"Interesting" statistics no. 9: Austria et al

I got an email from those nice Austrian wine people today: "It’s almost eerie – the 9 series! The legendary Austrian “9er” vintages certainly live up to their reputation even in the new millennium. It began in 1959..." Apparently, so it goes on: 69, 79, 89, 99 and now 09 were all top vintages (so I'm told). Fascinating stuff, I hear you say. I can vouch for 1999, I've tried some excellent Austrian wines from that vintage from memory, dry and sweet whites and reds too (hopefully I'll find the time to rebuild the several pages and tons of wine reviews from a memorable trip I went on to Austria back in 2004 - click here for a couple of articles I penned for the wine trade press at least, and scroll down a bit). It was also a cracker in Hungary I believe, especially for Tokay (my in-depth wine touring feature from 2006 with more on Tokay vintages can be found HERE in "wine words" archive, and here too under "wotm" Hungary). But not very good at all in Bordeaux (rather charmless Médoc wines but better in St-Emilion from memory?), although much much better elsewhere in France, e.g. the South in general. Austere yet some exciting 99 Barolos and Barbarescos (see here and scroll down a good bit), and I think it was generally good in Spain too... 89 was pretty classic across much of Europe, and I'd have to check various guides for the other 9ers. What about California, Australia (I think so) etc? Although this is beginning to get a touch too dull already to be bothered trawling through old tasting notes and vintage reports... Anyway, looking forward to trying some Austrian 09s, which looks like a fab vintage elsewhere in Europe too.

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.

Roussillon 'red of the mo': Mastrío

Domaine Mastrío - Bélesta
A towards-festive bottle of red worthy of anyone's attention, a 2007 'elegant' (does what it says on the label) old-vine Carignan specialty by Mastrío:

2007 Elégant Carignan vieilles vignes vin de pays des Côtes Catalanes (13.5%) - aromatic, floral even, blueberry fruit on nose and palate; shows nice elegance vs intensity, rich and ripe vs spicy with subtle oak notes; attractive texture and length too. 90+

Mastrió is a new-ish estate in the Bélesta back-lands: more words to follow...

A couple of new "wines of the moment"...

One white and one red towards-festive bottles: 2008 Grüner Veltliner Pfaffl (goes to "wotm" 2005-10 page) and 2007 Elégant Carignan Mastrió (takes you to their blurb on FMW).

Roussillon: Domaine Rossignol, Passa

Pascal Rossignol

Pascal Rossignol (which means nightingale, pic.) and his wife Fabienne have 25 hectares (62 acres) of vineyards in Les Aspres zone just outside the village of Passa, west of the A9 motorway between Perpignan and the Spanish border. Originally co-operative growers, they decided to do their own thing and built a cellar and visitor centre a few years ago to focus on quality estate wines.

Tasted Feb/March 06:
2002 Côtes du Roussillon Futs de Chene (Syrah, Grenache & Carignan, 14%) - needs a little air to open up, developing earthy plum fruit with light red pepper notes; quite firm and chunky tannins yet also has good depth of fruit for this vintage, rounded out by a touch of chocolate oak. €7.50 87
2004 Muscat d'Alexandrie sec Vin de Pays d'Oc (Muscat, 13%) - yet another nice example (see below) of a fresh, dry, crisp and mineral Muscat; this one has aniseed characters too and is quite concentrated with elegant length, try with Thai food. €4.20 87
2004 Côtes du Roussillon rosé (Syrah & Grenache, 13%) - gentle ripe red fruit cocktail with elegant acidity adding freshness. €4.50 85-87
2004 Côtes du Roussillon rouge - attractive young berry fruit combines with lightly dry tannins to produce a nice red for drinking with simple food. 83-85
2004 Côtes du Roussillon Les Aspres 'Bérénice' (Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre & Carignan) - just bottled when I tasted it, so the spicy aromatic oak is a little dominant at the moment; however, this has attractive texture and elegant depth of perfumed fruit underneath, subtle length too. 87-89
2003 Côtes du Roussillon Futs de Chene 'Le Graal' (Syrah, Grenache & Carignan, 14%) - some complex sulphide notes on the otherwise closed nose, powerful concentrated and grippy mouthfeel; very young, needs at least 2 years to show itself. 89+

Tasted June 2007:
2006 Muscat sec, vin de pays des Côtes Catalanes (13.5%) - floral grape and white peach aromas with light aniseed notes; soft yet full palate, nice and fresh but rounded too. €4.50 87+
2005 Côtes du Roussillon rouge (Syrah Carignan Grenache 14%) - attractive perfumed spicy plum and black cherry nose; nice juicy ripe fruit v lightly dry bite and grip, rounded and soft v power too. €5 87
2004 Côtes du Roussillon Les Aspres Bérénice (Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre & Carignan) - vanilla coco oak tinged with spicy floral cherry fruit; medium depth, rounded v extracted grip. Quite elegant I guess but seems a bit simple and obvious in terms of overdone new oak v depth of fruit. €9.50 however! 85-87

Update 2009/2010 I went to see the ever cordial Pascal and Fabienne in mid December 09 to catch up and taste their latest releases. Having started down the organic pathway a few years ago, 2009 is their first certified organic vintage.
2008 Muscat sec vin de pays - elegant grapey Muscat aromas with honeysuckle and aniseed too; fuller and oilier on the palate with nutty edges, nice juicy crisp finish; easy tasty dry white. 80-85
2008 Schistes Côtes du Roussillon (mostly Syrah + Grenache & Carignan from their higher altitude vineyard near Oms, 14%) - attractive pure spicy fruit showing lots of black cherry and white pepper; enticing fruity Syrah style with a bit of grip and depth, refreshing bite on the finish too. 87
2007 Bérénice Les Aspres Côtes du Roussillon (Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Carignan) - a touch estery/banana-ish on the nose with grainy oak tones, quite concentrated though showing good depth; it hasn't really come together yet although has rounded tannins and attractive finish. Leave it for 6-12 months to mellow out. 87+
2006 Graal Côtes du Roussillon (Mourvèdre + Carignan & Syrah) - quite aromatic cherry and black olive on the nose; fairly oaky palate yet with dense fruit and gripping tannins, big mouthful but well-handled and promising too. 89+
2009 Muscat de Noel - deliciously fresh and Muscat-y, luscious and sweet vs citrus peel bite and tang. Try with blue cheeses. 85
2004 Rivesaltes Ambré - turning walnut-ty and spicy with its Madeira-like undertones; tangy vs rich and oily, intricate and cheesy then a bit of oomph to finish; needs a few years to come together although it is nice now actually. 87-89
2007 Rivesaltes Grenat (Grenache 17%) - quite youthful and closed up (it was rather cold as well); vibrant black cherry fruit in the mouth, fairly lush then firm and punchy. A bit young at the moment but attractive style. 85+

Plus the latest medal winner is HERE (World Grenache Competition 2013).

Route de Villemolaque, 66300 Passa. Tel/fax: 04 68 38 83 17; domaine.rossignol@free.fr, domainerossignol.fr.