, quite dense lush and concentrated yet
elegant with attractive coating of rounded tannins; not very
expressive needing a bit of time, as the fruit does come out
slowly with aeration.
89-91
7
Rue Pasteur, 66600
Rivesaltes
(cellar).
Tel: 04 68 28 30 68 (home) / mobile: 06 11 77 07 11;
laurent.debesombes@free.fr,
www.domainesingla.com
Domaine des Soulanes
Cathy and Daniel Laffite's 15+ lost hectares (40 acres) in the stoney hilly
back-lands between Tautavel and Maury, are composed mostly of Grenache noir with
a little blanc and gris too ("best for aroma and complexity" according to Cathy), plus Carignan red and white. Daniel's step-father,
who they bought the property from, farmed organically until
1993, when mass spraying was done in the area from the air to combat virus.
"It's more philosophical than a marketing thing for us," he explained, "now
we're as organic as possible...but certain plots are surrounded by other people
spraying." They spend a lot of time working the 'soil' encouraging the vines to
grow deep roots to reach water, as "we only get 400mm or so of rain here (about
16 inches)."
This must be back-breaking work. Walking around part of their vineyard, I
said to myself "how does anything grow in this?!" It's nothing but hard dry
stones and flaky schist, hence the inverted commas around 'soil'. Daniel quipped
"I get through two pairs of climbing boots a year!" The domaine itself was only set up
in 2001 and now sells around 3,000 cases per annum, most of it exported. Wines
below tasted on 4/9/06 in context of a rather good lunch at the
Auberge du Cellier
in nearby Montner - see
Fenouillèdes wine fair
for other Soulanes wines.
2005 Cuvée Jean Pull, vin de pays Côtes Catalanes (vat sample: 2/3
Carignan 1/3 Grenache)
- attractively rich blackberry and spice with inky liquorice depth and peppery
black cherry undertones, lush mouth-feel yet fresh and long; power v finesse to
finish. 89-91
2004 Cuvée Jean Pull, vin de pays Côtes Catalanes (2/3
Grenache 1/3 Carignan)
- more developed and aromatic with floral peppery black cherry notes, has rustic
richness yet some elegance too; less dense and complex than the 05 with more
leathery maturity, very nice to drink now. 87-89
Both vintages were surprisingly good with plump savoury gambas &
goats' cheese with honey, usually a bad clash combo for big reds.
2004 Sarrat del Mas, Côtes du Roussillon Villages (Grenache Carignan Syrah)
- floral wild herbs combine with oak undertones, peppery rustic palate with soft
fruit and texture v dry grip to finish; tight fine length:
90-92. Lovely with the rabbit dish.
2004 Maury (15%, 93 g/l residual sugar) - seductive liquorice and leather
aromas, lightly oxidised tones v rich fruit, good balance of sweetness with dry
grip and bite of alcohol; lingering leather and chocolate, quite elegant in
fact. 88-90
Mas-de-las-Frèdes,
off the D69, 66720
Tautavel.
Tel:
04 68 29 12 84,
fax:
04
68 29 12 84;
les.soulanes@wanadoo.fr
Domaine
Terre Rousse
Tasters
had the opportunity to try all four vintages (so far) of Serge
Rousse's Côtes du Roussillon Villages reds side by side, at the
2007 edition of the
Fenouillèdes
wine show held
in Tautavel. All 4 wines are made from approximately 40%
Grenache, 30% Carignan, 20% Syrah and 10% Mourvèdre; a
vineyard blend "that matches my cuverie perfectly... each
vintage I've been aiming for more fruit and less wood." Nice
to hear that coming from a Bordelais, and judging by my notes
below, I agree wholeheartedly this is the way to go. There are
already too many Roussillon reds swamped in flashy new oak with
the same flavour and texture!
2006 (cask sample) – lovely
juicy black cherry fruit, pretty firm tannins yet rounded with
fresh length. Will be good... as long as he doesn't leave it too
long in barrel!
89
2005
– again delicious fruit
and style, liquorice with very light leather tones; attractive
bite and balance with 'sweet' v dry texture and subtle lingering
flavour.
90-92
2004
– lightly toasted and a
little baked, richer and firmer palate than expected with
chocolate notes; prefer the 2005 and 2006.
85-87
2003
– more restrained and
'Bordeaux' in style, nicely maturing fruit v oak backdrop, more
structured although has background ripe v savoury fruit.
85-87
Route
de Cucugnan, 66460
Maury.
Mobile: 06 12 94 10/20? 35, sergerousse@wanadoo.fr
Domaine
du Traginer
No-nonsense
Jean-François Deu is proud of his organic status and philosophy –
some wines even have no added sulphites – combined with
certain biodynamic methods (he doesn't go with the full monty
witchcraft), which match his laid-back manner yet uncompromising
standards. The result is a classy range of wines going from his pure floral
site-blended Collioure red, to the peppery refined Cuvée
du Capitas and delicious late harvest Banyuls ‘mise
tardive’ (late bottled). Jean-François spends long
hours out in his vineyards (best to ring his mobile number if you
want to see him personally, although you can taste the wines in
his shop from spring to autumn) working the soil and stimulating
the vines' natural defences by applying various biodynamic
remedies. He’s also trying to make things
less labour intensive by 'mechanising' some of the work, which
isn’t an easy task in the area’s mostly narrow,
terraced and very steep vineyards. Actually, that's a little bit
of a joke; he uses a mule and plough, which is a touch easier on
the back no doubt!
I tasted these wines at Millésime
Bio in Perpignan, January 2008.
Click here for other Traginer
vintages (Millésime Bio 06). UK merchant
Stone, Vine & Sun
lists a few of his wines.
2004
Cuvée Capitas,
Collioure rouge – ripe and raisiny with aromatic dark plum
tones, concentrated and chunky showing a touch of oak and
alcohol, rounded v grippy finish.
90-92+
2006
Cuvée al Ribéral,
Collioure rouge – liquorice and spice notes lead on to a
concentrated inky palate, closes up on the finish although has
lovely underlying black fruits.
89-91
2005
Collioure rouge
– coconut spicy oak is quite prominent at the moment, but
this has lovely depth of fruit v solid tannins.
90-92
2003
Cuvée d'Octobre,
Collioure rouge – more raisiny and smoky, light old wood
spice otherwise firm v ripe mouth-feel.
88
2006
Banyuls Rimage
– fruity pruney nose with youthful fruit v grip v sweetness
on the palate; very nice style.
90
2003
Banyuls Grand Cru
– much more oxidised, Tawny style with complex maturing
tones; good but personally prefer the Rimage wine.
89
16
(cellar) or 56 (house) Avenue du Puig del Mas, 66650
Banyuls-sur-Mer.
Shop: 7 Rue St-Pierre, from April to October 10am-12pm/4-7pm.
Tel: 04 68 88 15 11 / 04 68 88 00 68 / mobile 06 79 17 99 31,
jfdeu@hotmail.com
 Domaine Treloar
Yorkshireman
Jonathan Hesford and his New Zealander wife Rachel (Treloar is
her maiden name) set up this promising estate in 2006. Having
narrowly escaped NYC's tragic 9/11 disaster, the family left for
New Zealand seeking pastures new. Jonathan studied viticulture
and winemaking then worked for leading Kiwi winery Neudorf; a few
years later they ended up in the Roussillon, lured by its
inexpensive vine-land and warm climate, to fulfil their dream as
the story goes.
Jonathan's approach is refreshingly honest: "I
just like to show people what I do in the vineyard, instead of
banging on about special terroir."
And, in response to the rather laboured topic of the region's
generally meagre yields (and the slightly mysterious way this is
officially measured, administered and communicated, from a
consumer rather than rigid production point of view): "There's
too much emphasis on yield, low yield = quality is rubbish."
As well as entirely rational views on the Roussillon's AOC
structure, similar to those echoed elsewhere in this guide,
especially relating to the Aspres zone (they have one parcel of Syrah classified
within this):
"...valid concept but too broad, I want to make the best
wine I can and tailor it to suit customers... too much variation
in quality... OK for co-ops and merchants, not much good for
people like me..."
Treloar consists of 10 ha (25 acres)
split between two main chunks located on the gentle slopes
surrounding the village of Trouillas, where the couple have
renovated a huge old stone cellar and converted part of it into
their house fitted with a tasting/function room. They also do
lunches for €10-€12 per person (booked in advance),
vineyard tours and a variety of tasting events: see website below
for details.
These
wines were 'sampled' over a summer 2007 BBQ and again over lunch
during the vintage (I helped pick a few bunches of
Mourvèdre
by the way):
2006
One Block
Muscat,
Vin de Pays d'Oc (Muscat
à petits grains,
12.5%) - enticing nose with floral grapey grapefruit and orange
peel tones, fuller creamier mouth-feel v aromatic and crisp. Nice
with ewe's milk cheese.
87
2006
Muscat of Alexandria,
Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes (12.5%) - less aromatic and
more mineral in style with light yeast lees and citrus notes, again quite rounded
and oily v fresh acidity.
80-85
2006
One Block
Grenache,
Vin de Pays d'Oc (14%) - attractive r |