I'm a bit lacking in the information department here, although pretty sure the property is located in the Fontcouverte area, just south of Lézignan and the lovely A61 motorway (although you don't notice it most of the time). Their sales guy showed me (at Millésime Bio wine show, Jan. 2009 Montpellier) some geological maps of the various plots and what's planted where (more interesting than it sounds, "can I show you my geological maps, ooh err..."). Anyway, let the wines do the talking shall we as they're pretty good... Update: have since found a website (added below), La Baronne is owned by the Ligneres family (pic.).
2005 Las Vals white (Grenache gris, Roussanne & Vermentino) - oily nutty developing style, quite fat and rounded with yeast-lees creaminess and toast v still fresh on the finish actually. 87+
2005 Pièce de Roche (very old Carignan: "the 1892, unmistakeable...") - perfumed floral Carignan nose with a tad of coconut oak underneath; rich, powerful and concentrated v minty and lively, firm tannins yet lush texture and dark fruit too. 90+
2005 Alaric (Syrah Carignan Mourvèdre) - quite rich and dark with black pepper and chocolate oak tones; nicely textured and concentrated with big lush mouth-feel v solid and dry, lovely underlying fruit. 90+
2005 Las Vals red (Mourvèdre) - smoky and ripe with a black olive twist; sumptuous depth and concentration, powerful firm finish. 90+
Domaine La Borie-Fouisseau
Véronique Vaquer-Bergan's perhaps promising, small estate amounts to seven ha (17 acres) lying on dry stoney slopes, with some vines planted at up at 500 metres altitude, around the dead little village of Laurens in deepest Faugères country. Although Béziers is only half-an-hour or so south of here, you don't have to go too far north before you hit the edges of fairly serious mountain ranges. Véronique is Ecocert organic-certified and at the moment makes just three AOC red wines, which I sampled at Millésime Bio wine show in January 2009 in Montpellier.
2006 La Salamandre (Grenache Cinsault Syrah Carignan) - a bit closed up and firm to start, some dark fruit lurking underneath; I wasn't sure about it, at that moment at least.
2004 Garance (mostly Mourvèdre) - warm spicy garrigue tones with black olive and dried fruits, very aromatic; solid powerful mouth-feel v fragrant fruit and wild herb edges; lively and different. 89
2005 Clara (mostly Grenache) - 'vinous' nose with lots of liquorice, very firm tannins on a punchy palate; a touch over-extracted but it's intriguing and promising.
Château Grand Moulin
Jean-Noel Bousquet relocated his winery to the Lézignan ring road, after his cellar collapsed before his eyes during the incredible floods the area was subjected to in winter 1999. However, he took it as a good opportunity to rebuild and remodel things to suit a shift in growing and winemaking philosophy, plus incorporate a smart new tasting reception area and shop. The estate has now expanded beyond 100 ha (250 acres) in size, some of which is classified as Corbières-Boutenac AOC (a fairly recent sub-appellation centred on the village of Boutenac, about half-an-hour southwest of Narbonne, and also home to the Corbières police force... I mean, appellation authorities) starting with the 2005 vintage.
These wines were sampled February-March 06:
2001 Corbières Terres Rouges (Syrah, Grenache & Carignan, 13.5%) - a little closed and awkward on the nose, yet shows spicy lightly earthy black cherry/currant fruit with perfumed oak overtones; powerful, tight mouthful of smoky black fruits and chocolate vanilla then firm/tart, dry and long finish. Needs time as the oak and acidity/tannins are a bit out of kilter at the moment, but it should blossom in 2-5 years. 89-91
1999 Terres Rouges (12.5%) - lovely developed smoky nose, liquorice and spice, ripe raisiny black cherry fruit with tobacco notes; soft elegant palate set against remaining dry grip and attractive long finish. 91-93
1998 Corbières Vieilles Vignes (12.5%) - mature intricate aromas, savoury raisins and prunes with leather undertones; supple refined palate, nice depth of 'sweet' fruit v light dry tannin backdrop. Drinking now yet should reward from a couple more years ageing.90-922001 Vieilles Vignes (Syrah, Grenache, Carignan & Mourvèdre) - complex smoky nose, appealing liquorice and prune fruit; soft tannins layered with well handled oak, elegant dry finish with ripe fruits lingering too. 88-90
2005 La Tour rosé (Cinsault, Syrah, Grenache & Mourvèdre, 13%) - fresh and crisp style: very lively tangy red fruits showing good extract v elegance and juiciness, zesty and long. 87
2002 Corbières blanc, fermenté et élevé en futs (Grenache Blanc, Vermentino & Macabeu) - toasty, oily and oxidising nose leads to milky yeasty weight and tanginess, rich palate finishing quite fat although there's still some fresh acidity underneath; quite good if you like this oaky style. 84
Grand Moulin update November 2008-January 2009
2007 La Tour Corbières rosé (13%) - nice dry and full style with creamy red fruit palate, quite elegant yet big enough to go with many different dishes. €4.60 85+
2007 La Tour Corbières white - citrus and honey aromas, floral notes on a rounded v crisp palate, appealing style. €5.20 85+
2006 La Tour Corbières red - fragrant black cherry and cassis with light vanilla and liquorice edges; attractive fruity mouth-feel and style with dry bite to finish. €5.20 85-87
2005 Vieilles Vignes Corbières red - richer with a tad of chocolate oak showing, quite concentrated dark fruit cocktail with chocolate texture, firm and powerful yet well-balanced. Good value too at €6.90. 88-90
2006 Terres Rouges Corbières red - smokier with wild herbs, liquorice and plum notes; solid mouth-feel with fair muscle, concentration and length; again well-balanced with nice, understated coco oak texture and subtle grip. €9.80 89-91
2006 Corbières-Boutenac red (14.5%) - more coconutty new oak on the nose but it has lush smoky dark fruits too, firm solid texture and punch; tasty and promising, closes up on the finish. Dear though at €14.50. 90+
6 Boulevard Maréchal Galliéni (RN113), 11200 Lézignan-Corbières. Tel: 04 68 27 40 80, contact@chateau-grand-moulin.com / chateaugrandmoulin@wanadoo.fr, www.chateau-grand-moulin.com.
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Header image: Château de Flandry, Limoux, Languedoc. Background: Vineyard near Terrats in Les Aspres, Roussillon.
