Languedoc: Limoux sparkling wines

It wouldn't be the first time I've knocked together a few enthusiastic words about Limoux fizz on this blog and what great value for money these wines often are. This increasingly dynamic region, and relatively cool-climate for the Languedoc - lying mostly on rolling hilly land stretching out to the south of Carcassonne around the eponymous market town - boasts hundreds of years of history of making quality sparkling wines. Not that I usually give a damn about how long somebody's been doing something per se - if what they're doing is good anyway - but a little 'tradition' probably helps in this case.
The first two Limoux styles featured below are essentially created in the same way using the so-called traditional method (same as Champagne with a second fermentation in bottle), although different grape varieties, or proportions of, make up the base blends for each style; and the 'rules' on ageing differ slightly too. Crémant is made from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir (especially for rosé), Chenin blanc and/or Mauzac with at least 12 months bottle-ageing on its yeast-lees sediment. Blanquette is built mostly, or sometimes entirely, from Mauzac supplemented by Chenin and/or Chardonnay. There is another 'older' style called Blanquette Méthode Ancestrale, which is 100% Mauzac and the result of a bottle-fermentation that stops leaving some residual sugar and lower alcohol of 6-7%. I tried these tempting bottles on a tasting trip to the Languedoc last month.

Crémant de Limoux

White

2008 Château Rives Blanques Blanc de Blancs - delicately toasty and honeyed with almond and yeasty edges, crisp and stylish with attractive nutty and bready flavours, long refreshing finish. Very good.

2008 Taudou - less expressive nose, quite yeasty vs honeyed although crisp and steely too; a touch too much of that toasted yeast character although it has substance and is still nice!

2008 Alain Cavailles/Le Moulin d'Alon 'Résilience' - subtle nutty bready flavours with 'straw' and honey undertones, crisp mineral bite vs 'sweeter' toasty creamy side, good length and style.

2008 Domaine Delmas Cuvée Audace - richer nose with more 'fino'/nutty character too, lovely crisp steely bite vs yeasty and toasty. Very good.

2009 Georges et Roger Antech Cuvée Héritage - fairly fine with elegant nutty yeasty intensity, a tad closed up although has intricate flavours and crisp length.

2010 Domaine J Laurens Clos des Demoiselles - 'winier' and fuller with toasted oat notes, crisp and fresh finish. Lovely.

2006 Domaine de Martinolles - toasty complex nose, enticing rich developed character showing oaty nutty flavours vs steely and fine mouth-feel. Tasty stuff.
2007 Toques et Clochers Sieur d'Arques - delicious sparkling wine offering toasty complex full-bodied flavours vs tight fine and crisp on its long finish. Who needs expensive Champagne? This limited edition fizz is €15 cellar door, making it one of Limoux's dearest although among the best too.

Rosé

2009 Antech Cuvée Emotion - elegant red fruits and rose petal vs bready and nutty, tight and crisp finish. Good stuff.

2009 Alain Cavailles/Le Moulin d'Alon 'Micromégas' - rich and 'winey', not very pink but who cares; honeyed and fairly toasty cakey vs fresher finish and bite. More good stuff.

Domaine de Martinolles - delicate vs oily red fruits with nutty yeasty and crisp palate, again lovely fine steely finish vs gently toasty character. These guys know what they're doing.
Profile on Martinolles with older vintages HERE.

Domaine J Laurens La Rose No. 7 - sounds like a lipstick maybe, but this quite delicate tight and steely fizz also has subtle rose water and red fruit tones; mouth-watering refreshing style with nice lingering flavours. Very good.
Sieur d'Arques Première Bulle rosé - delightfully refreshing light and delicate pink fizz. Quite expensive though at €12.

Blanquette de Limoux

2009 Joseph Salasar Carte Blanche - toasty earthy winey with attractive honeyed straw character, richer yeasty palate vs crisp bite and length. Very good.

2009 Château Rives Blanques - aromatic grapey winey nose, rounded vs steely palate, nicely crisp and long; a bit different too.
2009 Alain Cavailles Etincelle Originelle - earthy vs appley nose, yeasty and lightly toasty flavours, crisp vs honeyed, quite intense and refined.
2009 Alain Cavailles Résilience - similar style, finer and nuttier perhaps, again crisp refreshing vs honeyed mouth-feel, elegant length.
2009 Domaine Robert Carte Noire - floral and almond aromas, light crisp and refreshing palate vs yeastier biscuit flavours, long and fresh. Good stuff.
2010 Nicolas Therez Instant d'Arome Peche - fruitier and grappier vs apple and pear notes, crisp and steely with light refreshing finish.
2010 Sieur d'Arques Première Bulle - clean crisp and appley with yeasty undertones, quite delicate and tart, nice palate cleanser with crisp length. Good. €10
2010 Robert Carte Ivoire - juicy honeyed hints vs appley and crisp backdrop, nice lightly toasty yeasty richness vs dry and steely, fresh and long. Fair class.
Profile on Robert / Domaine de Fourn with older vintages HERE.
2010 Taudou - more honeyed and fuller style, oat cakey flavours vs appley crisp and clean bite, delicious fizz actually.
Domaine Delmas Tradition NV - subtle honeyed grapey tones vs appley bite, attractive yeasty depth and oat biscuit flavours, crisp long vs richer finish. More good stuff.
Antech Brut Nature - appley and lightly yeasty, intense crisp and dry vs rounder honeyed biscuity side, long and refreshing; needs food as it's pretty dry on its own. Very good though if you like 'nature' styles (no added dosage = sweetening).

Blanquette Ancestrale

Sieur d'Arques Coeur de Bulle (6% alc., 80 g/l residual sugar) - refreshing and light although quite sweet: best with a fruit dessert actually. €7.60
Antech Ancestrale - grapey and earthy, sweet vs crisper side, pleasant Moscato d'Asti alternative.

Lots more Limoux fizz here (report from last year's 'Millésimes en Languedoc' April 2011). See also Limoux winery profiles in the Languedoc A to Z on the right...

France: Centre-Loire "silex" tasting

Silex? Sounds like a distant planet in an implausible sci-fi movie, but silex actually comes from the Latin for a kind of hard flint, although it can also mean silica in modern English according to Wikipedia. Anyway, this wasn't a rock-sucking tasting but of ten 2010 vintage whites from the Menetou-Salon, Pouilly-Fumé and Sancerre regions in the central Loire Valley, where in places this type of soil crops up mixed with clay. Well, do these wines really taste "flinty"?

Photo © Benoit Roumet

The science behind any possible correlation between soil, vines and actual flavour in wine is complex and, as yet, not very conclusive and probably not that helpful either. And this sort of geological jargon only helps perpetuate old clichés about soil being more important than anything else in growing grapes and making wine. However, you'll notice the regular use of words like "chalky," "steely" and "mineral" in my tasting notes below; maybe because I knew these wines were from 'silex' and inevitably you're influenced by this? What they do have in common is high quality, with some excellent wines in the line up, and showing intense expression of the Sauvignon blanc grape variety (they're all made from 100% SB, steeped in flint chips of course...). I see that, on the vins-centre-loire.com site, they don't go overboard about silex in the glossary simply saying: "...Wines sourced from these soil types generally have good ageing potential," which I wouldn't disagree with.
Being intense concentrated and well-built like this also makes them great food dry whites, including the usual fish-pairing suggestions but should handle rich or full-flavoured sauces well (wine, sherry, cream, black pepper, parsley, basil etc.). And why not try with e.g. a succulent pork rib roast, rabbit stew or duck/goose even. Or anything with cheese in it... I've included a few UK distributors and prices where available.

Domaine Pellé Le Silex du Carroir, Menetou-Salon - grassy gooseberry aromas tinged with intense citrus and lime even, crisp chalky mouth-feel with long finish and subtle ripe green fruits. Very good.
Domaine de Riaux, Pouilly-Fumé - more fragrant gooseberry / kiwi style, concentrated vs crisp palate with lingering citrus and ripe greengage flavours, oily notes too vs steely and intense. Very good. Layton's Wine Merchants.
Domaine Champeau, Pouilly-Fumé - similar profile to above although "flintier" perhaps, certainly has zesty chalky texture vs nice green fruit depth vs oily notes too, crisp elegant finish. Lovely wine.
Domaine Masson-Blondelet Pierres de Pierre, Pouilly-Fumé - showing yeast-lees edges and vibrant gooseberry fruit, steely mineral palate vs concentrated and ripe, great balance and length. £16.95 from Stone, Vine and Sun (appropriately as the wine's name is "stone stones" or "Pierre's stones" perhaps...)
Domaine Michel Girard et Fils Silex, Sancerre - leesy and "flinty" nose, subtle green fruits vs a riper side vs nice crisp length. Good stuff although less expressive than some of the others at the moment. Boutinot.
Claude Riffault Les Chailloux, Sancerre - blackcurrant leaf aromas, quite intense and chalky mouth-feel to start although falls away a little perhaps. Flint Wines (ho ho).
Vincent Grall, Sancerre - nettley gooseberry tones, steely chalky and intense with crisp long finish vs tasty concentrated fruit. Very good. Jascots, Decorum Vintners, Avery's of Bristol. About £16.
Domaine Vacheron Les Romains, Sancerre - don't mention the Romans! More closed up on the nose, moves on to an intense palate showing green vs oily combo, elegant crisp length with underlying green pepper / sweet gooseberry flavours. Stevens Garnier.
Domaine Laporte Le Rochoy, Sancerre - screaming gooseberry and greengage fruit, builds up to lively zesty finish with steely chalky undertones, very long and classy wine. Auriol, Roberson, Jascots, Ellis, Cellarrange/L'Assemblage. About £19.
Serge Laloue Cuvée Réservée, Sancerre - smoky notes plus gooseberry fruit, pretty intense and "flinty" actually with lovely bite and length vs riper rounder side too. Grands Vins de France.

More Centre-Loire posts: Pinot Noir rosés and reds and Sancerre vertical tasting (2005 to 1996 vintages).

Roussillon: Château de l'Ou update

Click on this highlighted link to view my earlier profile of Château de l'Ou (2008) plus a few previous vintages tasting-noted.

The Bourrier family's vineyards have happily expanded taking in a couple of plots up near Caudiès and St. Paul in the Fenouillèdes zone, which is found northwest of their Montescot base in the central Roussillon, as Séverine B updated me at this year's Millésime Bio wine fair held in Montpellier. This brings their total surface area to 32 organically farmed hectares (= 80 acres no less); organic since the late 90s in fact. They've launched the 2010s of some top new varietal wines and now have a website too, where I copied the rocky photo from: www.chateau-de-lou.fr.

2011 Côtes du Roussillon white (mostly Grenache blanc + Roussanne) – yeast-lees notes add a little intensity vs roundness to its attractive profile, has nice crisp finish too. €8.50 cellar door.

2010 Infiniment white (Chardonnay) – toasty edges with lees notes vs juicy fruity, quite rich mouth-feel vs refreshing bite too. Good but dear at €16.50.

2009 Côtes du Roussillon red (Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre) – fruity and spicy with black cherry, liquorice and pepper vs hints of background oak and light grip on the palate; attractive mix of nice and easy vs a bit more serious as well. €8.50

2010 Infiniment red (Syrah, 14.5% alc) – lush and chocolatey although not too much oak, structured concentrated and powerful vs lovely ripe fruit and balance. Very good. €16.50

Austria: Werner Michlits, Burgenland

Egg-shaped vats at Meinklang

The Michlits family - namely Anneliese, Werner, Johannes and Lukas - estate is a comforting back-to-nature flashback in time (apart from those splendidly quirky egg-shaped concrete vats - see photo - which have become the trendy thing to ferment your wine in apparently), as vines are just one of the 'foodstuffs' that receive their undivided biodynamic attention (and the fruit is turned into grape juice and wine). They also grow apples (and make apple juice, brandy and vinegar), cereals (transformed into beer) and sunflowers and rear cattle (you'll notice a bit of a cow/bull theme on their website and labels), pigs and horses too! The most planted grape varieties here are the red Zweigelt and Blaufränkisch, pretty typical of the warmer Burgenland region in eastern Austria, followed by other reds Blauburgunder (Pinot Noir) and St. Laurent plus a smidgen of 30+ year-old Cabernet Sauvignon, the region's oldest Cab I'm told.
On the white front, which I focused on tasting at this year's Millésime Bio wine show held in Montpellier a few months ago, they have Welschriesling (Laski Rizling, "Italian" Riesling or Graševina among other synonyms; but it's not Riesling Riesling the experts say), Weißburgunder (Pinot Blanc), Grüner Veltliner and Grauburgunder (Pinot Gris). The farm, actually the most appropriate word, has been run organically since 1980 and is now Demeter registered. And, as if all of this wasn't enough to keep them busy, they have a small vineyard across the border in Somló, Hungary, hence the ever-so-familiar (not!), and rather delicious in fact, Juhfark varietal wine noted below; as well as more familiar, although much trickier to pronounce Hárslevelü. Like your style! More info, and a selection of nice little red and green cows doubling up as links, @ www.meinklang.at.

Meinklang Grüner Veltliner 2011 - aromatic and peppery nose, intense zingy green fruity mouth-feel with lively finish, nice refreshing style. €7.60 cellar door.

Graupert 2011 (Pinot Gris) - quite rich and honeyed countered by attractive spice tones, big mouthful with creamy oily texture/flavours vs crisp tight finish; good characterful stuff. €13.60

Juhfark 2010 - also lush textured with exotic fruit style, concentrated vs steely palate with lots of flavour and finish. Very good though dear at nearly €20 a bottle.
Weißburgunder Eiswein 2008 - complex dried fruits, honey and marmalade vs intense lively acidity, lush sweet dried fruit finish vs steely cut. Wow, lovely wine.


LOTS MORE AUSTRIA HERE (Pfaffl, Grüner Veltliner Galore, "I'll be back..." and other archive features) or see post below: Sepp Moser.

Languedoc: Terrasses du Larzac and Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert

Mas des Brousses, Puéchabon
From masdesbrousses.fr

Toasted as the darling of a clutch of new Languedoc village subzones, Terrasses du Larzac was officially created in 2005 although the name has been used for much longer than that. The appellation's northern and eastern borders, flanked by the raw landscape painted by the Causse du Larzac, are shaped by a variety of ranges, foothills, natural terraces, sheer cliffs and scrubland that form the bottom end of the Massif Central mountains. The Hérault River runs silently and roughly through the middle of it, and the terrain then dramatically climbs from here heading northwards (take the A75 motorway towards Millau sometime and be wowed by the view).
However, despite all this terrace talk, vines are planted at from below 50 metres above sea level to over 300 (165 to nearly 1000 feet); so to pretend this is all some kind of unique and homogeneous "high-altitude" appellation is a bit of a nonsense. It also takes in over 30 villages (though there probably aren't vineyards planted around all of them) spanning a pretty sizeable area, including the following perhaps best-known ones: Aniane, Gignac, Jonquières, Montpeyroux, Puéchabon, Saint-André-de-Sangonis, Saint-Félix-de-Lodez, Saint-Jean-de-Fos, Saint-Jean-de-la-Blaquière and Saint-Saturnin-de-Lucian. In addition, certain of these places have created their own village sub-sub-zone (well, the winemakers there I mean obviously), e.g. Montpeyroux and Saint-Saturnin (see some of the winery links below).

See where I'm heading with this quasi rant? Well, I understand the logic of trying to parcel up the enormous Languedoc wine-lands to highlight the best areas, producers and wines. And agree in principle, as long as you make it mean something by creating distinctive statement wines from a relatively small area, and get the message across successfully to wine lovers looking for hot new bottles to try (the tricky bit in a world awash with names of wine regions nobody's heard of or really cares about at the end of the day). But, having sampled my way through a table full of reds from several vintages from Larzac in the Languedoc at their recent "Millésimes en Languedoc" showcase week, I found myself a little disappointed compared to what I tried there two years before (I didn't feature this area's wines last time: see blog archive April-May 2011) and in situ or elsewhere on other occasions.

I ended up excluding quite a few wines out of the total tasted, as they just weren't exciting enough to include or, worse, weren't very good. Admittedly, as is always the case / problem with this sort of event and line-up where it's up to the wineries to submit samples, a few top names were conspicuous by their absence, as I've commented on before. However, certain familiar estates did stand out nicely, such as Mas des Brousses, Mas des Chimeres or Clos du Serre; as well as not so familiar (to me at least), Domaine des Cres Ricards for instance.
I also see Gérard Bertrand, one of the Languedoc's biggest privately owned wineries and vineyard owners and a name some winegrowers like to dislike (although they wouldn't say so publicly of course), has landed in the Larzac zone with his purchase of La Sauvageonne, and its excellent track record over the past few years, up in Saint-Jean-de-la-Blaquière, which is a remote hilly village definitely on the higher side with its remarkable elevated and very stoney terraces.
Over to the wines then: here's my top 20 TDL reds. Some of the 2010s weren't finished samples, but it's looking very promising as a vintage in this area and overall in the Languedoc. Generally, Syrah, Grenache and/or Mourvèdre are the main varieties used here, although certain producers feature old Carignan or Cinsualt in the blend too.

2008 Domaine de Brunet Mas Brunet Prestige - quite forward with ripe liquorice, scented garrigue and spicy Grenache style; good palate and balance with a bit of bite and freshness vs 'sweet' fruit and rounder mouth-feel. Nice now.

2009

Mas de la Seranne Antonin et Louis - perfumed floral nose with spicy liquorice and black fruits, touch of oak but not too much, grippy vs textured with light oak grain, powerful finish layered with 'sweet' fruit.

Les Conquetes Les Innocents - quite rich and lush with herby edges, 'sweet' liquorice and black fruits, drinking quite well now with underlying oomph vs rounded palate vs attractive ripe fruit.

Quinquarlet / Familongue L'Esprit de la Bastide aux Oliviers - very ripe smoky and 'resiny' with savoury edges, chunky tannins vs dark and spicy fruit, dry finish with a bitter twist.
More Familongue here.

La Traversée - this is Gavin Grisfield's new venture, former winemaker at La Sauvageonne. Shows enticing ripe dark fruit vs touch of coco oak, toasted chocolate tannins but it's concentrated, well-made and attractive (although a shade expensive at €30!).

Mas des Brousses Mataro (= Mourvèdre) - lovely scented black fruits and wild herbs, lush savoury vs sweet palate with a touch of oak grain vs rounded texture, liquorice spice and power to finish. Very good stuff.
Domaine Alexandrin Alex - perfumed ripe nose and palate, hints of vanilla oak with 'sweet' textured vs grippy mouth-feel, quite concentrated and punchy.

Quinquarlet 3 Naissances - dark plummy 'soy' vs herby notes, smoky and quite rich vs firm and dry, closes up a bit but should be good.

Les Chemins de Carabote Les Pierres qui chantent - perfumed garrigue and blackberry/cassis notes, nice mouthful of ripe vs spicy fruit, lush powerful and firm yet quite silky too somehow. Very good wine.

Plan de l'Homme Habilis - rich dark 'tar' tinged nose, lush palate with savoury edges, has fair grip yet rounded tannins, good fruit and depth.

Mas des Chimeres Caminarem - rustic ripe and peppery, lush fruit and tannin combo, a bit 'bretty' (rustic) perhaps but is concentrated and has tasty savoury/sweet profile.

Mas des Chimeres Nuitgrave - more savoury and developed, again showing nice dark fruit with those rustic edges; similar mouth-feel to above, tighter and less obvious perhaps although is drinking well at the same time.

2010

Domaine des Cres Ricards Stécia - dark and smoky with a touch of sweet oak, concentrated and tasty, touches of oak grain vs rounded tannins, closes up with firm vs supple finish, nice depth and style. Very good.

Domaine des Cres Ricards Oenothera - smokier and richer perhaps, quite tight on the finish, chunky vs lush mouth-feel, nice balance and class.

Mas des Quernes Villa Romaine - pretty oaky start vs concentrated and lush palate, spicy with dry vs rounded vs grainy tannins, needs time to open up but should be good.

Le Clos du Serre Les Maros - a little closed up, firm concentrated and punchy with dark chocolate tannins vs a lot of depth too, slightly at sorts at the mo but it´s promising.
Previous vintages and profile on Clos du Serre HERE.

Mas des Brousses - quite firm and closed up, showing grainy oak vs lush and concentrated underneath; difficult to tell but there´s definitely something there with attractive sweet/savoury finish.

Quinquarlet la Bastide aux Oliviers - quite juicy fruity vs firm and tight, not very revealing although has good depth of fruit.

Gérard Bertrand La Sauvageonne Pica Broca - spicy herby black cherry notes, good concentration vs solid yet rounded, powerful finish with lingering sweet liquorice and spice, nice length and style.
Sauvageonne under previous management.

MORE LARZAC WINERY PROFILES (and surrounding area):
domaine la croix chaptal  domaine alain chabanon  domaines paul mas
languedoc tasting reports 2009-2008 vintages
domaine d'aupilhac  mas conscience  domaine coston
mas de daumas gassac  mas de l'ecriture  domaine virgile joly
domaine de malavieille  domaine saint andrieu

Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert © OT SGVH

On a more cultural and historical note, if you're thinking of doing a little wine touring in this area, make sure you find time to have a stroll around the Mediaeval hilltop village of Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert. With its magnificent Romanesque abbey (photo), sloping narrow cobbled (and car free) streets and awesome cliff-face backdrop, it's not far from some of the wine villages and estates mentioned above. Great drive too along the twisty Hérault river gorges, as you wind your way up there. Probably best avoided in the summer though, as it soon gets crowded with tourists. By the way, its name does indeed come from a certain noble warmonger Guilhem, who found his perfect isolated retreat here to study as a monk and founded the monastery in 804, which was rebuilt in the 11th Century on the same site. More @ saintguilhem-valleeherault.fr.

Languedoc: Château Rouquette sur Mer, La Clape

Château Rouquette sur mer (it is that close to the sea) is owned and run by Jacques Boscary, his wife Dominique and sons François and Arnaud; and has now fairly effortlessly earned a place among my favourite wine estates in/on the happening Languedoc subzone of La Clape (click on the red highlighted link at the bottom of this post for more info/views and recommended wines/wineries, or cruise the 'A to Z' on the right). The Boscary's breathtakingly untamed wine-lands come to about 50 hectares (120 acres) of vines (plus a lot more of trees, bushes, shrubs, wild flowers etc.) lying in a rather lovely spot near Narbonne-Plage. They also have five holiday gites on the property apparently - see website for more details: chateaurouquette.com. I tasted and enjoyed two vintages of one of their top reds in the Languedoc recently, during their annual "Millésimes" week of tastings and other winey/foodie/touristy activities - more reports and "profiles" from that to follow...

2007 Le Clos de la Tour (old vine Mourvèdre and Syrah, 14% alc.) - delicious ripe smoky 'garrigue' liquorice and black plums, 'sweet' perfumed and peppery; complex wild flavours, lush and concentrated with dry vs ripe tannins, powerful and long yet drinking nicely now. Good stuff indeed.

2010 Le Clos de la Tour - showing quite a bit of oak (not surprisingly given its youthful age and 18 months new barrel ageing), but has plenty of that characteristic perfumed 'sweet' dark fruit; structured vs rich mouth-feel with tasty ripe liquorice flavours vs peppery and black olive notes even, nice coating of rounded tannins on the finish. Lovely wine, very promising.

Previous Rouquette here...

Austria: Weingut Sepp Moser

The Moser family

Weingut Moser is an old and well-known family estate (partly due to famous ancestor Lenz Moser who pioneered new viticulture techniques in the 1950s) originally acquired in the mid 19th Century, although the Mosers have been connected with vineyards and wine for much longer than that; and it saw a rebirth and name tweak (to Sepp) with a little restructuring in the 1980s. Today it's run by son Nikolaus, who introduced biodynamic wine-growing methods in 2006 (certain vineyards are now Demeter certified) among other 'back-to-basics' ideas. They own vines in Kremstal (70 km/45 miles west of Vienna where the cellar and home is), Neusiedlersee, Lower Austria and Burgenland. At the family base in Rohrendorf near Krems, specific vineyards include the highly-rated Gebling (two wines sampled and tasting-noted below), an 8.5 ha (21 acre) plot featuring steep south-facing terraces. Apart from signature varieties "Grooner" and Riesling, they also have some Chardonnay, Sauvignon blanc, Pinot blanc, Muscat, a few red varieties and make a rosé too (as you do nowadays). I talked to Nikolaus and tasted these at this year's Millésime Bio organic wine show in Montpellier:


2011 Grüner Veltliner von den Terrassen - steely green-fruited and crisp start, turning juicy gummy and spicy then oilier too, lively fresh finish although not too acidic. Good. €8.50 cellar door.

2010 Grüner Veltliner Gebling - creamier fuller style with tantalising white pepper edges, vibrant and concentrated with yeast-lees tones then long steely finish. Very good. €12 cellar door.

2010 Riesling Gebling - aromatic 'chalky' nose with hints of celery, concentrated crisp and lively with lime fruit flavours, developing oily touches on the finish. Delicious wine. €16 cellar door.

2009 Grüner Veltliner 'Minimal' - very buttery with toasty hazelnut and fino notes, rich and tasty vs dry 'mineral' palate, superb finish and style. Different too. €25 cellar door.

2009 Riesling Beerenauslese - oily nose with orange peel nuances, lush sweet mouth-feel vs lovely bite and length vs lots of lingering dried fruit flavours. Classy sweetie. €24 cellar door.

These wines have pretty good distribution across Europe (including the UK and Ireland), North America, Japan, China, Australia & NZ and Israel: see www.sepp-moser.at.

LOTS MORE AUSTRIA HERE (Pfaffl, Grüner Veltliner Galore, "I'll be back..." and other archive features).

Corsica: Domaine de Granajolo, Porto-Vecchio

Looking at this post scribbled back in 2007, when I first/last tasted Granajolo's wines, I was obviously a little disappointed, in them and Corsica as a whole. I had the chance to catch up with owner / winegrower Gwenaele Boucher a couple of months ago at this year's Millésime Bio organic wine show in Montpellier - meaning their vineyards are, since 1987 officially although ma and pa Monika and André worked their 20 hectares in this way from the start apparently - and tried the latest vintages from her range. And the verdict this time? Quite the opposite: I was very keen on four out of five; I didn't go for their supposedly top red "Le J", which was over-oaked and lacking in charm unlike the other wines.
Originally, like many simple grape growers at that time, Gwenaele's parents were members of a co-op, followed by an interim stint where someone else made the wines; and it wasn't until after she took over the estate that they built their own cellar, in operation since 2003. Their vineyards are found on the stark granite hillsides lying around Sainte-Lucie de Porto-Vecchio in the southeastern corner of the island (if it really has a southeast corner: look on a map and you'll see what I mean...). Anyway, it's certainly a very beautiful corner of a must-visit island if you haven't been before. These wine-lands are mostly planted with local varieties Niellucciu (related to Sangiovese), Sciaccarellu and Vermentinu (aka Vermentino, Rolle [probably] or Malvoisie de Corse, which is supposedly related to Malvasia but not to what the French otherwise call Malvoisie; clicking on the latter variety name on Wikipedia actually redirects you to Pinot Gris! I think I'll stop there as it's getting very confusing...)
www.granajolo.fr


All from the Corse-Porto-Vecchio appellation:
2011 tradition white (Vermentino) - juicy banana-scented fruit, concentrated vs crisp palate with aromatic fruit and rounded texture; very nice dry white.
2011 tradition rosé (Sciaccarellu) - lovely juicy fruit and mouth-feel with elegant touches, tasty quaffing rosé yet serious enough to go with a variety of foods. Good stuff.
2009 tradition red (Niellucciu) - quite browny-red in colour and mature showing delicious liquorice vs savoury notes, very ripe with 'tar' like tones too vs wild herb edges; enticing 'sweet/savoury' combo to finish, lovely style and drinking well now. Very good.
2009 Monika red (Niellucciu + Syrah) - again has its attractive ripe and aromatic 'garrigue' side with smoky notes, soft tasty palate with dry grip vs rounded texture; nice stylish Med red.
2009 Le J red (Niellucciu + Syrah) - a little vanilla and sweet coconut heavy and the tannins are quite wood-grainy.


More organic Corsican wines and people to follow...

Roussillon: Domaine Lavista / Pouderoux update

Photo from domainepouderoux.fr

Click here to find a profile on Domaine Pouderoux and plenty of reds, whites and Maury VDNs to make your mouth water, all tasted on two previous trips to cellar and vineyards (2006 and 2009). The latest news is that Catherine and Robert Pouderoux have caught the organic bug, as I discovered catching up with them at this year's Millésime Bio organic wine show in Montpellier recently. Domaine Lavista consists of a few hectares of organically farmed vineyards officially 'certifed' from 2011, hence just three wines from this vintage so far tasting-noted below. More info to follow on this, which looks like an exciting "project"...

2011 Côtes du Roussillon Villages (Grenache Mourvèdre & Syrah) – tasty juicy dark-fruited and spicy red with black cherry/berry aromas/flavours, a hint of attractive dry grip vs lush fruity finish. Already promising (not released yet).

2011 Collection white IGP Côtes Catalanes (Grenache blanc, Grenache gris, Macabeu, Malvoisie, Clairette, Carignan blanc) – enticingly crisp and juicy style with lively zingy finish, has a bit of character and weight too. Good.

2011 Muscat sec – clean and crisp grapey Muscat style, zesty dry and nice & easy too.

One-day "wine workshops" in Belfast

The Wine Education Service and yours truly will be running these two Saturday "workshops" in May and June at the Ramada Encore Hotel in Belfast City Centre:

From Grape to Glass

Sat May 19th 2012 from 9:30 to 17:30

Introductory one-day wine course tasting about 15 wines from around the world with your tutor RMJ; detailed course notes and lunch included.

The Wines of France

Sat June 16th 2012 from 9:30 to 17:30

One-day wine tasting workshop sampling about 15 classic wines from France with your tutor RMJ; detailed course notes and lunch included.

These fun tasting days-out each cost £75 including lunch (with a glass or two of wine naturally). More info and booking @ Wine Education Service.

One-day "wine workshops" in Belfast

The Wine Education Service and yours truly will be running these two Saturday "workshops" in May and June at the Ramada Encore Hotel in Belfast City Centre:

From Grape to Glass

Sat May 19th 2012 from 9:30 to 17:30

Introductory one-day wine course tasting about 15 wines from around the world with your tutor RMJ; detailed course notes and lunch included.

The Wines of France

Sat June 16th 2012 from 9:30 to 17:30

One-day wine tasting workshop sampling about 15 classic wines from France with your tutor RMJ; detailed course notes and lunch included.

These fun tasting days-out each cost £75 including lunch (with a glass or two of wine naturally). More info and booking @ Wine Education Service.

Spain: Terras Gauda - Galicia and Castilla León

A batch of worthwhile-mentioning bottles, and the story behind them naturally, came my way recently from this, what appears to be go-getting Spanish wine group. It features three wineries stationed across northern Spain: Bodegas Terras Gauda from Rías Baixas in Galicia (the far northwestern corner bordering northern Portugal), Bodegas Pittacum in the Bierzo region (next door to the latter heading eastwards, the most north-westerly part of Castilla y León province) and Quinta Sardonia in better-known Ribera del Duero (still in Castilla y León, heading east and a little south towards the centre of Spain). Here's a hopefully enlightening smidgen of blurb on each place plus my notes/reviews of half-a-dozen of their generally tasty wines, even if occasionally a little overambitious on the oak front for the reds: more info @ terrasgauda.com.

Bodegas Terras Gauda

Established at the end of the groovy 80s, this fairly sizeable winery, in the heart of Spanish white wine country, is encompassed by 160 hectares (an expansive 400 acres) of rolling green vineyards lying in the Val do Rosal "close to the mouth of the River Miño." The guys here have apparently been doing some serious research on clones of this region's star grape variety, Albariño (also found just over the border in Portugal as Alvarinho), and indigenous yeasts (yawn, yes, but it's useful if you're trying to make good quality wine). As well as flaunting a claim to fame for resurrecting an almost lost local white variety called Caíño, which I'm informed is present in two of the wines featured below although isn't mentioned on the labels. US retail price is approx $24; they're also targeting the UK, so I'll update this with details of where and how much when I know more.

2010 La Mar Rías Baixas (Albariño & Loureiro, 12.5% alc) - much deeper golden/white colour compared to the 2011s with exotic apricot and honeysuckle aromas/flavours, rounded and quite fat/oily texture vs lightly ‘chalky’ and citrus tones to finish; shades of a 'Viognier/Riesling' mix! Drinking nicely now.

2011 Abadia de San Campo Rías Baixas (Albariño, 12.5%) - lovely ‘Sauvignon blanc/Riesling’ style-cross showing attractive citrus gooseberry and blackcurrant leaf / celery notes, intense gummy yeast-lees edges then nice crisp vs oily finish. Good.

2011 O Rosal Rías Baixas (Albariño, 12.5%) - similar zesty citrus and aromatic ‘gummy’ profile vs more exotic peachy tones, more intense and concentrated too with nice oily vs crisp mouth-feel; enticing ripe apricot-tinged fruit vs zesty bite, plenty of lingering flavours and good ‘chalky/mineral’ length. Hints of 'Australian Riesling' with more natural crispness and intensity, delicious dry white wine.

Bodegas Pittacum

One of the pioneers of the possibly up-and-coming, and certainly very beautiful Bierzo region (I went on a trip here a couple of years ago: click here to read that feature), Pittacum is a relatively small 8-ha estate (20 acres), although cellar and vineyards are currently being expanded and upgraded. They have lots of old Mencía vines planted here, an intriguingly successful local red variety, "aged between 50 and 80 years old" according to their blurb; as well as Garnacha (Grenache) which is the base of a newly launched label called La Prohibición.

2007 Pittacum Bierzo (Mencía, 8 months in French and American oak, 14.5% alc) - toasty smoky and dark chocolate aromas layered with rich ripe black cherry fruit, dark choc texture and flavours run onto the palate with lush rounded mouth-feel; dry vs 'sweet' tannin/fruit/oak profile, powerful too with attractive developing savoury/earthy notes. Quite oaky but it does have substance and silky texture vs roasted coffee and bitter choc tones/twist. Drinking well now although should last a few years, becoming more savoury and liquorice-tinged after a day or two open vs ripe concentrated peppery fruit. Approx $24.
2007 Pittacum Aurea Bierzo (Mencía, aged 14 months in oak, 14.5% alc) - sourced from a 100+ year-old vineyard called Finca Areixola. Shows a fair coating of coconut/chocolate oak at first, moving on to a thick-textured rich wine with attractive smooth vs dry tannins; those touches of oak grain and coco/choc flavours did melt into the wine after it was open for a day, revealing more blue and black fruits, spices and a tad of fresh bite even too. Tasty with lamb meatballs actually.

Quinta Sardonia

Found in the blink-and-miss-it village of Sardón del Duero, about half-an-hour east of Valladolid, this 20 ha/45 acre estate lies "close to the banks of the River Duero (= Douro) at an altitude of 2500 to 2750 feet (750-850 metres)," which must have a moderating effect on otherwise sunny temperatures (although it's cold here in winter). They claim to have identified 11 different parcels and apply biodynamic techniques "to achieve balance between soil, climate, variety and natural environment." French winemaker Jerome Bougnaud and local resident Dane Peter Sisseck (of Pingus fame) are called upon as consultants.

2007 QS (52% Tinto Fino = Tempranillo, 26% Cabernet Sauvignon plus Merlot, Syrah, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, kitchen sink... 16 months in 50/50 new/old French oak) - punchy 15% alcohol vs lush rounded palate, layers of smoky dark chocolate oak merge with darker fruit, maturing meaty edges and earthy/peppery tones; big mouthful of wine coated with bitter choc tannins giving grippy vs rounded mouth-feel, long powerful finish suffused with lush fruit, oak and enticing savoury flavours too. Wow, quite demanding and would suit red meat or game best.

quintasardonia.com

MORE SPAIN ON THIS PAGE

France: Grand Cru Chablis

Grand Cru Chablis tasting London 2012


"Or 'more posh Chablis' if you prefer an alternative title (that link subtly goes to a piece reviewing a few tasty M&S Chablis back in December). I've selected my two or three favourites from each of the 14 producers who aired their wares at the Union des Grands Crus de Chablis showcase a few weeks ago (conjures up images of heated members' meetings and not-so-secret ballots: "...Those in favour of a one-day strike in protest against the inclement weather, raise your hands..."). This tasting was a launchpad for their 2010 vintage wines with each winery also cracking open an older vintage or two ranging from 2009 and 2008 back to a remarkable 1999, as was the case for one estate (Domaine Servin), which provided a useful comparison benchmark..."
Click here to read my full-monty report (goes to a new Burgundy page in the "more wines words" section, where you'll find more links, words and wines to/on/from Burgundy). Featuring these top estates and wineries: Servin, Pascal Bouchard, La Chablisienne, Jean Collet, Drouhin Vaudon, Nathalie & Gilles Fèvre, William Fèvre, Laroche, Long Depaquit / Albert Bichot, Viviers, Malandes, Louis Moreau, Simonnet-Febvre, Gérard Tremblay...

Languedoc: Clos des Augustins, Pic Saint Loup

While browsing through my long-lost 'little red book' (it is, velvety too) recently containing a fair chunk of last year's tasting notes scribbled on the hoof, I was surprised to rediscover these wines from leading Pic Saint Loup estate Clos des Augustins, which never saw the digital light of day. Until now, that is. Augustins is owned and run by the Mézy family with son Frédéric (hence "le gamin" below meaning kid) now in charge, whose efforts have led to the vineyards becoming officially certified organic this year. He’s also been implementing some biodynamic measures to soil and vines, which have almost reached 30 ha (75 acres) in undulating surface area spreading around the wee village of Saint Mathieu de Tréviers. There are some nice pics @ closdesaugustins.com in one of those Flash slideshows that you can't copy from!

2010 Les Bambins white (Marsanne, Roussanne) - nice creamy lees-edged style vs tighter crisper palate and closing up on the finish (should be drinking well now though). Good.

2010 Joseph white (Chardonnay, Marsanne, Roussanne) - was still quite toasty when I tried it, although rich and juicy too vs more structured finish; very promising, needing 6+ months in bottle to open up.

2010 Les Bambins rosé (Cinsault, Grenache) - attractive zesty ‘Provence’ style rosé, has fair extract vs zing with long perfumed finish. Delicious quaffer.

All these reds are appellation Pic Saint Loup:

2010 Les Bambins (Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre) - bright cherry and spicy liquorice with subtle wild herby side, good fruit vs light grip, fairly tight finish showing nice concentration too. Good stuff.

2009 Le Gamin (Syrah, Grenache) - spicy and rustic hints with ripe dark fruit and minty edges, more savoury and firmer mouth-feel with big/long finish; wow, very good.

2006 Sourire d’Odile (Syrah, Grenache) - maturing meaty leather tones, solid concentrated palate with again minty flavours then turning more ‘sweet/savoury’, still quite tight with attractive acidity/tannins vs maturing fruit. Lovely.

2006 L’Ainé (mostly Syrah) - a touch more oak suffused with savoury notes, pretty dense and extracted yet has a lot of substance, still seems young really with those big grainy rounded tannins vs lovely depth of fruit underneath. Towards excellent.

Clos des Augustins wines featured previously on this blog: 2004 and 2003(“Languedoc & Roussillon top wines over €10 tasting” posted 2007), 2008(“Languedoc vintage report” posted 2009). Which confirm this winery has been "delivering" (to use marketing babble) high quality over the years and continues to do so!

San Antonio, Chile: Casa Marín & Matetic Vineyards

Felipe and Maria Luz Marin

Knowing how much it amuses me to create a nice little theme, which in this case cunningly revolves around a couple of great wineries found in Chile's San Antonio Valley: Casa Marín and Matetic Vineyards. This 'cool-climate' coastal region lies to the south of the perhaps better known (or longer established at least) Casablanca Valley and (south)west of the country's lively capital Santiago.

Languedoc: Château Capitoul, La Clape

2007 Les Rocailles, La Clape (60% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 10% Carignan) - fairly punchy to start, but this has a lovely big Grenache heart with light chocolate oak texture then taut solid finish. Good stuff. £12.70 (Enotria, London).

Owner / winemaker Charles Mock has been at the helm of this sensationally set property since 1983. His substantial 63 ha (150+ acres) of vineyards are found off the meandering Route de Gruissan on the wildly scented La Clape semi-island landmass, just a few kms southeast of Narbonne. Charles has slowly built up a top-notch reputation for Capitoul, as you’ll see from my notes on previous vintages/wines here (including his lovely white 'Rocailles') and probably elsewhere on this blog too (try the search box if you can be bothered). By the way, the cute pointy-towered chateau, built in the late 19th Century, is actually available as a holiday rental (the whole place if you like): more @ chateau-capitoul.com

Languedoc: La Bergerie du Capucin, Pic Saint Loup

La Bergerie du Capucin 2009 Dame Jeanne, Pic Saint Loup (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre) - lush blackberry aromas/flavours with a touch of chocolate, firm vs fruity vs punchy profile, attractive tannins on the finish. Tasty. £12.25 (Christopher Piper Wines, UK) or about €11 cellar door.

La Bergerie comes to 12 ha (30 acres) of vines lying around the villages of Valflaunès and Lauret thick in the beating heart of Pic Saint Loup country, found to the north of Montpellier. It's been looked after by 40 year-old winegrower/maker Guilhem Viau for many years now, who decided to actually focus and control the making of their own wines at the estate relatively recently. Guilhem says he's committed to sustainable, towards organic wine production including a number of measures put into place to conserve energy and water. This particular GSM blend is named after legendary family figure Jeanne, who took over the property more than 60 years ago, which is fitting for a winery / label that's become ever so slightly cult. They also grow a bit of Chardonnay and Viognier for their white wines (obviously, doh!).
More BdC wines here and info on the region (PSL tasting report and wild wine walking, April 2011). Photo taken from bergerieducapucin.fr.

Chile: De Martino Carmenere vertical tasting and more...

Welcome to "the dark side of my winemaking," as De Martino's winemaker Marcelo Retamal put it, tongue in cheek, as we tasted the 2007 vintage of their single-vineyard Carmenere. Fortunately for us, he didn't don the full-monty black cape and dodgy breathing apparatus and convert to the Dark Side permanently. In fact, he saw the light again and came back down the righteous sky-walk of sensible winemaking and vineyard practices.

Roussillon: 'dry' Maury, hooray...

So, it comes to pass. A little bit of common sense has arguably prevailed behind the creation of a new Cotes du Roussillon Villages (CdRV) subzone for dry red wines, also called Maury. These wines will come (first ones will be vintage 2011 appearing in about a year's time) from the same appellation area (Maury, Tautavel, Saint-Paul de Fenouillet and Rasiguères) as for the already well-known Maury 'Vins Doux Naturels' (sweet fortified reds), so a big advantage on the marketing front from the start then.
In France, they'll have to put 'sec' (dry) on the label as the 'wine authorities' are needlessly paranoid that consumers won't understand the idea of a regular 'dry' red coming from this area, since the Maury VDN name is much better established over the Channel / Sleeve than in the UK, Ireland or the US, for example. This could have been one reason why this new appellation took such a long time to surface, agreeing on the name etc. as well as all the inevitable rules & regs; but I don't think they need to worry. Rasteau, in the southern Rhone Valley, did the same thing a few years ago and it wasn't a big deal: perhaps producers should leave the 'Roussillon Villages' bit on the label for the time-being so the village-area 'concept' is clearer.

Anyway, does the Roussillon, or France even, need yet another, to non-wine die-hards at least, obscure village name on the label? Well, this one has a certain logic - perhaps more so than e.g. nearby CdRV Rasiguères (will this survive given that the latter village is within the new Maury zone? Confusing or what...) - and doesn't make the same original mistake they made with straight CdRV by telling winegrowers they had to have a certain proportion of Syrah in their wine, even if they didn't have / didn't want any. This one does say you have to have a "minimum of 60% Grenache (Noir)" in the blend, which is after all THE sexy Maury grape variety, but, whoopee, no fascist diktat ordering them to include Syrah.
Nothing against Syrah, but this really does give winemakers the opportunity of crafting distinctive wines that taste a bit different from many from the Languedoc and Roussillon. Lovely rich Mediterranean / Catalan reds. Pity the regs insist on having a blend of "at least two varieties" - why not a 100% Grenache, if the winemaker is clever enough not to make something too overblown, as can happen with pure Grenache - although this does mean growers can make up the balance with good old (being the operative word around these parts) Carignan if they like. Or Syrah, I suppose...
Looking forward to trying some of the new wines next year (goes to my World Grenache Competition 2013 report on Châteauneuf-du-Pape & Roussillon, where you'll find some 2011s), or sooner from barrel / vat in the cellar hopefully. Oh, by the way, dry white Maury might well be next on the cards, which also seems like a good idea as certain wineries are already making some excellent whites from this area (currently called plain old CdR).
Sources: Vins du Roussillon and Vitisphere.com.

A fuller version of this piece (including a few "dry Maury" recommendations drawn from this blog) is viewable on Palate Press Story Bank.

Pass the Bolly or "If it's the 85, you were expecting me..."

A blast from the past that amused me enough to bring your attention to it again, click on the link below:
Pass the Bolly or "If it's the 85, you were expecting me..."