Originally from Burgundy, Catherine Jeannin's beautiful hillside Mas was established (and replanted) 17 years ago, complete with charming old Catalan farmhouse buildings; and is found down a signposted, vine-en
closed track between the villages of Espira and Cases-de-Pène. You catch a glimpse of it while driving along the main road; but you have to carry on towards Espira, turn left at the roundabout up a hill and then left off this road. Now that her son and daughters have returned after various studies and work experience to help run the estate, Catherine wants to develop the wine tourism side by offering accommodation and lunches to small groups of wine lovers, as well as regular events such as their 'open day' in June. Watch this space...
In addition to all the usual red suspects, they have 10 ha/25 acres of white varieties including the less common Vermentino and Carignan blanc, plus both Muscats. "I'd like to increase plantings of red," she explained, implying she'll remove some of these white grape vines. "But it's important to have a good mix of vins de pays and dearer wines. We find people buy either the cheapest or the dearest, not so much the mid-price ones." Their 'entry level' red is indeed great value (see below) and sensibly Catherine believes that "we don't want to price our top wines too high."
Tried and tested back in March 2007:
2005 Grenache vieilles vignes, vin de pays Côtes Catalanes white (70+ year-old Grenache blanc & gris 14%) - subtle toasty notes mingle with apricot, peach and floral tones; elegant soft mouth-feel, attractive but lacks a bit of zing perhaps. €12 85+
2006 Tamarius red, vin de pays Côtes Catalanes (Syrah Grenache Carignan) - delicious vibrant black cherry/currant fruit with light cedar tones, fresh and easy palate with a touch of grip to finish. €4.30 85-87
2005 Côtes du Roussillon red (Grenache Syrah Carignan Mourvèdre) - still quite fruity although savoury too with rustic edges; more structured and firmer with nice backdrop of fruit, quite elegant and long. 87-89
2003 Cuvée Bastien, Côtes du Roussillon Villages (Syrah Grenache Mourvèdre 14%) - smoky and peppery showing lovely fruit with liquorice notes; concentrated and firm v spicy and lush with very light chocolate oak coating, again good balance grip and length. 90-92
Updated Dec 2012 - see below.
This much talked-about domaine (although I'm still not 100% convinced why...) 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 (read on for latest vintages):
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
I've tried one or two others since, I'll add them to this blurb when i've relocated them.
UPDATE 2012 live from Millésime Bio wine show, Montpellier!
2011 Mon P'tit Pithon blanc (Macabeu, Grenache blanc/gris) – appley nutty and leesy, perhaps lacks a bit of character in the end. €8.20 cellar door.
2011 Laïsblanc (Macabeu, Grenache blanc/gris: barrel sample) – quite rich and toasty with apricot fruit tones, concentrated with nice yeast-lees bite, long finish balancing power and fresh acidity. Very good. €15.50
2011 Mon P'tit Pithonred (mostly young vine Grenache) – attractive fruity and minty style, fairly simple though. €8.20
2009 Le Pilou (very old Carignan) – intense and concentrated with lush vs crunchy blueberry, black cherry and cassis fruit; has freshness vs weight too on its tasty long finish. Very good although rather dear at €33.
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 (see 'R' under winery A to Z) 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. Summer 2009: Vincent Legrand is no longer at La Préceptorie, update to follow...
The road up to Martine and Bernard Carbonnell's remarkable Bavarian/Disney-esque castle cum winery & hotel is well signposted off the Argelès bypass, but you absolutely could not miss it (even if it was dark and you were wearing sunglasses...). Perched up on a hill and surrounded by neatly terraced cascading vineyards, the Carbonnells have spent a fortune restoring this old family estate. Bernard started by replanting all the vineyards in the 1990s, building a show-piece glass-inner-walled cellar with tasting bar and finally had the peeling château itself renovated. They now offer five sumptuous and well-equipped guest rooms that retain a certain timeless Old World charm; priced from €150 to €350 depending on time of year, size and meal options (it's not open in the winter by the way).
As for the wines, I found them attractive and well-made although a bit over-glossy and lacking substance given the quite high prices they charge (€8 to €16); then again, most of the vines are still young so the wines should gain more depth in time. They currently produce about 70,000 bottles and "need to get to 100K to really be profitable, in terms of the investments made," taking a long-term view like so many who believe in the Roussillon's quality future and have gambled a lot of money on it. The whole set-up is clearly geared to getting numbers of wine tourists to come to them, and why not when you have an extraordinary estate like this in a superb location? And it appears to be paying off: Martine said they now sell around 60% of production on-site, way above the average; and it's a great place for them to entertain their trade customers too.
These wines tasted in March 2007:
2005 Valmy rosé (Syrah Grenache Mourvèdre) – fruity chunky and rounded with quite fresh length; good but looking a little old, look forward to trying the 06. 85
2005 Les Roses Blanches de Valmy (Viognier Marsanne Grenache blanc) – pretty toasty (fermented in oak) but does has nice aromatic apricot notes and creamy full palate too. 85
2004 Côtes du Roussillon rouge (Syrah Grenache Mourvèdre) – attractive creamy blackcurrant and raspberry fruit, soft and ripe with dry bite and subtle finish. 83-85
2004 Le Premier de Valmy, Côtes du Roussillon (Syrah Grenache Mourvèdre) - coconut spice dominates the nose (14 months in oak), quite lush with elegant fruit texture, dry v rounded then tighter finish. Quite good but €16? 87
2004 Valmya Rivesaltes Grenat VDN (Grenache) – enticing blackberry/cherry nose moves on to savoury v dark chocolate and wild fruit flavours; nice balance of tannin texture, sweetness and alcohol. 89
2005 L'Or de Valmy, Muscat de Rivesaltes (Muscat petits grains) – delicious floral honeyed nose, fruity and rich palate with lively finish showing roundness and freshness. 87
The Argentinean wine establishment has mirrored their Chilean counterparts over the other side of the Andes with their first vinous awards ceremony held in Mendoza a couple of weeks ago. And as sure as night follows day, Wines of Chile had their fourth annual bash in Santiago a month before that. What was a first for Santiago this year, was the all American judging team - in the past mostly Brits - including Bob Paulinski MW, Mary Ewing-Mulligan MW, Joshua Greene (Wine & Spirits mag), critic Jay Miller and the Wine Enthusiast's Michael Schachner. Over in Mendoza, the tasters included many established names from the UK - in fact the same 'old' ones who've previously done the judging thing in Chile (ooh, jealousy and bitching will get you nowhere!) - such as Oz Clarke, Robert Joseph, Peter Richards, Jancis Robinson MW and Beverley Blanning MW, as well as winemakers from Argentina Roberto de la Mota (Bodegas Mendel) and Daniel Pi (Trapiche) among others.
Anyway, enough of the banter; let's move on to the decorated wines. As for Argentina, "interestingly eight out of the nine Trophy winners will retail in the UK for under £10" commented James Forbes, UK Director of Wines of Argentina. They are as follows:
Sparkling wine - Familia Zuccardi, Alma 4 Chardonnay Roble 2003
Red blend - Bodega Norton, Norton Privada 2003
Tempranillo - Tittarelli, Finca El Retiro Reserva Especial 2004
Cabernet Sauvignon - Bodegas Santa Ana, La Mascota 2005
Malbec - Fabre Montmayou, Fabre Montmayou Gran Reserva 2005
Sauvignon Blanc - Pulenta Estate, La Flor de Pulenta Estate 2006
Torrontés - Bodega Felix Lavaque, Quara 2006
White blend - Bodega Luigi Bosca, Gala 3 Viognier 2006
Syrah - Don Domenico, Finca Don Domenico de Huanacache 2006.
You might be surprised to see a top sparkling wine from Argentina, although Domaine Chandon, for example, has also been making good fizz there since the 60s. I haven't tried the Zuccardi wine (but hope to at some point), yet that producer doesn't usually disappoint. Apart from them, there are a few other old favourite names here such as Norton, Fabre Montmayou and Luigi Bosca. All the medal results are available on www.winesofargentina.org.
Back to Chile, best screenplay and director go to:
Sauvignon Blanc & 'best in show' - Viña Casas del Bosque Reserve 2006
Cabernet Sauvignon - Viña Hacienda Araucano, Reserva 2005
Carmenère - Viña Odfjell, Orzada 2004
Syrah - Viña Porta, Winemaker Reserve 2005
Merlot - Viña Concha y Toro, Marques de Casa Concha 2005
Chardonnay - Viña Nuevo Mundo, Tacón Alto 2006
Other red variety - Viña Millaman, barrel aged Zinfandel 2005
Red blend - Viña Estampa, Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon/Carmenère/Petit Verdot 2005
Best value white (this is beginning to sound like the International Wine Challenge) - Viña Miguel Torres, Santa Digna Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2006
Best value red - Viña MontGras, Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
Rosé - Viña Chocalan 2006.
Similarly, see www.winesofchile.org for full listing. I'm pleased to see Casas del Bosque up there, as I've always thought they make one of Chile's best Sauvignons. Also worthy of comment is the mix of familiar names, who are obviously now showing their experience and pedigree, and new estates (to me at least). I look forward to tasting these wines in the near future. My feature on the 2006 winners is included on a mega Chile page (see "more wine words" on the right).
Big plastic red noses, 22 million people tap-dancing at once, football celebs being doused in purple custard: Comic Relief day is back with a vengeance on Friday 16th March. The UK wine industry, retailers, writers, restaurants etc. will once again be doing their bit to raise money for CR charities in Britain and Africa (Wine Relief has amassed £2million since its launch in 1999). The following are donating 10% of the sale price of a range of Red Nose wines: Co-op, Majestic, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Somerfield, Tesco, Threshers, Waitrose and Café Rouge.
A few of my favourites include Montes Reserve Sauvignon Blanc, Casablanca Valley (£6.49) and Crozes-Hermitage, Cave de Tain L'Hermitage (£6.99) at Majestic (if you're anywhere near their Vinopolis shop in Southwark, south London, you don't have to buy a case there); Darting Estate Riesling (£6.99) and Pirque Estate Sauvignon Blanc (£6.99) from M&S; Porcupine Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon (£5.49) at Sainsbury's; Brown Brothers Dry Muscat (£5.24) at Somerfield; Tesco Finest Tapiwey Sauvignon Blanc and Kulapelli Cabernet Sauvignon/Carmenere (both £7.99); Gobelsburger Grüner Veltliner from Austria (£6.49), Fetzer Syrah Rosé from California (£5.99) and J P Ramos' Trincadeira from Portugal (£7.49) at Waitrose; and the Laroche Terret and Grenache white and red house wines at Café Rouge (£15) sound worth a go. Consume sensibly of course! Click on the Big One top right for more info, fundraising ideas, donations etc. Posted 27/2/07.
Although not part of Comic Relief, another inventive fundraising event for the world's poor is the VSO Big Curry Night on Saturday March 10 2007 (follow the highlighted link for details), which sounds like a fun idea for charidy. This was brought to my attention by Warren Edwardes from Wine for Spice, purveyor of curry-friendly wines such as Raja Rosé (I did a little feature and tasting on his wines in 2004, which I haven't yet rebuilt on this site...), who's also supporting Big Curry Night. You can read his blog here. So check out the VSO's recipe ideas, go shopping and get cooking. Talking of rosé wines, I do find they often go with spicy food very well: check out my regular "wines of the moment" and Roussillon guides, for example, for recommendations. Posted 5/3/07.
Hardly a new discovery - at the grand age of 35, CDV is almost an old timer by Californian standards (well, I mean relative to the many new new wineries rather than the handful of 19th Century candidates) - but their wines retain a nice European-esque charm and elegance (not that I'm biased towards Euro wines). They also have extensive vineyards in Carneros (pic. above), source of some very enticing Pinot. Mind you, I didn't like their 04 Zinfandel though. Wines below sampled at Boutinot's tasting in the Tower of London (mind your head once again) in Feb 2007:
2004 Pinot Noir - delicate perfumed morello cherry aromas with savoury edges, lovely fruit intensity v tight fresh length. £15.50 92
2003 Merlot (plus a little of both Cabernets) - gamey nose with light red pepper tones, chunky tannins and power v herbal fruit finish. £14.50 87-89
2003 Cabernet Sauvignon - inky herbal edges to its rich chunky palate, again shows light cedar and leaf characters on a riper rounder whole with very firm tannins. £16.50 90
1996 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon - mature savoury leather-tinged fruit, dry grip set on nice developing fruit finish. £31.50 90-92
That's probably a good way of making sure I don't get invited to Rioja. Not that I have anything against them - far from it, there are some outstanding wineries in the region making lovely wines. But, when faced with an enormous amount of bottles up for tasting at the Wines from Spain annual bash in London (Feb 2007), I decided to shun Spain's best known area in search of a few different things. Something newer or sexier perhaps. So in this report, you'll find around 25 red and rosé wines - or rather rosado, or rosat from Catalonia - made mostly from the Garnacha, Monastrell and Tempranillo varieties (with a few French grapes thrown in) coming from regions such as Toro, Jumilla, Yecla, Alicante, Ribera del Duero, Campo de Borja, Navarra and Terra Alta. For more info, the link on each of these headings takes you to the relevant bit on Wines from Spain's website.
Click here to discover lots more Spain on this site.
Toro
This very up-and-coming region is found to the west of Ribera del Duero in Castilla and Leon (click on each of the dark blue region titles in caps for more info on Wines from Spain's website). Winemakers are doing exciting things with Tinta de Toro, the local name for Tempranillo, and so far charging reasonable prices for the results.
Covitoro
2004 Cañus Verus, Viñas Viejas (Tinta de Toro = Tempranillo) - vanilla and cedar notes backed up by ripe plummy fruit, grip and power to finish. £8-£10 87
2005 T Rosado (Tempranillo Garnacha) - creamy redcurrant and raspberry aromas, quite chunky and weighty (13.5%) with a touch of tannin v fresh length. £5 85
Quinta el Refugio
2005 Tinto (Tempranillo) - more serious wine (but not price), lightly rustic fruit v very firm build, yet rounded on the finish too. £5-£6 89-91
2004 Vetus (Tempranillo Cabernet Sauvignon) - quite extracted and dry tannins but again has lush dark fruit and power on the finish. £10-£15 89
Jumilla
I like wines from Jumilla (located in Murcia in the southeast), especially those based on the region's wonderful Monastrell grape variety. Another area once known for bulk wine, there are many new wineries worth checking out. The fact that Torres has bought vineyards here must say something about potential quality.
Bodegas Juan Gil
2006 Monastrell - nice juicy ripe black cherry and olive notes, light tannins and savoury finish. £5-£6 87-89
2004 Silver Label Monastrell - more extracted and leathery, liquorice fruit v firm framework, tangy black olive finish. £8-£10 90
Casa de la Ermita
2004 Monasterio de Santa Ana (Monastrell) - black cherry and olive with meaty herbal tones, the 14%+ alcohol is quite noticeable but the wine has character. £5 85-87
2001 Reserva (Monastrell Cabernet Syrah) - savoury black olive and ripe black cherry with liquorice edges; nice texture and weight, firm v rich fruit. £12 90+
Navarra
Neighbouring Rioja in north-eastern Spain, Basque-side, Navarra seems to have established its own identity with often successful red blends of Bordeaux and Spanish varieties, as well as some of the country's best rosados. Wineries need to watch any excessive penchant on the style and price front!
Bodega 1877
2002 Altoro crianza (Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon) - smoky plum with vanilla undertones, maturing ripe fruit v solid grip. £6-£8 89
Bodegas Ochoa
2005 Lágrima Rosado (Garnacha Cabernet Sauvignon) - delicate fruit, quite tight and fresh v good balance of weight and crunchy red fruits. £8 87
Bodegas Otazu
2000 Altar (Cabernet Sauvignon Tempranillo Merlot) - spicy oak on a quite rich and extracted palate, shows concentration and grip with attractive maturing fruit underneath. £21 88-90
Bodegas Iñaki Nuñez
2003 Pago de Cirsus, Selección de Familia (Tempranillo Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot) - new wood v rich yet elegant fruit, chunky modern blackberry with a touch of finesse too. Good but £35? 89+
Ribera del Duero
Hailed as one of the most exciting regions along with Priorat, Ribera's almost cult status has lead to sometimes very high prices and over-the-top winemaking (see Valtravieso's VT below for an example of an impressive competition wine, although not the most exaggerated by any stretch). Having said that, there are many superb wines with controlled extraction and oak usage at more reasonable prices, as you can see below.
Bodegas Ismael Arroyo
2004 Mesoneros de Castilla roble (Tinto Fino = Tempranillo) - big yet elegant wine showing dark fruit and dry tannins v fair alcohol and fresh bite; good concentration and balance, value too (for this expensive region). £6-£8 92+?
2001 Valsotillo Reserva (Tempranillo) - more farmyard and meaty soup in tone and texture, maturing savoury fruit v firm yet rounded framework. £15+ 89-91
Pago de los Capellanes
2005 Tinto roble (Tempranillo Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot) - juicier with cassis and plum notes, very firm and powerful balanced by lovely fruit. £10-£15 90-92
2003 El Nogal (Tempranillo) - smoky leather aromas with meaty prune undertones, vanilla oak backdrop with power and extracted tannins. Wow but a little unbalanced. £15+ 89
Bodegas Valtravieso
2005 Dominio de Nogara (Tempranillo Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot) - ripe perfumed black cherry with light leather notes, firm tight mouth-feel with fresh elegant style too. £8 87-89
2004 VT Vendimia Seleccionada (Tempranillo Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot) - broody nose leads to rich extracted palate, very firm and dry with ripe fruit and oak roundness. Impressive to taste but difficult to drink? £38 87
Bodegas Félix Callejo
2003 Selección Familia (Tempranillo) - a bit strange: perfumed vanilla v meaty aromas; big and grippy, quite extracted but it works somehow. £20 87
Cillar de Silos
2003 Torre Silo (Tempranillo) - nice chunky fruit with background oak, savoury development v grip and length. £25 89-91
Priorat
Catalonia's most famous, highish-altitude region needs little introduction (click on the title to zoom to the WFS website); and for some reason, I only tasted one wine whose winery provenance is also a bit of a mystery...
2004 Osmin - rich chunky fruit and texture, quite oaky but not too much. 88-90
Yecla
This small region adjoins Jumilla in Murcia province and similarly is fast becoming a source of delicious good-value Mediterranean reds.
Bodega Castano
2002 Pozuelo crianza (Monastrell Cabernet Sauvignon Tempranillo) - smoky earthy nose with ripe creamy fruit, attractive grip and elegant length. £6-£8 87-89
Campo de Borja
Head south from Navarra into Aragon and you'll find this still obscure wine area, where Garnacha in particular appears to be shaping their promising future. I haven't tried many wines from here but Borsao below is a pretty reliable name.
Borsao
2005 Tres Picos Garnacha - spicy oak v rich ripe fruit, nice dry grip on the perhaps a bit too oaky finish. 85-87
Alicante
Located not far from Valencia, Alicante also has large plantings of yummy Monastrell; although I appear to have picked one of the dearest wines from this talented and otherwise good-value region!
Bodegas Sierra Salinas
2003 Mira Salinas (Monastrell Garnacha Cabernet Sauvignon) - quite tight and firm mouth-feel with vibrant black olive and liquorice fruit, powerful finish. £15+ 89
Terra Alta
One of Catalonia's least known areas, in contrast, found to the west of Priorat. Traditional and French varieties seem to work well together, and this region has one or two very good co-operatives who offer rich 'modern' Med reds at affordable prices.
Celler Pinol
2005 Sacra Natura (Cariñena Tempranillo Syrah Cabernet, organic) - meaty chunky wine with grip and power (14%), nice dark fruit in the background. £10 87-89
Conca de Barberà
This region poised above Tarragona (west of Barcelona) came to the limelight quite a few years ago but still doesn't exactly trip off the tongue. However, it's home to one of Torres' flagship estate wines that incorporates obscure local varieties making a comeback.
Torres
2001 Grans Muralles (Monastrell Garnacha Garró Samsó Cariñena) - Garró and Samsó are old lost Catalan varieties that Torres has resurrected. Smoky complex nose with 'sweet' and savoury mix, grip power and length on the palate. £45 88-90
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Header image: Château de Flandry, Limoux, Languedoc. Background: Vineyard near Terrats in Les Aspres, Roussillon.
