Languedoc: Château Camplazens, La Clape

Susan and Peter Close's award-winning estate lies at the top end of La Clape (more on that under Pech-Redon) about as far as the "road" goes before you reach an air force base. You can get there via the little village of Armissan or follow signs for Hospitalet then "base aérienne." Either way, the road does a long winding loop and it's a nice peaceful drive. Susan and Peter, originally from northeast England although they then lived in the States for 20 years, bought Camplazens in 2000 after looking extensively around the wine world for that perfect spot. They invested a fair sum in rebuilding the winery and replanting part of the vineyards including Syrah, Viognier and Marselan, a very promising crossing of Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache; as well as recently adding olive trees and new machinery to bring an old well back to life and be self-sufficient in water. Yann Claustre is their winemaker and estate manager, who's worked for the Closes since the beginning.

I tasted these wines with them at the property in January 2010:
2007 Viognier vin de pays d'Oc (13.5%) - exotic and fat vs juicy fruit, attractive ripe oily texture with light toast/spice tones; soft rounded and creamy then a more floral and greener finish. Nice style. 87
2007 Marselan vin de pays d'Oc (13%) - smoky liquorice vs herbal cassis aromas; similar flavours showing lush vs crunchy fruit, wild and spicy too with attractive rounded tannins; liquorice vs fresh bite, very tasty sweet vs savoury aftertaste. 87-89
2008 Syrah vin de pays d'Oc (13%) - appealing peppery black cherry fruit, soft and ripe yet floral and pure; good depth of fruit vs light tannins, a bit of bite and weight too. 87+
2007 La Garrigue La Clape (Syrah, Grenache, Carignan 12.5%) - lovely scented wild herbs and spicy berry fruit; quite lush vs touch of grip, fairly elegant style and subtle length with lingering fruit vs spice. 89+?
2007 Sélection Schwander La Clape (Syrah, Grenache, Carignan 13%) - he's their Swiss importer by the way, the wine is their "Reserve" level I think. Similar profile although more intense, spicier, wilder and richer; lusher vs crunchy fruit, delicious style and depth, again shows balanced length with subtle power. 90+

11110 Armissan. Tel: 04 68 45 38 89, www.camplazens.com.

Serious ginger

I recently rediscovered "Ginger Wine" while back in England, or rather a non-alcoholic version called "Rochester Dickensian recipe traditional ginger drink" described as having "the kick of two very angry mules." And they aren't kidding, this stuff is VERY gingery and makes your throat glow. A great winter drink diluted with a splash or two of water, which traditionally was drunk as a mixer for whisky for those of you who like a double-double kick. Actually, why not try it blended with a fairly neutral dry white wine even?

Languedoc: Château Pech Redon, La Clape

Down-to-earth owner/grower/winemaker Christophe Bousquet also happens to be the president of the Clape winegrowers association and doesn't have to put up with annoying neighbours at all, as he doesn't have any; lost as he is up a rough meandering climbing track, perched up on the highest point (vines run from 150 to 200m/500-650 feet altitude at Pech-Redon) of the curious hunk of untamed hilly rock that is La Clape. The dramatic terrain here is so different from the flat land around Narbonne, which it overlooks obviously, sticking out awkwardly and dropping into the Med. Christophe and his fellow winemakers are working on shaping a separate mini-appellation for La Clape (its name is already visible on labels alongside "Coteaux du Languedoc"), which he thinks "should be in place by 2011." If there is a more convincing argument for creating this kind of obscure sub-AOC, then La Clape does seem like a case in point compared to other oversized and varied/variable, compromise appellations.

Paraphrasing and summarising what Christophe told me when I called by in January 2010, he's simply trying to make the most expressive wines possible and as naturally as possible (he does farm organically by the way) from his vineyards, and bring out the true character of the grape varieties (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Carignan and some whites too) grown in them along with the environmental factors that shape them. Which is a long-winded way of saying "terroir" wines, I suppose, or wines with a "sense of place" - me I mean, he didn't overuse the "T" word like some people do. Having tasted quite a few wines from La Clape, you can often pick up dark scented "garrigue" aromas, like roasted wild herbs or something like that, and plenty of attractive sweet/sour fruit character. Even if scientifically it's difficult to prove how different plants could or do interact and draw flavours from their soil or surroundings.

Anyway, let's not get too heavy here. Pech Redon's wines basically aren't very textbook, a bit on the wild side even, and quite well-distributed in English speaking markets - Christophe exports most of his production. In the US, via Village Wine in NYC and an importer in North Carolina, whose name I neglected to write down (I'll ask him again sometime)! In the UK, try Terroir Languedoc, the Real Wine Company, Discovery Wines (Cambridge) and Richards Walford sell a few bottles into posh restaurants in London. 

I tasted these wines with Christophe in his little barn-cum-cellar:
2008 white (Grenache blanc, Bourboulenc) - wild cidery and mineral style, turning fatter and nuttier on the palate vs crisp and refreshing twist; gets more exotic with oxidising hazelnut tones, complex and attractive in fact. 87+2002 Les Genêts (Chardonnay, Viognier 14%) - apricots and buttery tones with a touch of toasted vanilla; "sweet" palate vs aniseed and hazelnut twist, creamy and mature yet still has a hint of freshness and life about it. 89+
2008 Les Cades (Carignan, Cinsault, Syrah, Mourvèdre,Grenache 14%) - smoky and ripe, "tar" notes with spicy wild herbs too; dark vs crunchy fruit, quite firm yet with nice fruit vs bite; closes up on the finish, although you still get more of that aromatic floral character then darker side. 87+
2005 L'Epervier (mostly Syrah + Grenache 14%) - more open on the nose, pretty wild and smoky with spicy cloves and minty/medicinal tones; concentrated with solid tannins vs dark cherry, spice, thyme, leather and balsamic flavours; powerful finish with slightly bitter grip yet quite lush wild fruit too. Not everybody's cup of tea (and possibly a tad faulty) but I kinda like its one-off style. 87+
2007 Lithos (50/50 Syrah/Grenache 14.5%, unfiltered) - fairly upfront and lively style showing crunchy, red-pepper tinged fruit vs baked black cherry and sweet cassis; pretty firm mouthfeel and weight vs rich and smoky finish. 89-91
2002 La Centaurée (Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre 14%) - meaty development on the nose with background vanilla notes; grip vs depth on the palate, a tad over-extracted perhaps vs substance? 87
2003 La Centaurée (Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre 14%) - more aromatic and spicy with attractive liquorice notes, turning to leather vs dark ripe fruit; has more substance, weight and roundness with a more generous, complex maturing finish. 90-92

Latest here (2007 L'Epervier, La Clape tasting report April 2011).


Route de Gruissan, 11100 Narbonne. Tel: 04 68 90 41 22, www.pech-redon.fr / blog-pech-redon.moonfruit.fr.