Languedoc: Pic Saint Loup

This time, I only tasted red Pic Saint Loup wines (there are PSL rosés too; the whites are classed as AOC Languedoc or vin de pays, don't ask why…) starting with a very mixed bag of half-a-dozen 2008s, which all lacked charm and/or ripeness or substance or were overdone oak-wise, except one wine by usually star winery Château La Roque: their "Cupa Numismae" 2008. And these reds are mostly expensive too, which brings out the cynic in me regarding PSL's perceived trendy status and convenient location close to Montpellier, i.e. where all the money is in the Languedoc! Moving on to 2009, well, this tasting table included a couple more attention-grabbing reds and, overall, this vintage was looking better although also more difficult to taste with a few of the line-up not showing much at all, as I noticed with the 2009s from other areas. As for 2010, taking a flyer on three samples noted here, it looks like one to watch; looking forward to trying many more 2010s next year!

RMJ lurking behind Lincoln S in the bush hat, pretending to do some exercise. Photo by Ryan O from facebook.com/lovethatlanguedoc

This is the next instalment in a continuing series of reports and winery profiles drawn from five intensive days spent at the “Languedoc Millésimes” tastings in the region (21-25 March 2011). We also met and talked to a few PSL winemakers and tried the odd bottle of their older vintages too. Jean Orliac of Domaine de l’Hortus led our merry band on a well-earned, hearty and occasionally verging on dangerous hike out in the field (see photo with yours truly lurking in the background). We trekked a little up and along the edge of part of the eponymous peak itself and the Hortus massif on the other side of the valley, where you get an inspiring view of a meandering slice of the PSL appellation and the lie of the land, sandwiched as it is between these two extended wild rocky limestone cliff-faces. It’s a beautiful spot for a concerted bit of ‘wine tourism’, with several good wineries packed into this rugged landscape lying less than 20km to the north of Montpellier. There are also organised walking trails and food & wine events, as well as a directory of places to stay and eat in the area on www.pic-saint-loup.com

I’ve used my ‘new-fangled’ scoring system of one, two or three ‘ticks’ (good, very good, fabulous); or just plain 1 to 3 for the wines below. Euro prices are cellar door per bottle inc. taxes, added after the event.

Château La Roque "Cupa Numismae" 2008 (65% Syrah, 35% Mourvèdre; converting to organic/biodynamic) - maturing savoury notes on a dark cherry backdrop, quite subtle although has a cetain lush side vs grainy texture and light grip, elegant length vs power. Nice 2008. 2 €15

Château La Roque "En Garde" 2008 (85% Mourvèdre, 15% Grenache) - light grainy oak vs maturing 'sweet & savoury', lightly leafy / cedary; bit more extracted than above, is quite concentrated but just less charming. €28

Domaine les Grandes Costes 2008 (Syrah/Grenache) - red pepper dominates the nose and palate, unripe or reductive? Bitter finish. €17.50

Bergerie du Capucin "Larmanela" 2008 (Syrah/Grenache) - complex maturing herby cherry nose, again very firm and heavy-handed on the palate. €17.80

Domaine Desvabre "Prestige" 2008 (Syrah/Grenache/Carignan) - a bit lean. €8

Mas de L'Oncle "Les Amours" 2008 (Syrah/Grenache/Cinsault) - oak masking a rather lean and hard wine. €11

Domaine Saint Daumary "Asphodele" 2008 (Syrah, Grenache, Carignan, Mourvèdre) - has a bit more to it but still oak heavy. €15 

Château de Lancyre "Vieilles Vignes" 2009 (65% Syrah/35% Grenache) - dark and brooding nose, delicious sweet herbs and black cherry, minty and peppery too, pretty firm vs lush depth of fruit. 2-3. Much better value too at €9.50 vs the quality.

Château de Lascaux 2009 (60% Syrah/40% Grenache; organic) - nice pure fruit and spicy notes, firm mouth-feel but quite nice tannins, dry vs sweet profile, power and good length. 1-2 €9

Château de Lascaux 2009 ?? (no more info available) - mintier perhaps, firmer grip, more difficult to taste.

Vignerons de la Gravette "Tourtourel" 2009 (65% Syrah/35% Grenache) - quite simple fruity then grippy.

Bergerie du Capucin 2009 "Dame Jeanne" (55% Syrah, 30% Grenache, 15% Mourvèdre) - quite savoury/meaty nose, turns sweeter with black cherry, again firm tannins vs bit of punch. 1 €9.80

Domaine Desvabre 2009 (80% Syrah/20% Grenache) - not much nose, quite nice fruit with minty edges, some oily texture vs firm but rounded, quite nice fruit flourish to finish. 1 €6

Domaine de la Salade Saint Henri 2009 "Aguirre" (SGM) – gets the prize for most entertainingly bizarre producer name, but the wine was too oaky and extracted for me. €15

Château L'Euzière 2009 - sweetish fruit vs oak and solid tannins, lacks charm. Disappointing for them.

Domaine de Villeneuve "Fol Envie" 2009 (80% Syrah/20% Grenache) - heavy bottle, heavy oak! Bit charred, probably is some rich fruit underneath but at the moment it’s not expressing itself... 

Les Coteaux du Pic "Les Déesses Muettes" 2010 - attractive enough fruit vs grip and nice texture, lacks a bit of flavour perhaps but is young and closed up. 1 €6

Ermitage du PSL "Guilhem Gaucelm" 2010 - nice perfumed pure spicy black cherry Syrah nose, juicy and chunky with attractive tannins vs seductive ‘sweet/savoury’ fruit. 1

La Roque 2010 - perfumed, quite concentrated and structured, power grip and lush dark fruit, closes up. Promising. 2-3

 

Other vintages/wines

Ermitage du PSL "Guilhem Gaucelm" 2003 red – rich smoky maturing truffle-y nose and palate, mature now really and a bit soupy/leathery, but nice enough old-fashioned style. 1

Ermitage du PSL “Sainte-Agnes” 2008 white – milky and toasty showing light oak although well done; quite fat, rich, honeyed and weighty, lacks a bit of freshness but quite attractive food white anyway. 1

Mas de Martin “Cuvée Ultreia” 2004 (14.5%) – not convinced they’re in PSL but pretty close to it anyway, this was a rather classy 2004 (an overlooked/shadowed vintage at first, now beginning to show well in a classic way, balanced and tasty rather than “great” or “impressive”). Lovely nose, maturing vs inky/leafy tones, nice liquorice vs crunchier fruit and firmer fresher finish vs drinking well now. 2

Languedoc: La Clape

I've already done that 'joke' to death, so moving on quickly to the next in my continuing series of reports and winery profiles drawn from five intensive days spent at the “Languedoc Millésimes” tastings in the region (21-25 March 2011), where I had the chance to taste mostly 2010, 2009 and 2008 vintages. As well as, more importantly perhaps and certainly more fun, meet and talk to a couple of La Clape winemakers and enjoy some of their older wines too. Once again this year, I found the whites from this wild-terrain almost-island appellation, found near Narbonne falling into the sea, had real character and class. Maybe it’s the often high proportion of the Bourboulenc variety, in particular, and white Grenache or Roussanne, say, in many of these wines? Apart from the well-suited maritime climate etc; so well done anyway, La Clape winemakers, for being brave enough to decide to give it a focus in the appellation 'rules' even though nobody's heard of it (that's clever marketing for you too). Mind you, some of them are rather expensive though even if very good.

What I don't get, with all the admittedly still on-going changes to the essentially overly complicated Languedoc appellation 'hierarchy', is why La Clape isn't called a "Grand Vin du Languedoc" (like the vast sprawling and much more variable Corbieres, for e.g.), if this actually means something, or why La Clape white wines aren't now classified under "Grand Cru du Languedoc" like their reds appear to be (are they?)? Certainly can't be on quality grounds or lacking distinctiveness. Oh well... As for those "great growth" reds, well, some of them are and do have a distinctive roasted "garrigue", and sometimes "tar" even, side (sun-dried wild herbs, earthy vs sweet thing going on underneath) to their soft ripe fruit; although others are just swamped in heavy new oak and over-extracted tannins, like they can be anywhere else, especially on the 2008s, which was obviously a vintage to go easy on the winemaking front. I could only find one 2010 red up for tasting so can't comment on potential of that vintage, although this one (Château des Monges) was very good. And if the also solitary old-vintage 1998 Château de Negly is anything to go by, then, yes, some of the best producers' wines really can age sublimely.
I’ve used my ‘new’ scoring system of one, two or three ‘ticks’ (good, very good, fabulous); or just plain 1 to 3 here, if you get my drift. Euro prices are cellar door per bottle inc. taxes, added later so didn’t influence my notes.

WHITE

2009 Château d'Anglès "Classique" (50% Bourboulenc, 40% Grenache blanc, Roussanne, Marsanne) - slightly closed on the nose, moves on to quite rich and honeyed mouth-feel with light butter and toast notes; some oily development then a touch of toasty wood on the finish, although it falls a bit flat perhaps. 1 €8.90

2009 Mas du Soleilla "Réserve" (55% Roussanne, 45% Bourboulenc; estate converting over to organic) - toasty oak and hazelnut nose, quite rich like the palate too; creamy and nutty with toasty edges, much fuller and more concentrated though, then finishing with light bitter twist vs power and some underlying lemony bite. 2 €21

2009 Château Moyau "L'Unique" (50% Bourboulenc, 50% Grenache blanc) - more floral and lees-y vs subtle buttery hazelnut undertones, starts off a bit shy and finishes quite tight still, interesting ‘mineral’ intensity and bite vs fat. 2 €16

2009 Château Capitoul "Rocaille" - complex maturing Riesling-like notes with oily, toasty and buttery touches vs greener undertones; subtle fresh acidity vs fat mouth-feel and quite toasty vs powerful finish. 2

2010 Château Abbaye des Monges (80% Bourboulenc, 15% Roussanne, 5% Rolle) - yeasty and floral, quite zingy and ‘mineral’ vs fairly concentrated and ‘chalky’ undercurrent, tight and fresh finish. Lacks a bit of weight perhaps but quite promising. 1 €6.40

2010 Château Rouquette sur Mer "Arpège" (60% Bourboulenc, 40% Roussanne) – again has youthful gummy and lees-y style, floral and melon then more honeyed, tight and crisp length. 1-2 €8.40

2010 Château de Marmorières "Les Amandiers" (40% white Grenache, 20% Bourboulenc, 30% Roussanne, 10% Viognier) - chalky and crisp vs light oily texture, tight and not showing much. Not sure. Would like to try again. 1 €8

2010 Château l'Hospitalet "Art de Vivre" - toasty vs oily nose, quite concentrated and honeyed with buttery undertones, still quite toasty but plenty underneath, fresh undercurrent keeps it focused. 2-3

RED

2008 Château de Marmorières "Les Amandiers" (50/50 Syrah, Grenache; 14% alc.) - delicious perfumed heather and lavender nose with ripe strawberry and cassis, quite mature and attractive palate with fresh bite vs light grip and lots of that sweet berry fruit and wild herbs vs weight. Subtle length too. 2 €8

2008 Domaine Maury "L'Insoupconné" (80/20 Syrah, Grenache; 14.5% alc.) - similar but riper and toastier, oak rather dominates with extracted tannins. €14.50

2008 Château Abbaye des Monges "Réserve" (30% each Syrah/Grenache/Carignan, 10% Mourvèdre) - smoky/rustic development plus perfumed garrigue, again tannins a bit dry on the finish vs needs bit more weight. €9.20

2008 Château Ricardelle "Closablieres" (Grenache/Syrah/Carignan) - less obvious nose with vanilla oak notes, some of that wild herb thing going on and maturing oily texture, again tannins perhaps a bit heavy vs the rest but quite commanding. 1 €11

2008 Château Ricardelle "Blason" - too oaky and firm. €15

2008 Mas du Soleilla "Les Bartelles" - quite rich and jammy, dark cherry and perfumed herby tones, bit of vanilla oak but adds texture rather than flavour, grippy with fair depth. 1

2008 Mas du Soleilla "L'Intrus" (50% Carignan, 25/25 Grenache/Syrah; converting over to organics) - sweeter fruit, vibrant tasty palate with nice tannins, light choco texture but much better balance than above, weight vs concentration. 2 €18

2008 Château Rouquette sur Mer "Henry Lapierre" (Syrah/Mourvèdre) - herbs and tar, developing 'sweet & savoury' style, touch of vanilla on the palate adds flavour and texture, perhaps a bit too much vs the rest, although there's some depth. 1 €19

2009 Château Abbaye des Monges "Augustine" (40% Syrah/30% Grenache/20%Carignan/10% Mourvèdre) - rich ripe fruit, dark with herby undertones, pretty firm and extracted vs some lush fruit underneath, tight and closed. 1 €7.20

2009 Château de Marmorières "Marquis de Raymond" (40% Syrah/30% Grenache/10%Carignan/20% Mourvèdre) - pretty oaky and firm, lacks charm; maybe it's in a rut. €11

2009 Château l'Hospitalet "Art de Vivre" - wild herbs and rich cassis, tangy vs concentrated fruit, bit of underlying oak adding texture vs grip vs sweet perfumed fruit. Needs a couple of years too. 2

2009 Château Rouquette sur Mer "L'Absolu" (Syrah/Mourvèdre) - toasty oak vs dark perfumed fruit, oak a bit intrusive still but quite well structured vs depth of fruit underneath. 1 €68! A typo?

2010 Château des Monges "Les Pins" - nice scented vs dark cherry and tar, structured and big vs concentrated lush fruit + subtle oak, floral herby too on finish. 2

Older vintages (well, two at least...)

1998 Château de Negly "La Falaise" – wow! That wild Clape nose comes through loud and clear, like burnt lavender plus lovely smoky mature fruit, delicious wine. 3
2007 Domaine Mont Redon "Les Eperviers" - wild herby & earthy notes vs ripe cherry and liquorice, firm vs maturing mouth-feel. 1


Lots more Clape wineries and wines here:

Gérard Bertrand update

Château Rouquette sur Mer

Château Capitoul

Château de la Negly

Gérard Bertrand 'Grand Vin'

Château Camplazens

Château Pech Redon

Gérard Bertrand autumn road-trip

Coteaux du Languedoc tasting