Chile: Cabernet Sauvignon

In a similar vein to my piece on Cabernet from Argentina (goes there) posted at the end of last year, Merlot, Carmenere and now Syrah and Pinot have perhaps become Chile's most fashionable varietal darlings. But there's still a lot of vinous enjoyment to be had from wines made solely or mostly from Cabernet Sauvignon; and occasionally more than mere enjoyment, as in fact some of Chile's best reds are crafted from Cab or Cab blends. Here's a gratuitous 'top ten' then (actually, "this one goes to 11...") that have come my wine-way in recent-ish times.

Roussillon/Languedoc updates: Matassa, Clos Perdus, Vinci

Click away:

Les Clos Perdus Corbières / Agly Valley (pic. below)

Domaine Matassa Calce

Domaine Vinci Estagel / Espira de l'Agly

From www.lesclosperdus.com

Roussillon: Le Soula, Fenouillèdes

Le Soula has featured on FMW.com before – see HERE ('Roussillon: three whites' from 2011 featuring their 2006 vintage) and HERE (notes and blurb spanning the period 2006 to 2010 on Domaine Gauby, who sought out, set up and part-owns Le Soula) - so it seemed like a good idea to add a few background words complementing my comments on recent vintage releases of some of their reds and whites...

Mark Walford, Roy Richards and Gérard Gauby bought about 20 ha (49 acres) of vineyards on the lost lofty frontier of the northwestern extremities of the Roussillon, known as the Fenouillèdes or upper Aude valley. Initially the wines were made in a small cellar in St. Martin du Fenouillet (the different plots are found around here and the villages of Feilluns, Saint Arnac, Le Vivier and Lesquerde) from the first vintage in 2001; and in 2008, they acquired the old cooperative winery building in Prugnanes, which was completely refitted, and Gérald Standley (pic.), who has a good deal of experience working in several wineries in different places, took over running the operation in the same year. He was undergoing official 'conversion' with full-blown organic certification due from the 2012 vintage, although they've been organic/biodynamic from the very beginning in any case (as if Gauby would have it any other way...). He also started the process of becoming certified biodynamic last year. The 'Macération' white wine is Gérald's baby, where he did whole bunch maceration before pressing giving wackier results, and more complex if it works (I liked it)...
Le Soula's wines are available in several top restaurants and independent merchants in the London area and across England via Berry Bros. & Rudd, in Scotland via Raeburn Fine Wines, Edinburgh (the £.££ prices quoted below); Chapeau Wine in Dublin, Paul Young Fine wines in Los Angeles and in Canada, Japan etc: see full list on www.le-soula.com. They're pretty expensive, in Gauby-esque style, but good for sure and do age well too, especially the whites actually; so who am I to knock an obviously thorough job of creating a well-distributed premium Roussillon range...

Trigone blanc L11 Côtes Catalanes (mostly Macabeu with Malvoisie du Roussillon and drops of Grenache blanc, Grenache gris, Vermentino, Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Marsanne and Roussanne of different ages; a blend of mostly 2011 and 12 vintages with a splash of 10 and 09; nearly half the wine aged in used demi-muids barrels; total sulphites 38 mg/l) – juicy honeyed and nutty, rounded and smooth vs nice crisp bite, attractive balance and style, fairly easy going.
2010 Le Soula blanc Côtes Catalanes (mostly Macabeu with Sauvignon and Grenache blanc plus Chardonnay, Malvoisie and Vermentino; about 30% aged in demi-muids including small portion of new wood; total sulphites 5 mg/l) – richer and creamier with nutty notes, lees-y with buttered toast, concentrated and lush with powerful yet still fresh finish. Yum. £21-£24

La Macération du Soula blanc L10 Côtes Catalanes (mostly Vermentino with Macabeu; blend of 2010 and 2009 vintages; mostly barrel aged; total sulphites 25 mg/l) – aromatic orange peel nut and peach blossom, richer hazelnut and sweet fruit flavours coming in vs intense finish; different.

Trigone rouge L12 Côtes Catalanes (mostly Syrah and Carignan with a touch of Grenache; a blend of mostly 2011 and 12 vintages with a splash of 10 and 09; 25% barrel aged; total sulphites 16 mg/l) – slightly 'reduced' and funky at first, moves on to lively spicy Syrah style with black cherry vs crunchier blueberry fruit; nice depth and subtle grip developing more liquorice fruit on the finish.

2010 Le Soula rouge Côtes Catalanes (mostly Carignan and Syrah with a touch of Grenache; mostly barrel aged including portion of new wood; total sulphites 27 mg/l) – wilder and peppery, intense crunchy fruit vs dark and smoky edges, light chocolate oak undertones on the attractive finish. £21-£25

Roussillon: Domaine Jolly Ferriol, Espira de l'Agly

Isabelle Jolly and Jean-Luc Chossart took over this three-and-a-half-century old property, in that cute old Catalan farmhouse style, in 2005, which is found off the meandering main road between Espira and Cases de Pène, a few kilometres west of Rivesaltes. They've been farming organically from the start (they're now 'certified' anyway) using indigenous yeasts for 'spontaneous' fermentation, and most of their wines have no added sulphites (except the Muscat de Rivesaltes as stated below for instance) and don't get fined or filtered they claim. This riskier 'natural' approach can sometimes lead to mixed results, although it's mostly successful with the wines I tasted here, especially their "blah blah" white based on Grenache gris, varietal Syrah and a couple of very different Muscats. More about Isabelle and Jean-Luc, their way of life, details on the wines etc. on www.jollyferriol.fr where I pinched this photo from.

2012 Blablablanc (mostly Grenache gris with Macabeu) – floral peach blossom vs yeast lees and nutty characters, intense and tasty palate with long finish; very nice white.

2012 Pet'Nat ("naturally sparkling" Muscat from second fermentation in bottle, 12% abv) – attractive and unusual style with biscuity notes vs grapey flavours; fairly light and easy.

2010 Fait d'Hiver (Syrah, Grenache, Carignan) – funky 'volatile' nose vs pure ripe dark fruit cocktail, dried and earthy with chunky vs soft mouth-feel; quite intense, a little on the wild side though.

2009 Syrah – perfumed violet and black cherry, turning more liquorice-y and peppery on the palate, rich fruit and tannins but rounded and quite fine for 'hot dry year' 2009.

2006 Muscat de Rivesaltes (total sulphites 28 mg/l) – “very low yields and much less alcohol added than usual,” I was told. Complex marmalade and quince notes with orange peel zest, nutty and toasty too on the palate. Lovely style.
Passe-temps Rivesaltes ambré (70% Macabeu, 30% Grenache gris; 3 years cask ageing, 16% abv) – nutty and dried fruits, oxidizing 'Madeira' profile although fruitier, intense bitter vs sweet mouth-feel with tasty ageing savoury flavours.

Languedoc: La Réserve d'O, Terrasses du Larzac

Marie and Frédéric Chauffray bought a few plots lying at 400 metres above sea level in the wild and airy Terrasses du Larzac (click to find out more) appellation in 2005 - you can read my note on their first vintage red from that full-bodied year HERE (links to "Top Languedoc & Roussillon reds over €10" tasting feature) - when they created La Réserve d'O, using a bit of word play, presumably, for that catchy name. They also starred in 'Les Terroiristes du Languedoc' documentary film (links to post about this) made by American wine-cineaste Ken Payton. The couple also has vines in the Saint-Saturnin area, which is a sort-of subzone of the wider Terrasses du Larzac so-called cru appellation ("Confused? You will be..."), all farmed under the influence of biodynamics from the very beginning, so the story goes; and had a new cellar built in the village of Arboras the following year... LRO is a name I've bumped into before, as I said, and I'm glad I (re)discovered them a few months ago, as their wines are tasty, full of sunshine and have nice depth of character too. Some of them are available in the UK from Cambridge Wine Merchants, Drop Wines, the Humble Grape, the Wine Society and others; and in the US: Johns Island Imports, IL and Astor Wines, NY. More @ www.lareservedo.fr.

2012 Sanssoo St-Saturnin (Syrah, Cinsault; no added sulphites, filtered) – lovely cherry and berry fruit, peppery with liquorice too; tasty juicy palate, quite concentrated and rich though with a certain freshness on the finish too. Lovely. £14

2010 La Réserve d'O Terrasses du Larzac (Syrah, Grenache, Cinsault; total sulphites 45 mg/l, filtered) – enticing spicy floral nose with darker blackberry side, lush and ripe with nice tannins and mouth weight, fruity vs earthy finish. Yum. £11.99 - £13.99, $19.96

2009 Hissez O Terrasses du Larzac (similar blend but with more Syrah and some barrel ageing; total sulphites 40 mg/l, filtered) – again has delicious dark vs herby spicy Syrah styling, rich and full-on vs nice grip/bite, earthy vs dried fruit flavours, powerful yet concentrated finish. Wow.

2011 Bilbo St-Saturnin (mostly Grenache; total sulphites 37 mg/l, filtered) – ripe and juicy with liquorice vs crunchier berry fruit, weighty with a light bitter twist, also concentrated and long; nice Grenache style. £10.95 - £12.99

Roussillon: Vinyer de la Ruca, Banyuls

The man behind Vinyer de la Ruca is the splendidly named Manuel di Vecchi Staraz, which wasn't a name I'd come across before. He only makes one red Banyuls vin doux naturel style, as far as I can tell, which, as it says on his website www.vinyerdelaruca.com: "Tot es fa a la mà," meaning "Everything is done by hand," from my limited grasp of Catalan. This even includes the quirky decorative hand-blown 650ml and 400ml size bottles, more like little demijohns actually, the Banyuls comes in. Rather steep though at €75 and €110 a piece (even if he does only make 1000 bottles and the wine is good), just like the sheer schist terraces the 50 year-old Grenache it's made from tries to grow on. These vines are farmed totally biodynamically using homoeopathic preparations, no machines, no added sulphites to the wine, aged in small tuns and all that jazz. Sounds / looks like a bit of a philosopher too, hence the suitably pensive shot I copied off his site:

2011 Banyuls - baked plum and liquorice notes, fiery punchy palate layered with sweet vs savoury fruit, complex flavours on top of attractive grip and texture actually, rich dark and smoky with tangy twist too. Nice style.