David Loiret, La Part des Anges (see below).
Château Planères
This fourth-generation estate winery is owned and run by the Jaubert family and is found in the pretty countryside of Les Aspres zone in the central-southern Roussillon, just outside the blink-and-miss-it village of Saint-Jean Lasseille. Some of these wines are new labels.
P de Planères Malvoisie 2023 Côtes Catalanes IGP (12.5% abv): They introduced new cuttings of Malvoisie from Sardinia to increase their plantings of this once much more common variety in the Roussillon. Juicy zesty citrus layered with riper peachy flavours, fresh and crisp with quite complex finish. £12.25 UK. €8-€10.50 France, Belgium and Netherlands.
Cristal de Roche 2023 Côtes du Roussillon (12.5% abv): 60% Malvoisie, 40% Rolle (Vermentino). More depth with yeast-lees-ier profile, citrus notes lead to a fuller honeyed palate then nice juicy finish; tasty dry white. £16 UK. €13-€14 France.
P de Planères Grenache Noir 2022 Côtes Catalanes (14% abv): Aromatic juicy red with spicy kirsch fruit, lovely Grenache-fruity finish with a hint of tannic grip. £12.25 UK. €10-€11 Belgium, Netherlands.
Chantail 2021 Côtes du Roussillon (14% abv): Half Carignan with Grenache and Syrah. Delicious blueberry then darker richer fruit, nice bite and length for something fairly uncomplicated. £12.25 UK. €8 France. 259Kč Cz. $14 US (2019).
Prestige Rouge 2020 Côtes du Roussillon Villages Les Aspres (14% abv): One-third each Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre (old vines on slopes). A touch of oak (12 months in barrel) but it's well-handled, nice dark cherry fruit with peppery tones, powerful yet balanced. £16 UK. €14-€18 France, Belgium, Netherlands.
Jape 2020 Côtes du Roussillon Villages Les Aspres (14% abv): Majority Mataro (Mourvèdre) with Lledoner Pelut and Syrah (average vine age 50 years); partly matured in oak casks for 12 months. Concentrated and meaty, firm mouthfeel but with plenty of tasty maturing fruit, good stuff. £16.50 UK. €16 France.
La Romanie Rouge 2019 Côtes du Roussillon Villages Les Aspres (14% abv): mostly Mourvèdre with Syrah and Grenache; 12-18 months in cask. Savoury maturing flavours, chunky and concentrated with good length. £22 UK. France €23-€26. $30 US (2015).
Muscat Excellence 2022 Muscat de Rivesaltes Vin Doux Naturel (16% abv): 50/50 Alexandria/Petits Grains Muscat, 105 g/l residual sugar. Delicious sweet Muscat with refreshing cut to finish, should go well with blue cheese; dear though at £18 UK RRP. €15.50-€18.50 France, Belgium, Netherlands.
Dom Brial
Heading back north(west) of Perpignan, Dom Brial is the brand name used by the 100 year-old co-op winery in the village of Baixas, which represents 200 growers farming about 2000 hectares of vines on the wild and varied terrain found in this area. While still guardians of fabulous traditional Vin Doux Naturel sweet fortified wines, including a treasure trove of some spectacularly old bottles, Dom Brial has changed dramatically and innovated over the past twenty years. UK importer is Hallgarten Druitt & Novum Wines. Image below from www.dom-brial.com.
DOM ICI
Blanc Côtes Catalanes 2023 (13% abv): 100% Macabeu. Crisp and nutty, dry and zesty with subtle yeast-lees flavours/texture, nice dry white.
Rosé Côtes Catalanes 2023 (13% abv): 100% Grenache. Juicy and crisp, on the tart Provence style side but it's nice enough.
Rouge Côtes Catalanes 2022 (13.5% abv): 100% Carignan. Easy-going red with juicy fruit, pleasant enough.
The UK price of this range is about £10-£12 a bottle, which doesn't make them great value for the quality although the style is appealing enough. Strictly Wine, All About Wine, Great Wines Direct, Noble Green Wines, Wine Square, Wine Poole, Corking Wines.
Château les Pins blanc 2023 Côtes du Roussillon (14% abv): Grenache blanc and Roussanne (50-50) from hillsides; 4 months in new barriques. Mealy and lightly toasty nose, rounded weighty palate with nice fresh finish, perhaps less oaky-tasting than previously. Very good white although quite dear at £25 (UK RRP). €16.30 cellar door.
Les Petits Pins rouge 2022 Côtes du Roussillon Villages (14% abv): Grenache, Syrah, Carignan, Mourvèdre. As usual with this tasty red, there's lots of lovely fruit coupled with attractive tannins. I always prefer it to the much dearer and always too oaky Château les Pins rouge. UK £14-£16 at some of the same retailers as per Dom Ici wines above. €10.60 France.
Domaine La Part des Anges
David Loiret bought some elevated vines (300-400 metres above sea level) overlooking the lake near the village of Caramany in 2019 and also has a vineyard in Saint-Paul de Fenouillet just west of Maury, although his cellar is in Tautavel!
Parcelle Secrete 2022 Côtes Catalanes (13.5% abv): The secret plot being Carignan Blanc, a very rare white member of the Carignan family planted in Caramany. Delicious honeysuckle notes with oaty and nutty flavours, rich mouthfeel while balanced and lingering. Lovely. £28 UK. €21 cellar door.
The Butcher 2021 Côtes Catalanes (15% abv): 50% Syrah from Caramany, 50% Grenache from St-Paul. Firm and meaty with maturing fruit, lightly baked undertones but it works in this wild-edged style, dense powerful finish. £21, €17.
Alchimie 2021 Côtes du Roussillon Villages Caramany (14.5% abv): 70% Syrah with Carignan and Grenache. Concentrated dark cherry fruit, firm but well-textured tannins, nice pure fruit with powerful finish; very tasty. £18, €13.50.
Rec des Abeilles Carignan 2021 Côtes Catalanes (14.5% abv): 12 months' ageing in used barrels. Delicious and concentrated, nice aromatic fruit on a textured palate, fresh and powerful at the same time; very good Carignan. £28, €22.
La Part des Anges 2020 Côtes du Roussillon Villages Caramany (14.5% abv): Mostly Syrah with Carignan; 18 months in new oak. A little toasted and charred on the nose and palate, although this is concentrated for sure with very dense texture and once again rounded tannins. Expensive too: £66, €60.
Maury Grenat 2021 Maury Doux (18% abv, 80 g/l residual sugar): 100% Grenache. Rich ripe kirsch and pure black cherry fruit, very intense and punchy still yet with masses of flavour; wow, very good. £28
The latest dismal news has been coming in from winegrowers in the Roussillon about the huge shortfall in this year's harvest, with many producers picking less than half the 'normal' amount of grapes. This is a direct consequence of the drought conditions suffered in the region over the last two or three vintages - if there's anyone left in the world who denies climate change, then they've been ignoring what's been going on in Europe this year (and just about everywhere on the planet).
There was terrible flooding recently even on the eastern side of Mediterranean France, as well as what we've seen in parts of northern Italy, Austria and central Europe. Yet there's been very little rain over the past year in the Roussillon and on the other side of the border in Spanish Catalonia too. There's talk of some growers thinking about giving up the profession amidst serious concerns about long-term sustainability, while the political cogs appear to be turning very slowly for possible solutions to providing more water to the region.
There's no longer any 'normal' about weather patterns it seems, making an already difficult industry (grape-growing and farming in general) even more challenging and less profitable.
Previous posts from the Wines of Roussillon Edinburgh tasting:
Next up, tasting reports on Domaine Sol Payré, Château de l'Ou, Mas Bécha and Mas de Lavail.
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