Roussillon: Domaine les Terres de Mallyce, Rasiguères

Domaine les Terres de Mallyce
Corinne Soto describes Terres de Mallyce as an "upper Agly Valley vineyard" in their flier, implying altitude (not surprising around Rasiguères, a good bit south of Maury over the hill and west of Latour) and sloping vines, planted in "schist and granite soils." They're in the process of converting over to fully organic farming, meaning they already are doing it but have to for a bit longer to be officially certified organic. Well-done, another one on the way then. I tried their wines at the, drum roll, Fenouillèdes wine fair in Tautavel back in late April 2009, which are reasonably priced between €5 and €11 a bottle.

2007 In Extremis white vin de pays Côtes Catalanes (mostly Macabeu plus Grenache gris/Grenache blanc/Carignan blanc) - interesting "oxidative" style with deep colour and very hazelnutty, almost rancio character; nutty tangy then fatter mouthfeel. 87+
2008 Felicis rosé (Syrah/Carignan/Grenache vat sample) - lively gummy red fruity little number, juicy and crisp. 83+
2007 Les Huit Côtes du Roussillon (Carignan/Grenache/Syrah) - quite vanilla coated with underlying bright vs dark berry fruits; dry vs juicy spicy texture and finish. 85-87
2007 Pierres de Lune Côtes du Roussillon (95% very old Carignan/5% Syrah) - herbal peppery cassis notes; spicy turning to liquorice on the palate vs firm bite, more structured yet nice "sweet" fruit too. 87-89
2007 Del Amor Côtes du Roussillon (80% Grenache + very old Carignan) - attractive juicy fruit with spicy vs "sweet" tones; firmer punchier mouthfeel finishing with lovely peppery liquorice fruit. 89+
2008 Macabeu vendanges tardives (picked 1st November, 14% and 130g/l residual sugar) - not a finished sample: quite bubblegummy and yeast-leesy at the moment, turning exotic vs wild herb undertones; zingy and fresh bite on the finish vs lush honeyed fruit. Different!

20 bis Rue des Vignes, 66720 Rasiguères.

Tel: 04 68 73 86 37,

corinne.soto@packsurfwifi.com.

Roussillon: La Petite Baigneuse, Maury

I found the following identical blurb about La Petite Baigneuse (named after the painting by Ingres perhaps?) on these two on-line retailers' websites: www.vinnaturel.fr and cave.gustumo.com, who both list some their wines for €11-€12. So, I guess it came from the same source i.e. the producer: "Domaine La Petite Baigneuse has 12.5 ha (30 acres) of vineyard lying in one spot on the highest part of the Maury appellation bordering wild scrubland. Certain plots face different ways but it's all on the same soil: schist. Philippe and Céline Wies (who are from Alsace by the way) set up this estate in 2008 aiming to make wines "as naturally as possible while letting the site express its full potential..." (a bit of a cliché nowadays but rings true enough looking at the end result, see below). I also found their contact details (as I appear to have lost their card!) on this site: remise2009.free.fr, home of some kind of annual "natural wine" event in Nimes. Anyway, I tried their wines, some of them unfinished as 2008 is their first vintage, at the Fenouillèdes wine fair in late April 2009. I'll update this profile when I go and see them...

2008 Grain de Soleil white (Macabeu) - appley "real cider" aromas/flavours with floral honeyed undercurrents; fresh and crisp bite vs a bit of weight on the finish. 85+
2008 Juste Ciel! white (Grenache gris) - more mineral and intense in style; quite structured actually, lively and very long with good depth too. 87+
Plaît-il? rosé - elegant & lightly creamy red fruity style, again has that lively "mineral" length. 85+
2008 Trinquette red vin de pays des Côtes Catalanes (Grenache) - aromatic and floral with cassis and cherry notes; nice grip and dry texture vs ripe peppery fruit. 87
2008 Les Loustics (Grenache & Syrah) - juicier style, attractive and quite straightforward. 80-85
2008 Grand Largue (Lladoner Pelut & Carignan) red Côtes du Roussillon - plenty of enticing juicy spicy fruit, quite lush intense and peppery with solid finish; attractive style. 87+

Route de Lesquerde, 66460 Maury. Tel: 04 68 73 83 25, philippe.wies@orange.fr

Roussillon: Domaine Rousselin, Lesquerde

UPDATED AUGUST 2013

Laurence and Pascal Rousselin have been based in the pretty hilltop village of Lesquerde since 2005, one of the so-called 'Village Villages' appellations, if you follow my drift, found in the northern Roussillon a few kilometres southwest of Maury. They have eight hectares (20 acres) of organically farmed vineyards lying around this area at about 350 metres above sea level. I like their "mission statement" on their Facebook page (which is more up-to-date / detailed than their website at the bottom, by the way, and where I copied the photo from): "le virtuel c'est bien, le goûteux, le glouglou, l'échange... c'est mieux!" Which roughly translates as: "Virtual (reality) is good; tasty things, glugging and sharing are better!" You could live and die by that, man.

I talked and tasted with Laurence earlier this year at Millésime Bio organic wine show:

2011 Muscat sec - grapey and crisp with a wilder cider-y side, but not too much, clean and dry finish with nice orange peel vs rounder exotic flavours/texture.

2012 Syrah - pure fruit and spicy nose, a touch awkward on the palate when I tried it (a tank sample) but had good depth.

2012 Grenache (also unfinished) - chewy and dense, spicy black fruits, grippy texture yet with nice tannins though.

2011 Les Orientales Lesquerde (Syrah, Grenache, Carignan, Mourvedre) - chunky rich and concentrated, spicy dark fruit vs firm structure still, tasty meaty vs lush dark fruit, fresh tight and long. Lovely wine, needs a few more months in bottle to open up fully.

2011 Rivesaltes Grenat Vin Doux Naturel (Grenache) - rich dark cherry, marshmallow and kirsch with meaty edges; lush and dense, pretty firm and grippy mouth-feel though layered with delicious dark sweet fruit, tasty finish; nice balance and style.

And these wines were tasted back in 2009 at the Fenouillèdes wine fair held in Tautavel:
2008 Grenache - very Grenache with lots of liquorice and white pepper.
2008 Syrah - rich and extracted black cherry fruit with spicy finish.
2008 Côtes du Roussillon Villages Lesquerde (Syrah Carignan Grenache) - nice mix of lush, ripe, toffee-ish fruit and peppery mineral notes underneath; firm and structured vs very fruity. 89
2006 Syrah - developing smoky notes vs quite oaky, rich and structured Rhoney style, still lively although beginning to mature nicely. 87
2007 CdRV Lesquerde - lovely fruit, rounded vs firm bite, turning savoury with dark fruit / chocolate on the finish. €13 88+

104 route départementale 19, 66220 Lesquerde. Tel: 06 12 51 64 58 (mobile) / 04 68 59 17 12 (home/winery). domaine-rousselin.e-monsite.com