New age Marc Barriot, who's working towards biodynamic certification, is a pleasure to talk to, always buzzing with ideas and opinions, which he doesn't hold back on! Click here for previous notes on his wines, and here's a little philosophical snippet translated from his website: "As wine should be and remain a living product, I don't aim to make perfect boring wines..." Way to go, Marc, as our transatlantic friends might say. As you'll see from the picture (right), he does sometimes use a mule to get rid of unwanted weeds and churn the soil on his vineyards' trickiest slopes. Marc has disparate parcels totalling 5 ha (12.5 acres) around Maury and in Calce, Estagel and Montner; so he must clock up quite a bit of "kilometre-age" knowing how much time he spends in the vineyard. He's also experimenting with low or no-sulphur winemaking and keeping things as natural as possible; a bit of a cliché, I know, but in his case it seems genuine (as long as you keep a close eye on everything). He's also something of a Greenpeace-type when it comes to environmental issues, local or global. Marc's experimented with a variety of arty and/or humorous labels; the current ones feature portraits of 'the big guy himself'.
I tasted these wines at the Fenouillèdes wine show in April 2007:
2005 L'Original blanc, Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes (Macabeu Muscat à petits grains) – attractive juicy apple fruit with intense mineral palate, crisp v concentrated. 85-87
2005 Soif de Plaisirs, Côtes du Roussillon red (60% Carignan, Grenache Syrah) – nice ripe black cherry and liquorice intensity tinged with a touch of VA complexity; quite concentrated and rich with subtle grip and length. 87-89
2004 Clos de l'Origine, Côtes du Roussillon red – pure aromas with more intense blackcurrant/cherry notes, again showing that hallmark intensity; subtle concentration with appealing fresh bite and length wrapped in liquorice fruit. 90
Update 2009: a comprehensive tasting tour around, and from, Marc's increasing collection of varying sizes of vats and barrels in March produced the following notes and comments.
2008 Grenache gris / Grenache blanc (already blended in a six year-old cask) - light apricot aromas & flavours vs appley and crisp; very dry yet honeyed and floral, nice style.
2008 Grenache gris / Grenache blanc (same blend, one year-old 400 litre barrel) - a bit fatter with yeast-less juiciness, pineapple fruit then turns crisp and fresh with good length. He'll blend the two probably.
2008 Macabeu / Muscat - attractive mix of juicy and spicy vs aromatic, grapey and clean.
2008 Grenache rosé (from Maury, picked 25 August with 13.5%, run off quickly) - appealing juicy spicy light red fruit cocktail, crisp dry and tasty.
2008 Muscat ("petits grains" on schist) - picked on 18 August around 12% potential: lively aromatic grapey and citrus notes, clean "straight" and crisp palate.
2008 Syrah ("carbonic maceration") - perfumed spicy very-Syrah nose with rustic edges, juicy cherry fruit; quite easy although has a bit of grip though.
2008 Carignan (+ splash of Lladoner Pelut, from Montner & Estagel) - tangy and structured with elder/blueberry aromas / flavours, firm tannins vs quite delicate mineral frisson.
2008 Grenache (Maury, picked 30 September from north-facing clay-chalk slopes, 14%) - quite tautly textured actually with very solid framework vs delicious liquorice and spice flavours. Should be an excellent element in the blend.
2007 Soif (Carignan Grenache Syrah) - the only finished wine I tried this time: aromatic dark cherries with smoky tobacco notes and wild strawberries too; nice depth of fruit set on firm tannins and fresh bite, very tasty and, erm, thirst-quenching I guess (soif = thirst)! 87+
2007 Grenache - a bit volatile and/or dirty or reduced; something odd on the nose for sure? But its powerful structured mouthfeel finishes with much nicer wild fruits and herbs.
2008 Muscat "Alexandrie" - a bit "fatter" than above with exotic curry (I can't read my notes very well but that's what it looks like!) and orange/lemon twang; nice cut with clean aromatic finish.
Château de Stony
Frédéric and Henri Nodet live and breathe Muscat: in addition to a couple of classic Muscat de Frontignan Vin Doux Naturel styles, and a drink-young zesty dry white; their sometimes sublime Lumière d’Automne speciality is made from very ripe, late-picked grapes (leaving 50 grams/litre residual sugar) and aged in oak. They also make an aromatic tasty Muscat (Petits Grains) grape juice and "real" honey on the estate. To find Chateau de Stony, follow signs for La Peyrade rather than Frontignan town centre: this peaceful pretty property feels quite isolated, once you go down the dusty track into their yard, even though it's on the edge of a residential area and not that far from the, erm, least attractive side of Sète (slight understatement but if you do visit the latter, ignore the rather grisly eastern side and head straight for its attractive, canal-side centre).I visited Stony and tasted these in March 2009:
2007 Muscat sec - distinctly Muscaty nose, aromatic and grapey; still quite crisp and aniseedy although, in the end, best to move on to the 2008 soon. 85
2006 Kermès Vin de Pays d'Oc (Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache13.5%) - showing quite a bit of vanilla oak on the nose but also has nice red fruits and spices; dry v coconut texture with chunky finish, needs a few months to open up fully. 87
2007 Muscat de Frontignan Sélection de Vendanges (15%) - attractive juicy grapey style with honey and marmalade notes; lush and sweet yet has nice citrus / orange peel finish and cut and the alcohol doesn't hit you staying in the background, so quite elegant actually in the end. 87+
2004 Lumière d’Automne Vin de Pays d'Oc (Muscat 14%) - oxidising pecan nut nose, luscious fruit v light oak texture; actually quite powerful with fresh acidity too v underlying sweetness. Different. 89
Previous vintages here ("Fetes des Vignes," Montpellier 2004).
Route de Balaruc, La Peyrade, 34110 Frontignan. Tel: 04 67 18 80 30, frederic.nodet@9online.fr.
The feminine touch of mother and daughter Maguy and Laetitia Piétri-Géraud might explain this small-scale winery's more elegant yet still structured Collioure reds, such as their Moulin de la Cortine sporting less Grenache, more Syrah and Mourvèdre. They also make a scarcer white Banyuls as well as very attractive examples of all the red styles: lush fruity Rimage to oxidised toffee-like Cuvée du Soleil, which is matured outdoors entirely in bonbonnes, glass demijohns. They have a tasting shop in bijou old town Collioure and cramped little cellar up the road a bit.I sampled the following wines in October 2006 - Laetitia also does a tasty rosé but didn't have any left to try! (NB see update below below for notes on her 2008 rosé.)
2004 L'Ecume Collioure blanc (Grenache blanc & gris Vermentino, 13.5%) - oily nutty oxidising style, dry and mineral with very light oak texture; subtle intensity and freshness. €11 85
2004 Collioure red (Grenache Syrah Mourvèdre Carignan) - nice perfumed ripe fruit, light bite and easier drink-now style. €9.50 85
2004 Le Moulin de la Cortine Collioure (Grenache Syrah Mourvèdre) - peppery smokier fruit, tighter firmer palate, long and elegant; needs a bit of time to open up. €12 87-892004 Banyuls blanc - quite floral and honeyed v lightly oxidised almond notes, sweet v interesting fresh cut. €14.50 87
2004 Banyuls Rimage Mademoiselle (fortified on the fruit and skins before pressing) - lovely raspberry summer fruits, soft mouth-feel with dried fruit and light leather to finish; very fruity v nice bite of tannins/alcohol. €11 88
1998 Banyuls cuvée Joseph Géraud (aged for 7 years in large casks plus some in demijohns outside) - delicious maturing dried fruits with rich fig and raisin notes, seems less sweet on the finish with those oxidised pecan nut tones and the alcohol lending freshness. €12 89+
2000 cuvée Méditerranée (5 years in newer barrels) - more aromatic with intense prune fruit, drier grip and more structured finish. €14 90+
2000 cuvée du Soleil - much more toffee-ish and roasted pecans, actually doesn't taste so oxidised, more Madeira like; long and sumptuous. €20 50cl 90-93Update spring 2009:
2008 Collioure rosé (Grenache Syrah) - nice fruity and actually relatively light / elegant style despite being 13.5%: tight zingy mouthfeel with subtle red fruits lurking underneath. 85+
2007 Sine Nomine Collioure red (Syrah Grenache Mourvèdre Carignan) - perfumed and spicy with enticing ripe fruit and liquorice; tangy and dry textured vs powerful yet quite soft, nice now actually. 87
2007 Banyuls blanc (just bottled) - lightly honeyed with a hint of toasted wood; rounded and oily palate beginning to turn nutty and not too punchy, closes up a bit so needs 6 to 12 months to express itself better. €12
2007 Banyuls Rimage - floral with lots of cassis notes; lively and lush vs crunchy and dry textured, quite elegant finish. 87+
2000 Banyuls cuvée Joseph Géraud - turning toffee-ish with roasted coffee notes, sweet raspberries and chocolate too; savoury drier finish with a bit of kick vs lush coating. €13 89+
2003 Méditerranée ("no barriques and less oxidation") - complex coffee and stewed raspberry aromas, mature and meaty vs sweet and pruney then shows some fresher cut; attractive now with its dried fruit finish. €14 88+
2003 Cuvée du Soleil (3 years in demijohns) - deep amber / golden brown colour, lovely pecan nut and toffee aromas / flavours; intricate nutty and tangy vs rich and toasted, dried apricots and orange peel vs honey on toast, very long and seductive. 92-94
2005 Muscat Vendanges Tardives vin de pays d'Oc (picked from mid Oct. into Nov.) - oxidised, super honeyed and raisiny vs nutty and "straw" notes too; perfumed lush fruit with quince tones and lightly grainy texture, sweet yet not too heavy. Different.
22 rue Pasteur, 66190 Collioure (shop, tasting and barrel store – their cramped cellar is on rue du Docteur Coste). Tel: 04 68 82 07 42, fax 04 68 98 02 58; domaine.pietri-geraud@wanadoo.fr.
Pech-Latt is a little off the beaten track, lying in an idyllic spot the other side of the tiny village of Ribaute and surrounded by nothing but vines (around 100 ha / 250 acres), although it’s quite well signposted whichever way you approach it from. Regarded as one of the leading lights in the Languedoc for organic viticulture and producing top-notch Corbières, their range is as handsome and complete as the fading old château itself. The reds in particular show the kind of depth and excitement you can achieve from well-looked after and highly expressive terrain typical of the Lagrasse area. Vineyards and winemaking are overseen by Philippe Mathias, who with his partner Sophie Guiraudon have a small domaine of their own called Clos de l’Anhel (see winery A to Z, right).
Tasted October 2008 - February 2009:
2007 Corbières white (mostly Marsanne 13%) - honeysuckle and white peach, lightly floral with oily and quite full mouth-feel v reasonably fresh and relatively light; quite nice although turns a bit bland when it warms up (second tasting). 80-85
2007 Corbières rosé (13.5%) - tasted in situ: quite punchy with yeast-lees notes, crisp dry palate with light red fruits. Second bottle at home: a bit blander and flatter, I wonder if the plastic cork is to blame for that variation (premature oxidation, so to speak)? 80-85
2007 Corbières vieilles vignes (Carignan Syrah Grenache Mourvèdre 14.5%) - a tad closed up, awkward and 'reductive' on the nose to start; however, moving on quickly to distinctly delicious lush dark fruit with a bitter chocolate twist, tobacco v violet edges too; very firm with big texture, closes up on the finish needing a good year to express itself fully, I'd say. Very nice though. 90-92
2006 Tamanova (Syrah Carignan Grenache Mourvèdre 14%) - also not very revealing at first, hinting at dark fruits; quite extracted and solid with chocolate texture although plenty of fruit buried underneath. We'll see. Another bottle another time: indeed, its rich spicy fruit is now more to the fore and the oak is melting into its generous rounded texture. 90+
1995 Les Pièces Nobles Vin de Liqueur (Grenache 15.5%) - jammy fruit with mature meaty edges, sweet v nutty oxidised flavours with a touch of grip too helping to balance out the sugar. 87-89
More Pech-Latt wines here (Millésime Bio 2006).
Ribaute, 11220 Lagrasse. Tel: 04 68 58 11 40, www.louismax.com.
Château Saint-Esteve
Saint-Esteve is an alluring estate forlorn among old pine trees, wild shrubs and expansive vineyards (doh, what else), found up a track off the D611 between Montséret, Thézan and Portel. Eric and Sylvie Latham took it over, including 55 ha of vines (140 acres), in the mid-80s and are now making some attractive chunky reds from Syrah, Grenache, Carignan and Mourvèdre. Their 2006s, selected and noted below, are showing especially well. Eric and Sylvie also have a big five-bedroom gîte available to rent in the summer: see website for info. Links to updates at the bottom.
Tasted in Oct. 08 and Feb. 09:
2005 Corbières - smoky ripe nose, a tad oxidised but has some depth with that old-fashioned style; firm yet quite rich, beginning to fade a bit although shows attractive savoury cheesy mature notes, drinking now. €4.50 85-87
2006 Corbières - livelier than the 05 with spicy menthol fruit and cherry & liquorice notes; attractive rounded fruit v grip on the finish. 87+
2006 Ganymède Boutenac - I found the 2005 Ganymède a bit too firm, rustic and lacking charm. However, the 2006 is spicier showing good depth of black cherry and olive with liquorice edges; firm-textured and powerful with chocolate hints and nice lingering fruit. Needs a couple of years. 89
Latest updates: here (2009 vintage report, June 2010) and here (Boutenac & 2010 vintage report, May 2011).
11200 Thézan-des-Corbières. Tel: 04 68 43 32 34, www.chateau-saint-esteve.com.
Domaine Saint Andrieu
The Giner family is a big fan of the Mourvèdre and Carignan varieties (and not forgetting Grenache and Syrah of course); for example, their meaty smoky Les Marnes Bleues contains around three-quarters of the former and one-quarter the latter. Other traditional-styled, slightly rustic yet elegantly balanced red blends include La Séranne and L'Yeuse Noire; all sourced from a variety of plots totalling 17 ha planted at between 130 and 330 metres (425 to over 1000 feet). Charles Giner made his first vintage in 1995, although has been growing grapes since replanting new land with his wife in 1980 and taking over much older family vineyards at that time (now 50 to 70 year-old Carignan).
Their wines age very well and start to show real complexity after about five years; the charming Charles takes great pleasure in tasting and talking about them with you in their cave-like old cellar (as we did in February 2009: see my notes below). It’s worth driving - or better still walking - around the Montpeyroux area, by the way, to take in its remote beauty, with vineyards mixed in among swathes of wild herbs, flowers and bushes; as well as visiting other estates such as Domaine Boisantin (Charles’ daughter Anne Jeffroy actually); and the village co-op also makes good everyday wines.
2005 Vallongue Coteaux du Languedoc Montpeyroux (mostlyCarignan) - aromatic blueberry and cassis aromas, interesting herbal tones too; quite soft and savoury with maturing dried fruits v a bit of grip, quite elegant with subtle tannins. 85
2003 La Séranne (Carignan, Mourvèdre, Grenache, Syrah) - smokier and more leather tinged with cooked fruit notes; weightier (14%) with more solid tannins yet nice mature fruit and still quite fine, despite it being a hot-vintage 2003. 87-89
2002 Les Marnes Bleues (Mourvèdre, Carignan) - shades of animal and dried black olives but also enticing 'sweet' fruit, complex smoky and mature; firmer and tighter, very attractive now yet still alive for a 2002 (less good vintage). 87+
2001 L'yeuse noire (45% Mourvèdre + Syrah, Carignan, Grenache) - more intricate and toasted/rustic with fig, dried cherry and liquorice notes; elegant, concentrated and mature with rounded v firm structure, power v finesse. 89-91
2002 Domaine Boisantin L'Embellic (Grenache, Syrah, Carignan) - developing 'volatile' meaty balsamic nose with 'sweet' berries, mint and liquorice; similar balance and style, firm v fruity, drinking now as it won't get much better. 87Earlier vintages here ("Meet the winegrowers tasting," Montpellier 2005: scroll down to Montpeyroux).
La Dysse, 1 Chemin d’Aigues Vives, 34150 Montpeyroux.
Tel: 04 67 96 61 37; giner.charles@wanadoo.fr, www.montpeyroux.typepad.com.
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Header image: Château de Flandry, Limoux, Languedoc. Background: Vineyard near Terrats in Les Aspres, Roussillon.
