Roussillon: Domaine de Joliette, Espira de l'Agly

Domaine de Joliette

Jean Gardiès' (update to follow soon) neighbours Philippe (pic.) and Laurence Mercier have been based in Espira for some time now – and there's a “...great-grandfather and grandfather after the war... with even older Catalan roots...” story lurking nicely in there somewhere - and Joliette is rightly a well-known name on the northern Roussillon quality circuit. Eleven vine varieties, including more whites than you might imagine in this sometimes very hot and dry microclimate and terrain, and their treasured environment have been looked after using organics since 2000. All in all, around 30 ha/75 acres make up the Joliette estate lying on the spectacular near-lunar (although a touch more wooded!) landscape nestling up near Espira and Vingrau on the edge of the Corbières hills.

Route de Vingrau, 66600 Espira de l'Agly. Phone: 04 68 64 50 60 / 06 80 33 31 44. mercier.joliette@wanadoo.fr & www.joliette-mercier.com.

2010 Côtes du Roussillon white – nutty honeyed nose, toasty and creamy palate with roasted hazelnut notes vs nice crisper 'mineral' side too. Good to very good.

2009 Côtes du Roussillon red – toasted oak tones layered with very ripe dark fruit, concentrated and grippy, closes up a little on its taut finish. Needs time.

2006 Cuvée Montpins (mostly Mourvèdre) – mix of herby, black olive and cooked cassis notes; concentrated and firm mouth-feel with savoury vs dark fruit, powerful and still youthful finish. Wow, very good.

2005 Côtes du Roussillon Villages – savoury leather aromas with minty edges too, structured and concentrated, quite extracted tannins with coconut nuances vs rich and dark texture. Good+

Languedoc: Château de Gaure part 2

The second installment of my profile on Pierre Fabre and his dual location vineyards and wines takes us to Château de Gaure itself in the Languedoc, resting peacefully and slightly loftily between Limoux and Carcassonne, which Pierre snapped up in 2004. As I said in my report on his exciting Roussillon reds (posted below), all their vineyards are now farmed organically with minimal intervention on the winemaking front I'm told. The Limoux vine-scape in Rouffiac d'Aude is planted with mostly Chardonnay plus Chenin blanc and local variety Mauzac, traditionally used for sparkling wines but increasingly being fashioned into the occasional interesting barrel-fermented dry white by certain producers (Rives-Blanques is another). Apparently Pierre and his team have been uprooting any red varieties in this relatively cooler spot, because "they couldn't give us the kind of wines we're looking for." Château de Gaure, the building (pic. below), has also been refitted for holiday accommodation: more info www.chateaudegaure.com.

2010 Campagne (Chardonnay, Chenin blanc) - quite toasty and buttery vs crisp and steely underbelly, attractive citrus vs richer more exotic fruit; nice balance and style in the end. Good to very good.

2010 Oppidum (Chardonnay, Chenin blanc, Mauzac) - richer and more buttery than above but not too toasty-oaky, lovely underlying freshness and long finish. Very good.

2010 Mauzac - quite toasted to start yet aromatic and honeyed with nutty tones too, again has attractive fresh bite on the finish. Good+

Wine tastings in Belfast next month

There are still places left on these two Wine Education Service NI events starting early February in Belfast city centre, tutored by yours truly:
One-day wine workshop £75 for the day including lunch

'Grape to Glass' Saturday February 2

More details about this and other workshops here:
wine-education-service.co.uk/workshop

'Essential Wine Tasting' 5 week course £125 five sessions

Tuesday evenings February 5, 12, 19, 26 and March 5.

More details about this course here:
wine-education-service.co.uk/introductory

Learn about and taste wine in a fun environment: book now!

Full listing of wine tastings and courses running in Belfast Feb to June 2013 are here:
www.wine-education-service.co.uk/wine-tasting-belfast

Roussillon: Château de Gaure part 1

This kind-of Roussillon estate kind of in Latour is actually a collection of vineyard plots spread across the varied village sites of Latour, Estagel, Calce and Cassagne; bought by Pierre Fabre who owns the real Château de Gaure (acquired in 2004) over the hills in Aude country between Limoux and Carcassonne. Drawn in by the Roussillon's rugged hypnotic charms, as many new investors and settlers are here, Pierre decided to buy and create a second vineyard bearing his name a couple of years later, to produce primarily red wines (although there's some Macabeu and Carignan blanc mixed in with the 'black' varieties) to supplement the all-white range he makes up in Rouffiac d'Aude. This 'expansion' brought the total area under vine to 32 ha/80 acres, certified organic since 2010. Pierre also works closely with his winemaker Marc Bertrand and consultant JA Bloc.

From www.chateaudegaure.com

Their 'Pour mon Père' cuvée is a slightly different blend each year depending on the vintage, although always based on old Carignan, Grenache, Syrah & Mourvèdre. Which is probably one reason why they use the 'Vin de France' moniker, although, if it's made and bottled in Limoux (there isn't a cellar in the Roussillon), they're probably not allowed to call it Cotes du Roussillon or Latour de France anyway! Pierre's an accomplished artist too, hence his labels feature colourful reproductions of certain of his favourite paintings. He seems keen on showing people around the winery; in the Aude at least, there's nothing but lovely old vines and pretty backdrops in 66 country... Contact him on 04 68 10 63 89 or 06 43 47 36 85 if you're touring the area, or email pierre.fabre@skynet.be.

2010 Macabeu white – intriguing Fino-esque 'oxidative' edges and attractive nutty flavours/bite, subtle richness and texture too with aromatic honeyed characters underlined by toasty oak tones and crisp acidity as well. Good+

2009 Pour mon Père red (Latour) – lush ripe dark fruit with 'funky' edges vs crunchier 'mineral' side; nice balance of grip, power and freshness too. Good to very good. €15

2009 Aldérica red (mostly Mourvèdre) – toasted and grainy coconut notes, peppery and structured palate, closes up on a tight firm finish. Needs a bit of time to come out of its shell.

Château de Gaure part 2 with words and white wines from Pierre's Limoux vineyards...