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Showing posts with label Corbières. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Corbières. Show all posts

29 July 2010

Languedoc: Domaine du Grand Arc, Corbières

Bruno and Fabienne Schenck set up domain in 1995 in beautiful middle of nowhere near Cucugnan at the bottom end of the Corbières, before the meandering climb down into Maury and beneath the awesome Chateau Quéribus (just to throw in a hint of cliché touristy and dramatic Cathar ambience - the castle is a must-see though)... although they already had and worked vineyards before then and used to deliver their grapes to the local co-op cellar. The estate now comes to 23 ha (57 acres) with vines planted from around 250 to 400 metres altitude (over 1000 ft on average).
When I called in at Grand Arc in late July 2010, Bruno expressed their philosophy as "agriculture non-violente," meaning, although not strictly organic, "sometimes we don't interfere... and take a little risk, we might lose a bit but you get better balance and we always have enough crop." He also said: "We no longer green-harvest and do very little de-budding and leaf-removal," the idea being that "it's all well thought out to try and understand everything around us. So, we make a range that reflects all our terroirs... The climate is very even here, we try to use that." And on the winemaking front, he claims to have experimented with not using sulphur for wines made in 2008 and 2009, except adding a very low quantity at bottling to "guarantee stability and ageing potential." I tasted their range at the same time as some eager Belgian tourists, who promptly drove off with a few cases, so obviously a hit! I'm inclined to agree, as no doubt does UK wine merchant Stone, Vine & Sun who stocks some of these wines:

2009 Veillée d'Equinoxe white (Grenache Blanc Roussanne Maccabeu 14%) - aromatic floral & banana-y nose; fatter fuller palate vs crisp and quite mineral, attractive light bitter twist too. €5.30 / £8.50. 80-85
2009 La Tour Fabienne rosé (Grenache Syrah Carignan Mourvèdre Cinsault 14%) - has plenty of creamy strawberry/raspberry fruit to start; juicy vs quite chunky style with bite and subtle bitter twist, rounded & fairly powerful too vs crisp and fresh. A foodie rosé, good value too @ €4.80 / £8.25. 85
2009 Nature d'Orée red (Grenache Syrah Carignan MourvèdreCinsault) - nice lively fruity style showing a touch of grip vs liquorice and black cherry, spicy and punchy too; drinking well now although quite serious, value too @ €5. 85
2008 Réserve Grand Arc red (Carignan Grenache Mourvèdre) - tighter and fresher style with crunchy vs ripe blue/black fruits; good bite vs weight and very light touch of oak. €6 / £8.75. 85-87
2008 Quarante red (Carignan Grenache Syrah) - more closed up with subtle concentration of blue fruits, spicier and grippier too; nice tight length showing refreshing side vs oomph and again a deft touch of oak (?), long and quite fine. €7.60 / £10.50. 87-89
2008 En Sol Majeur red (Grenache Syrah) - richer and more powerful, a touch more oak too adding coco spice and texture; concentrated and tight, again not very expressive at the moment with toasty/grainy finish; lush fruit underneath though vs solid mouth-feel and punch. Promising. €10.80 89-91
2008 Aux Temps d'Histoire red (mostly very old Carignan) - spicy and grainy and closed up to start; gets more aromatic and very intense, attractive blue/black/red fruit combo adding rich vs crunchy profile; fresh acidity on the finish too with pure intense fruit vs coconut grain texture, long and tight. Wow. €12.90 90-92
A couple of previous DGA vintages here (Fenouilledes road trip 2005) and 2009 reds 'en primeur' here.
Le Devez, 11350 Cucugnan. Tel: 04 68 45 01 03, www.grand-arc.com

22 March 2010

Languedoc: Château Maylandie, Corbières-Boutenac

Maylandie lies unobtrusively on the outskirts of the village of Ferrals, to the south of Lézignan and not far from the A61 (Narbonne-Toulouse) motorway. It's owned and run by Jean (whose father Jacques started the ball rolling in the 50s by buying a few vineyard parcels in the area), Anne-Marie and their daughter Delphine Maymil. There's a little shop at the entrance to the estate, where you can try their range: my favourites are the tasty concentrated Villa Ferrae and tobacco-tinged Carnache, aka ‘petites vendanges entre amis’ as the corresponding bunches were apparently picked by a few close friends. If you're planning a trip to get to know this wine region better, Maylandie is kitted out with two holiday gîtes across the yard from the château, which look out onto fetching vines. Delphine also organises walks around different vineyards within Corbières-Boutenac with a few other growers, if booked in advance.
I tried these wines in late October 2008, at a tasting laid on by the appellation people at Château Boutenac:
2007 Le Cabanon Corbières (Grenache Carignan Syrah Cinsault) - a touch 'reduced' on the nose,otherwise this wine has nice tangy cassis, cherry and liquorice fruit; fruity v crunchy v grippy finish. 85
2005 Cuvée Prestige Corbières (Grenache Carignan Syrah Mourvèdre) - attractive maturing resiny fruit with wild herb, 'tar' and wood undertones; dry texture v smoky fruit and good weight. 87+
2005 Villa Ferrae Corbières-Boutenac (Grenache Syrah Carignan) - resiny v savoury with appealing depth of rich 'tar' fruit; quite firm tannins at first v tasty and concentrated, worked well with the beef dish at lunch. 89+
2005 Carnache Corbières-Boutenac (50-50 Carignan Grenache) - fruitier style with tobacco and leather edges; again pretty firm mouth-feel but has that enticingly tasty, savoury maturing fruit on its long finish. 90+

Tasted in March 2010 at home:
2007 Carnache Corbières-Boutenac (Carignan/Grenache 13.5%) - black cherry, damson and cassis with smoky spicy tones, hints of tobacco and light vanilla/coconut too; attractive thick coating of dark chocolate, berries, liquorice and chunky dry tannins; quite concentrated and powerful with dense fruit, sweet vs meaty finish and lively, light coconut grip. Needs a few months in bottle to round out a little, yet pretty promising. 89-91

UPDATE! Latest vintages here  (Corbières & Boutenac report May 2011).

Ferrals-les-Corbières Tel: 04 68 43 66 50, www.maylandie.fr.

09 March 2010

Languedoc: Château Ollieux Romanis, Corbières-Boutenac

This neat slightly fading 19th-Century château-cum-farmhouse is, as legend has it, named after olive trees planted by Romans (uh oh, Roman alert: so they did ever do something for us then!), which used to cover this picturesque rolling property. It's found to the west of Fontfroide Abbey in Corbières-Boutenac country, a few kilometres northwest of Montséret off the D613 road to Thézan-des-Corbières. Jacqueline Bories has now handed over the reins to son Pierre who, together with Jean-Pierre Amigues are slowly converting the 130 ha (320 acre) estate over to organics.
There are at least 20 ha of Carignan with the youngest vines 50 years old and the most senior dating from 1896 apparently. Their Cuvée Prestige, made from this old Carignan with Grenache, Mourvèdre and Syrah, exemplifies how attractive, concentrated and well balanced their reds are. Compare it to a €10 wine from elsewhere and feel self-righteous you discovered it here! Other highlights include the barrel-fermented cuvée Prestige white and seductive, oak-free, old Carignan-based Atal Sia (labelled as Boutenac AOC). There are also a couple of holiday gîtes, which might be integrated into a larger conversion of part of the winery buildings into a hotel and resto.


Tasted November-December 2008:
2007 Les Ollieux 
Corbières white (Marsanne Roussanne 13.5%) - attractive mix of exotic 'fat' fruit and mineral crispness, oily v zingy with nice weight and length. Oddbins (UK). 85+
2007 cuvée prestige white 
Château Ollieux Romanis (Marsanne Roussanne Grenache blanc 13.5%) - enticing buttery coconut nose, oily juicy textured fruit v spicy oak; lovely depth of fruit and exotic intensity, crisp v toasty finish. Needs a few months to come together fully. 89+
2006 cuvée Alice 
Ollieux Romanis (Carignan Grenache 13.5%) - fragrant peppery resiny cherry fruit, dry coating v liquorice 'sweetness'; lively spicy finish, nice style. 87+
2006 cuvée Classique 
Château Ollieux Romanis (Carignan Syrah Grenache 13.5%) - richer and more complex, although similar style tasty fruit; weightier with bigger tannins, closing up a bit on the finish. 89+
2005 cuvée Prestige 
Château Ollieux Romanis (Carignan Grenache Mourvèdre Syrah 14%) - smoky wilder side on the nose, ripe dark fruits too; concentrated and grippy v that tasty fruit again, more savoury finish bolstered by very firm tannins; well-balanced though with bitter chocolate oak very much in the background, very promising. 92+?
2007 Atal Sia 
Corbières-Boutenac (majority Carignan plus Grenache Mourvèdre Syrah 14%) - delicious pure perfumed fruit, lush v crunchy, lovely intense 'mineral' notes v dark fruits; fine long palate layered with herby perfumed spicy flavours, attractive rounded tannins adding poise. Later: very intense cassis and blueberry fruit v dense concentrated and grippy texture, tasty intriguing  peppery v liquorice finish. 92-94
2006 cuvée OR 
Ollieux Romanis (Carignan Grenache Mourvèdre Syrah 14%) - lots of toasty dark chocolate oak, concentrated and powerful with extracted tannins; the oak is covering up the fruit a little at the moment but this probably needs 1+ years to open up. 90?
2007 
Alicante Ollieux Romanis (14%) - different for sure, rich colour and deep aromas with peppery earthy black cherry/currant, plum and black olive too; quite gutsy, spicy and lush v dry yet soft tannins, attractive with fairly simple finish.85-87


Update March 2010: more info here including note on the fledgling 2009 Atal Sia (goes to Languedoc 09 and 08 vintage reports).
2008 Cuvée prestige white (
Grenache blanc Marsanne Roussanne) - quite toasty and grainy, perhaps too much although it did open up with food getting fatter and tastier vs still quite tight and mineral.
2007 Atal Sia Corbières-Boutenac (mostly 
Carignan GrenacheMourvèdre Syrah) - a second tasting confirms my note above: delicious nose showing perfumed blue/black fruits; nice "chalky" tannins with rich yet crunchy mouth-feel, herby minty vs savoury flavours on the finish. 92+


More Ollieux Romanis here too ("Top L&R reds over €10" tasting, 2007).


And latest COR here (Corbières-Boutenac report May 2011 featuring 2010 vintage plus 2009 and 2008 revisited...).

Ollieux Romanis, 11200 Montséret. Tel: 04 68 43 35 20, www.chateaulesollieux.com.


30 January 2010

Languedoc: Clos de l'Anhel, Corbières

Château Pech-Latt (see A to Z) estate manager Philippe Mathias and his partner Sophie Guiraudon, who are based at Pech-Latt, have a small domaine of their own called Clos de l’Anhel ('lamb fold' in Occitan: there is a semi-crumbling farmhouse / sheep shelter alongside the track leading up to their vines, which they might eventually do up into a small cellar). So, their address is the same as Pech-Latt below (they do also have a cellar in a nearby village, but it's not marked and difficult to find). Philippe and Sophie have converted six hectares/15 acres (with three more in the pipeline) over to biodynamic grape growing, man, and are already coming up with remarkable results, as demonstrated by the three tasty reds below all built mostly from old Carignan. They've also planted "a bit of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre;" as you do.
They're using very little in the way of oak barrels, and Sophie said "we might stop using wood all together," a refreshing trend I've spotted elsewhere on mini-estates; partly to let the fruit do the talking, and partly, I'd imagine, because new barrels are expensive. You can taste Clos Anhel's wines while visiting Pech-Latt; and Sophie might also take you up to their 250-300 metre-high (900 feet) vineyards if you arrange it in advance (you’d never find this peaceful spot on your own anyway), where you’ll be greeted by three cheeky donkeys. I don't think they work in the vineyard but are probably a good, three HP manure machine. Other growers worth pencilling in in this area include Domaine Baillat, Château Prieuré Borde-Rouge, Château de Roquenégade and Domaine la Rune.


Tasted October 2008 and again in January 2009:
Les Autres vin de table (because it's 80% Carignan + Grenache, 14%) - the name refers to all those who helped with the harvest, listed on the label. Pure ripe liquorice, cassis and juicy raspberries; more savoury on the palate with tobacco and leather edges, and soft v dry mouth-feel; has a bit of a kick too but also juicy fresh fruit. 87
2007 Les Terrassettes
Corbières (mostly Carignan + Syrah Grenache Mourvèdre, 14%) - shows similar purity of liquorice fruit with dark cherries and wild herbs; richer colour and body, tasty mouthful of spicy tobacco-tinged fruit; powerful with more grip & structure, lively finish too, needs 6-12 months to come together nicely. 89+
2007 Les Dimanches
Corbières (50% 70 year-old Carignan + Syrah Grenache Mourvèdre, 10% of it aged in used casks, 14% alc) - again has that similar hallmark profile but more aromatic and floral with richer black cherry/olive fruit; concentrated and powerful with nice grippy texture v deliciously drinkable fruit quality, quite fine and well-balanced to finish. 90-92

And Clos Anhel 2005 vintages from Vinisud 2006.

Update Jan 2010. Sophie had their lively 2008s ready and waiting to be sampled at Millésime Bio wine fair in Montpellier:
2008 les Autres (mostly Carignan) - very smoky with liquorice and tobacco notes, very Carignan style with lots of dark blueberry too; fairly easy palate with a bit of grip too. 85
2008 le Lolo Corbières - a tad reduced on the nose (these weren't finished bottled samples), turning more intense with perfumed fruit and dark vs crunchy mix; attractive dry grip and bite on the finish. 87+
2008 les Terrassettes - lush, smoky and expressive with blueberry vs meaty notes; chunky yet supple with good depth of cherry/berry fruit, nice length with lingering dried fruits. 89+
2008 les Dimanches - similar profile but richer with lively dark plum, liquorice and tobacco; pretty intense mouthfeel with firm vs rounded tannins, tight long and delicious finish. 91+


Plus 2009 vintage report under Corbieres reds, obviously... 

Lagrasse. Tel: 04 68 43 18 12, anhel@wanadoo.frwww.anhel.fr.

21 November 2008

Languedoc: Château de Lastours, Corbières


Updates below.

This breathtaking estate is perched high up in the Corbières hills, watched over by giant windmills facing the sea, and is well-signposted from the A9 motorway (the exit for Sigean) or off the Portel-Durban road: keep following the winding track upwards until you reach the tasting room/cellar. Lastours changed hands just in time for the 2004 vintage, following a period of neglect it has to be said. The new owner (the Filhet-Allard group) has invested a lot of money and time in upgrading and reducing the vineyard area, to focus on the best parcels: there’s been a massive vine removal and replanting programme led by resolute estate manager Xavier de Rozières. They're also in the process of planting 3000 olive trees with a view to producing their first oils from around 2015.
This has paid off in quality terms from the 2004s onwards, and their 2005 and particularly 2006 reds look very promising indeed (although care should be taken not to over-oak some of the wines!). Favourites include the Simone Descamps and Château de Lastours Reserve labels, and their 2007 white shows fair depth and class. Lastours also lays on 4x4 rides around this huge wild estate, which is great fun and gives you a better idea of how varied the vineyard terrain is up here. In addition, there’s a very good restaurant called La Bergerie; and further ambitious plans include constructing a new landscaped solar-powered winery (big cheque book, those Filhet-Allards. Now completed, ed.). There are still a few handicapped people who work in the vineyards and live on the estate.

The three 2004 vintage reds below were cask samples tasted at Vinisud on 20th February 2006, the rest at the property on 9th Feb.
2004 Arnaud de Berre - lots of young spicy fruit, shows nice grip v softness and elegant length. 87+
2004 Simone Descamps - just a touch of wood adds choc and spice, displays intense ripe black fruits, more concentrated than the Berre with attractive soft texture, dry bite and length. 89-91
2004 Château de Lastours - a tad oakier but not much, lovely concentration set against structured mouthfeel, showing similar fruit style and elegance; will be super. 92-94

Update: tasted April 2007
2004
 Château de Lastours Réserve - ripe 'sweet' fruit leads to rather dry chocolate wood. Disappointing considering this was looking really good in barrel: left it too long? €17
2004 Rosé - zingy v juicy fruit, more elegant style with subtle finish. 87
2000 La Grande Rompue - rather rustic nose yet has good concentration, power and some elegance as well; nice texture and mature fruit, a little too farmyardy (perhaps from poor barrel hygiene) but good underneath. 85+
2001 Château de Lastours - similar aromas to above but cleaner, more concentrated and firmer, good weight v elegance. 87-89


Lastours update November 2008
Xavier laid on a comprehensive tasting including everything they've made so far, except the 2007 and 2008 reds (unfinished obviously). We also took a spin around the estate to see how they've progressed with the replanting programme and remodelling parts of the terrain (some of the work to create water reservoirs and elsewhere to make way for more windmills).
2006 Lastours white - light coconut and toast notes yet it's still aromatic and quite crisp, fair weight with juicy v creamy texture. 85
2007 Lastours white - more yeast-lees tones and complexity with it v citrus fruit with nice depth and bite, leesy buttery mouth-feel then quite fine length. 87-89
2007 Lastours rosé (Cinsault 
Grenache Syrah) - quite rich and creamy with raspberry and strawberry fruit, still fairly crisp with refreshing finish. 85-87
2005 Arnaud de Berre (Carignan Syrah Grenache) - smoky nose with 'sweet' vanilla tones in the background; juicy and quite rich v firm yet rounded tannins, liquorice fruit v bitter twist on the finish. 87+
2006 Arnaud de Berre - lovely wild berry fruit with herbal undertones; quite concentrated, very fruity and lively, dry yet soft-ish tannins, again has that dark chocolate twist. 89
2004 Simone Descamps (Carignan Syrah Grenache) - surprisingly closed up to start, tight palate with light oak texture, fairly meaty and firm with the fruit still a little submerged. 89+
2005 Simone Descamps - similar concentration and depth to above with that powerful, firm and closed up palate too; more fruit though with dark choc texture and biggish tannins, quite fine and promising in the end. 90+
2006 Simone Descamps - oakier at this stage but again it's lush and concentrated; dark cherry, chocolate and liquorice on a solid palate, delicious fruit too. Needs 1-2 years to open up, long and balanced despite that chocolate oak coating. 92+?
2004 Château de Lastours Réserve (all three Carignan Syrah Grenache Mourvèdre and 14.5%) - showing more toasty coco oak, solid concentrated mouth-feel with that trademark 'sweet' v bitter texture, peppery dark fruits too; probably a touch too much oak, but this is commanding and quite impressive. 90-92
2005 Château de Lastours Réserve - toasted dark chocolate nose is quite up-front, but this has more fruit than the 04 with nice spicy intensity; perhaps a touch charred on the finish although it's very rich and vigorous with enticingly thick tannins. Needs 2-3 years. 92+?
2006 Château de Lastours Réserve - brooding and closed up with coconut and vanilla coating dominating at first; but once again it has livelier fruit (than the other two vintages) lurking underneath, finishing with lovely concentration and punch. Opened up over lunch. 93+?


Latest Lastours vintages here (2009 vintage report).
And HERE'Grande Réserve' Corbières 2008 ("wines of the mo" Feb. 2014)


Lastours, 11490 Portel-des-Corbières.
Tel: 04 68 48 64 74, www.chateaudelastours.com.

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Header image: Château de Flandry, Limoux, Languedoc. Background: Vineyard near Terrats in Les Aspres, Roussillon.