Languedoc: Pézenas

From roujan.blogspot.com

Lying roughly between Béziers and Montpellier, the Mediaeval town of Pézenas' main claim to fame is as a one-time hang-out for playwright Molière and his merry theatre troupe in the 1650s; and is now the focal point of a new Languedoc village-appellation for red wines. There were a few good and very good ones to try here, which confirmed the positive vibes I've got from tasting some of these wines before. However, apparently several Pézenas producers submitting samples accidentally entered their wines under the straight Languedoc AOC category, which I didn’t taste this year so obviously didn’t get the complete picture. It appears that people like Domaines Paul Mas, Les Aurelles (their 2008 and 2009 “Aurel” were filed on a different table, although I did find a 2010 sample and I tried their 2005 one evening over dinner) and St. Jean de Bébian (ditto, except for a 2010 sample) were missing from this line-up…

Once again, the serene setting was Château de Flaugergues (profile to follow) during the annual “Millésimes en Languedoc” tasting sessions in late March 2011. I’ve used my ‘new-fangled’ scoring system of one, two or three ‘ticks’ (good, very good, fabulous); or just plain 1 to 3 for the wines below. Euro prices are cellar door per bottle inc. VAT, added after the event.

Remparts de Neffiès - Domaine Pech Rome “Clemens” 2008 (60% Grenache, 15% Carignan, 15% Syrah, 10% Mourvèdre; 14.5% alc.) - maturing perfumed minty cassis and black cherry, turning savoury with nice fruit, grip and fresh bite, subtle and long. 2-3 €12

Domaine Pech Rome “Opulens” 2005 – aromatic sweet/savoury fruit, ripe vs grippy texture with well-balanced elegant finish. 2

Allegria "Tribu d'A" 2008 (70% Syrah, 30% Mourvèdre; 14.5% alc.) – again attractive aromatics with grainy wood too, bit dried out vs some subtle fruit? €9

Domaine du Clos Roca 2009 (40% Carignan, 10% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 20% Mourvèdre; organic) – meaty/savoury tobacco touches vs rich dark fruit, chunky tannins dominate at the moment vs solid fruit core; very tight and unrevealing finish with punch. 1-2 €7.90

Domaine Turner Pageot "Le Rouge" 2009 (80% Grenache, 20% Syrah; biodynamic) – ester-y cherry fruit, extracted and firm style although has some nice smoky notes and dark ‘tar’ side; needs time perhaps although those tannins are a bit hard. 1 €11

Château Condamine Bertrand 2009 (50/50 Grenache/Syrah) - scented oak and wild berries with herby touches, pretty intense cassis then darker fruit, tight and fresh vs firm but attractive texture, punchy and long but quite fine. 2 €16

Alignan du Vent Cépages "Hadrien" 2009 (70% Syrah, 30% Grenache) - vibrant chunky spicy black cherry, pretty grippy vs lively fruity and punchy too; maybe a touch ‘overdone’. 1 €6.90

Domaine Magellan 2009 (50/50 Grenache/Syrah; 14.5% alc.) - enticing sweet berry vs tobacco fruit, firm vs sweet mouth-feel, lighter touch than some of the others, nice style. 1-2 €12

Domaine Les Aurelles “Aurel” 2005 (2/3 Mourvèdre + Syrah/Grenache) – very white peppery with resiny/savoury edges, quite concentrated vs elegant, nice style and drinking well now. 1-2

“Aurel” 2010 (cask/tank sample) - rich dark and spicy, nice big mouthful, concentrated and chunky tannins, lovely fruit and oomph. 2-3

St. Jean de Bébian 2010 (cask/tank sample: SGM) - oaky/malo-lactic notes dominating, a bit clunky and awkward at this stage, need to try it when finished and ‘together’.

Languedoc: Saint-Chinian Berlou and Roquebrun

Berlou and Roquebrun are the two newish (2005) subzones in Saint-Chinian country created around these two villages found on the appellation’s northern edges, with the Orb river more or less forming a partition between them. Can’t really make a judgement based on tasting four wines; and three of them are from each area’s co-op winery, which is no bad thing, of course, if this lets their growers/winemakers focus on making a couple of special wines, although I’d like to get a better idea of how many small estates are really getting behind these two mini-appellations? I’ve used my ‘new’ scoring system of one, two or three ‘ticks’ (good, very good, fabulous); or just plain 1 to 3 here. Euro prices are cellar door per bottle inc. taxes and were added after the event (21-25 March 2011 in the region).

Les Coteaux de Berlou Château des Albières 2008 (35% old-vine Carignan, 25% Grenache, 25% Syrah, 15% Mourvèdre) - intense sweet-perfumed and spicy, vibrant tangy vs richer liquorice fruit with meaty yet minty edges; peppery pure fruit finish, textured tannins and quite elegant. 2 €9.10

Cave de Roquebrun "Baron d'Aupenac" 2008 (80% Syrah, 10% Mourvèdre, 10% Grenache) – again shows enticing herbal cassis vs liquorice and black cherry, touch of oak layered on grippy tannins; pity as it’s a bit over-extracted after that nice start. 1 €21.65!

Domaine Carrière Audier "St-Martin de Vieussan" 2008 (Mourvèdre/Syrah) – a touch oxidised and turning very savoury already, chunky tannins vs some nice fruit but that baked character rides through it. Could just be a dud bottle? €7.90

Cave de Roquebrun "Terrasses de Maynard" 2009 (60% Syrah, 20% Mourvèdre, 20% Grenache) - quite oaky vs lively spicy dark fruit, minty edges vs touch of choc/vanilla adding texture to its big yet rounded tannins, closes up on the finish. A tad clunky perhaps but has good substance etc. 1-2

And from the previous edition of the “Millésimes en Languedoc” tasting sessions in 2010, there were two rather good 2009 vintage reds from two estates not present this time:

Domaine Pin des Marguerites "Pétale Pourpre" 2009 Saint-Chinian-Berlou (Carignan, Mourvèdre, Grenache, Syrah) - peppery garrigue tones with "sweet" blackberry and olive; minty floral blueberry mouthful with "chalky" tannins, fresh bite and quite elegant finish. €11 90
Domaine La Grange Leon "Audacieux" 2009 Berlou (Syrah, Carignan, Grenache, Mourvèdre) - "Black Forest gateau" nose with violet and liquorice notes; concentrated lively mouthfeel with appealing bite, tannins and lingering menthol flavours. €8 90+

Looking back through all six wines, interesting to note perhaps that my favs are from Berlou? Discuss in less than ten words below...

Languedoc: Limoux

You've guessed it: yet more insane ramblings squeezed out of the “Languedoc Millésimes” mega tasting week (21-25 March 2011); this time, lavish Limoux whites and fizz sampled amid the appropriately historic(al) setting of Château de Pennautier (profile to follow) near Carcassonne. I’ve again used my ‘new’ scoring system of one, two or three ‘ticks’ (good, very good, fabulous); or just plain 1 to 3 below. Euro prices are cellar door per bottle inc. taxes and were added after the event. There were mostly 2009 whites up for tasting, which generally are looking very good, along with the one 2010 lurking 'arrogantly' at the end of the table (see pic and note below!), and rather confirm that Limoux is possibly the most exciting place in the Languedoc for finding white wines with real depth of character and class. The single 2008 sample was in line with comments I made last year about this vintage being quite fine and more structured, even if a little less 'generous' than 07, 09 and probably 10.

As I also commented last year, not so sure about the reds; admittedly I only tried a couple (over-oaked/extracted) this time over dinner, but heard other tasters say the same thing earlier that day: disappointing, don't get it... Which leads me to reiterate what I've said before about the red Limoux appellation, based on Merlot, the two Cabs etc.: perhaps the future is Pinot Noir? There are already a few good ones made by some of the names you'll see below, e.g. Mouscaillo, L'Aigle, Mas that are classified as vin de pays, as PN isn't currently allowed in AOC wines. You could venture whether it matters a damn about 'classification' and the best wines will eventually take the limelight anyway, whatever it says on the label. One Limoux winemaker, who probably wouldn't want me to quote him so will remain anonymous, was talking about this on our table over dinner one evening and admitted that "we really screwed up there," and perhaps the 'rules' for the red Limoux AOC were a little premature, as, a few years down the line, it seems that Pinot could really be Limoux's star on the red front. That's not to say that all wines made from PN are good or all wines made from the existing red blends aren't. And Pinot has already found its place in some of the excellent Crémant de Limoux sparklers being made (see below below). "When all's said and done," I look forward to following developments on this front...



Château Arrogant Frog:
sense of humour but serious wine.



White Limoux (all 100% Chardonnay unless specified)

Domaine de Mouscaillo 2008 (98% Chardy, 1% each Mauzac & Chenin) – quite elegant with light toast and butter vs citrus fruit too, gets more exotic oily and nutty, subtle concentration and refreshing length vs weight too. 2 €15

Château Antugnac "Gravas" 2009 - toasty and buttery nose and palate, some exotic fruit too on a quite rich rounded palate, still quite toasty vs big vs touch of refreshing bite. 1-2 €15

Rives-Blanques "Odyssée" 2009 - aromatic ripe and zingy, subtle leesy toasty touches vs creamy vs crisp, more elegant than "impressive". 1-2 €10.85

Rives-Blanques "Dédicace" 2009 (100% Chenin blanc) - oilier with more melon then toasty tones, grainy texture and taste, quite tight and mineral too, closes up, less obvious at the moment. 1-2 €10.85

Rives-Blanques "La Trilogie" 2009 (50% Mauzac, 25 Chenin, 25 Chardy) - closed nose, grainy oak notes and tight palate, again not very revealing but it's concentrated and has nice crisp length. 2 €17.20

Domaine de Baron'Arques "Le Chardonnay" 2009 - full-on oak and cream, quite blowsy with rich buttery vs toasty finish vs punchy; is some freshness there but not enough. Impressive but perhaps trying too hard to be great Burgundy. 1+? Dear too at €30.

Domaine de Cassagnau "Les Sarments d'Hippocrate" 2009 - grainy nose, creamy vs greener edges, quite subtle with a bit more zest vs weight and milky side. 1-2

Domaines Paul Mas "DA" 2009 (Chardy + 5% Mauzac) - quite woody to start vs nice juicy and quite concentrated fruit, gets more buttery vs less toasty, bit of power on the finish vs crisper bite vs nice creamy side. 2 €8.50

Aimery Sieur d’Arques “Terroir Autan” 2009 – leesy and buttery, toasty nose and palate, nice balance of fat and quite crisp though, not too toasty on its nutty vs creamy vs mineral finish. 1-2 €11

Aimery Sieur d’Arques “Terroir Haute Vallée” 2009 – toasty but more citrus too, gets more buttery and rounded vs nice bite and bit of oomph on good length. More subtle though. 2 €11

Oustal Anne de Joyeuse “La Butiniere” 2009 – grainy cedary vs oily exotic and creamy, again more subtle and has quite tight and crisp bite, subtle length and tasty too. 1-2 €9.95

2007 “La Butiniere” - quite toasty but it's well done, oily and fairly fat too vs still crisp underneath vs buttery nutty development. 1-2

Alain Cavailles “Clocher Saint Julien” 2009 (50/50 Chardy/Chenin; converting to organic) – not much on the nose, bit sweet vs grainy, OK. €8

Gérard Bertrand L’Aigle Royal 2009 – toasty and creamy, nice hazelnutty buttery vs citrus, mix of fruit vs oak, bit of oomph and freshness too. 2

GB Domaine de l’Aigle 2009 – richer and more interesting although less up-front too, quite exotic fruit vs buttery and nutty, again fresher underbelly vs fat vs oomph. Classy. 2-3

Château Antugnac “Terres Amoureuses” 2009 – lovely oily buttery nose, grainy toasty notes vs rich vs nutty and crisp. Good stuff. 3

Château Arrogant Frog 2010 – aromatic pear and peach vs light toasty undercurrent, gets creamier and touch toastier but nice balance and style. 2

 

Crémant de Limoux (trad method sparkling: mostly Chardy and/or Pinot and/or Chenin)

 

Domaine J Laurens “Les Graimenous” 2009 – nice aromatic bready nose, lively vs toasty, good crisp bite and length vs yeasty vs oily. 1-2

Taudou Brut – not much nose, more honeyed vs yeasty palate, gets richer and breadier vs greener edge. 1

Antech “Grande Cuvée” Brut 2009 – elegant bready nose, richer more honeyed and tasty vs yeasty vs nice and crisp, softer too in the end. 1-2

Antech “Cuvée Eugenie Antech” Brut 2009 – finer vs toastier, quite intense vs oily and cakey, tight and fresh vs honeyed. 2

Antech “Cuvée Heritage” Brut 2009 – tight and steely almost vs toasty and tasty, showing less well but probably finer still, nice leesy intensity bite and bready coating. 2-3

Antech “Cuvée Emotion” rosé brut – subtle bready toasty with red fruits and roses, delicious cakey oaty fruit vs crisp and steely. Yum. 2-3

Antech Brut Nature – a bit lean and lacking excitement, I've had better BN Cava.

Taudou rosé – tastes a bit lean after the above but OK in style.

Click here for my Limoux report 2012.

Languedoc: Domaine de l’Hortus, Pic Saint Loup

The Hortus cliff-face from vignobles-orliac.com

Jean Orliac set up Domaine de l’Hortus in the 1970s, so has a lot of experience under his belt and is considered one of the pioneers in this area, helped along the way by the Orliac family team: Marie-Thérèse, Marie, François and Yves. The estate now comes to 60 ha (150 acres) extending from the Montagne de la Seranne to Pic Saint Loup itself. There are in fact two properties, Domaine l’Hortus and 'C du Prieur', supplemented by grapes sourced from neighbours to fill out their Bergerie de l’Hortus and Loup dans la Bergerie labels. I first went there in 2005 and talked to Jean about the Mourvèdre variety in particular (he has planted quite a bit), for some research (yawn) I was doing at the time. See blurb at the bottom for detail on that, if you're so inclined, which does also shed some light on characteristics of PSL's terrain and climate. And a group of us called in at his amazing wooden winery in March 2011, after a walk on the wild side along part of the PSL heights to view and understand the lie of the land better, and tasted these two wines:

2010 Bergerie de l'Hortus white (Roussanne, Viognier, Sauvignon blanc, Sauvignon gris, Chardonnay) - exotic fruit salad of a white, juicy vs fairly honeyed, crisp vs rounded texture; nice "commercial" style. 1 €10

2008 "Grande Cuvée" red (Mourvèdre, Syrah, splash of Grenache) - vanilla notes are quite strong to start with vs sweet berry and nice juicy cherry fruit, fresh 'mineral' side vs choco oak texture, a bit too much of the latter perhaps vs substance; attractive though for a 2008 (= lighter vintage here), balanced and stylish in the end with subtle length vs that layer of oak. 1-2 €20

And I sampled these wines, also in situ, back in 2005, as the intro says (originally posted on WineWriting.com):

"In further pursuit of Mourvèdre, but not forgetting Grenache and Syrah of course... A few wines discovered on a day trip to Château La Roque, Mas de Mortiès and Domaine de l’Hortus (4/3/2005)... all dotted here and there in the wild terrain north of Montpellier, watched over by the eponymous peak (650 metres high)..."

2002 Grande Cuvée (55% Mourvèdre, 35% Syrah, 10% Grenache) - Quite light and forward (pretty typical for the wet 2002 vintage) yet shows reasonable fruit and ripeness v a firmer edge, attractive drinking now. 85+
2003 Grande Cuvée (50% Mourvèdre, 40% Syrah, 10% Grenache tasted from barrique) - spicy and toasty at the moment (should be bottled soon) with textured tannins and tight finish; should be good. 87-89

And finally, a touch more detail taken from notes made at that time, which echo what Jean told us a few weeks ago about 'what, where and why,' when he established his vineyards in PSL:

Pic Saint Loup – thirteen villages to the north of Montpellier, 25 km long from north to south, 10 km wide east-west. 800 ha (out of 1500 demarcated) planted between ‘garrigues’ and limestone cliffs, the highest being the eponymous peak.

Domaine de l’Hortus (Valflaunès), Jean Orliac – 11 ha Mourvèdre (and increasing) out of a total estate of 55 ha (not all cultivated), the vineyard is located at an elevation of 120-200 m sitting between Pic St. Loup and Mont de l’Hortus. Planted in the early 80s, the Mourvèdre is now on the highest slopes facing south/southeast. Previously, this spot was occupied by olive trees with vines on the other side (north/northeast facing hence cooler) and wheat etc. on the flat areas.

Orliac thought Mourvèdre could be interesting here but was advised against it by a professor of viticulture, who believed the cooler damp Mediterranean microclimate to be at the limit for ripening of this variety requiring higher average temperatures. He then consulted another expert, who had carried out studies on the best terroirs for particular varieties in the Aude, who argued a better indicator, rather than waiting for ten years of research, was to look at the wild vegetation. He noticed the plants on this side were very Mediterranean and, on the other side, more typical of a mountain climate. So, thanks to its southerly exposure, the slope (10 to 20%) and cliff formation, Orliac planted Mourvèdre here and Syrah on the other side, the microclimate being closer to the northern Côtes du Rhône.

“Mourvèdre has a very long growing cycle but it gets by on the available light here, as it’s used to a Mediterranean climate. So temperature isn’t the only criteria – it’s important but so is exposure – as we sometimes have a difference of 5°C here. You also have to consider the movement of the sun: the other side gets more light early AM and late PM; here, because of the effect the cliff has, the day is slightly shorter but hotter at midday equating to a small difference in latitude.”

“Mourvèdre needs a good water supply; if it suffers from stress, it won’t ripen and the leaves dry out. c.f. Bandol is more humid because it's nearer the sea – here the north wind is very dry...”

Dom. Hortus wines are available in London from Berry Bros, Lea & Sandeman, Roberson; and on-line @ Slurp, Everywine, Joseph Barnes Wines Direct and Terroir Languedoc; and in the USA from European Cellars and Beaune Imports.