The Grand new order of things

Anyone who follows the Languedoc wine scene will probably have read about the new wine hierarchy of Grands Vins du Languedoc and Grands Crus du Languedoc. Commenting objectively is tough as little has been announced.

The body concerned is CIVL (Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins du Languedoc) who translate this to “the joint trade council of the wines of Languedoc”. Note CIVL doesn’t cover Roussillon who may be observing this with bated breath. CIVL receive funding from anyone who produces wine in exchange for the right to label it “AOC Minervois” or equivalent, so it's reasonable to assume they represent winemakers interests at all levels. Their President is, after all, Frédéric Jeanjean who owns that giant of a producer Jeanjean.

The problem being addressed is that the Languedoc Appellation system is too complex, the result of gradual developments as more areas and sub-areas qualified for AOC status over the years. It needs simplifying and it needs to be clear to the consumer. In fairness to CIVL it’s a case of they’re dammed if the don’t and perhaps dammed even more if they do. To their credit they've made a move with the launch of the new order of vineyard areas, although some ratification is needed by the INAO – the AOC authority for all agricultural products in France.

The terms “Grand Vin” and “Grand Cru” are going to be recognised by any consumer of Bordeaux, Burgundy and Alsace. The Rhone and Beaujolais regions were more modest with simply named “crus” for the better areas or villages such as Gigondas or Fleurie. While “Grand” is quite a brazen tag, Languedoc wine is now in a global market and bold confidence is needed.

My initial reading of the announcement was like a schoolboy eyeing sports league tables – who was placed where. The Grand Crus are Minervois La Livinière, Corbières Boutenac, Saint Chinian Roquebrun, Terrasses du Larzac, Grès de Montpellier, Pic Saint Loup, Pézenas, La Clape and Limoux (still wines). The Grands Vins du Languedoc are Minervois, Corbières, Saint Chinian, Limoux (sparkling wines), Malepère, Faugères, Cabardès, Muscat areas and part of the Terroirs des Coteaux du Languedoc including Picpoul de Pinet.

My schoolboy reaction was how come Faugères isn’t a Grand Cru (and what have they done to upset CIVL), that Grès de Montpellier covers a large diverse area with few exceptional wines, and I couldn’t think of a wine from Corbières Boutenac. On further research it turns out some AOC sub-areas were created in 2005 including Boutenac and Roquebrun in Saint Chinian. Awarding them Grand Cru status seems consistent with that initiative, although why not Saint Chinian Berlou as well? On a positive note the catch all “Coteaux du Languedoc” disappears.

For wine lovers the real Languedoc is about the vignerons; the small independents or even the more interesting of the larger enterprises such as Paul Mas. The authorities are still sticking to the principle that quality of the terroir and restrictive rules about grape varieties is what matters in a classification. This was appropriate for a time when all wine was made in pretty much the same way before the technology and knowhow revolution. I’m all for terroir, but quality grape growing and accomplished winemaking must be in place first and foremost. Only then can it be about the all important efforts to make the wines express their origins.

For more on this and a winemaker's perspective do read Ryan's O'Vinyards Winemaker Blog

AOC nonsense

The subject of AOC, wine and the Languedoc would make anyone with hair want to tear it out. I came across a particularly poignant example on a French caviste’s web site. I won’t name the site (any French one has the same issues) other than to say it fronts premises not far from Montpellier and is strong on Languedoc specimens. The ‘catalogue’ has over a score of regions listed in France and beyond. Drilling down on the Languedoc section (Roussillon has its own entry) came up with the following: -

CORBIERES COTEAUX DU LANGUEDOC COTEAUX DU LANGUEDOC MONTPEYROUX COTEAUX DU LANGUEDOC PIC ST LOUP COTEAUX DU LANGUEDOC ST GEORGES D'ORQUES COTEAUX DU LANGUEDOC TERRASSES DU LARZAC FAUGERES MINERVOIS SAINT CHINIAN MUSCAT de ST JEAN de MINERVOIS VDP des COTES de THONGUE MOUT de RAISIN VDP d'OC VDP de L'HERAULT VDP de la VALLEE du PARADIS VDP des COTEAUX DU SALAGOU VDP des MONTS DE LA GRAGE VDP du MONT BAUDILE VDP DU VAL DE CESSE VIN de TABLE DU LANGUEDOC

I changed the order from alphabetical to illustrate my points - reducing confusion is impossible. The first half down to Côtes de Thongue, except Coteaux du Languedoc, at least indicate the area concerned although only locals will know St Georges d'Orques is near Montpellier and the Thongue river is to the west of Pézenas. Overlap occurs here because Monteyroux is in the Terrasses du Larzac and Georges d'Orques in Grés de Montpellier. Bad enough, but some producers in these villages opt out of the broader appellation, apparently as politics and villageism are more important than addressing consumer confusion.

That was supposed to be the easy bit to explain. Of the rest I didn’t know where the Paradis or Cesse rivers or Monts de la Grage are. Salagou and Baudile are in the Terrasses du Larzac. One famous grower in Jonquieres has wines in at least four of these categories. VDP de l’Hérault includes some of the finest wines in the region such as Grange des Peres. And so on.

My gold award goes to the wines in the Vin de Table category for presumably waving two fingers and the whole AOC/ADP/VDT system.

Arguably none of this matters for consumers who are unfamiliar with the region except that in France the merchants (and restaurants) have to use these headings and this is doing the Languedoc wine image, in France at least, no good at all.

I’m all for the idea of AOC in food products. The upbringing of a Poulet de Bresse or production of Roquefort has been honed over centuries and needs little if any fine tuning. I have some favourite Roquefort producers, but couldn’t name a single poultry farm so the AOC label coveys a great deal about the bird and justification for the price. Languedoc wine is at the other extreme and is simply changing far too fast for the AOC/VDP/VDT framework to be applied in the current form.

My vote for a way forward would be for labelling standards and diverting effort away from AOC bureaucracy to further tackling fraud and ensuring the label tells the truth.

Wine scoring

First the up front bit. Scoring wines isn’t an option for me. I simply don’t taste enough different wines often enough to be consistent in marking. The closest I get is at tastings where I may give relative scores in little more than a ranking exercise. The challenge is if, say, 90/100 is penned one moment then would the same score for a different, but of similar style, wine on another day mean the wines are equal quality? For a relatively short period in the mid-1980s I attended several tastings a week, so I can appreciate that with a high degree of palate exposure (or is that palate assault) one has a fighting chance of the calibration necessary for noting consistent scores.

There are other factors. I taste wine to decide whether to buy for drinking at home or, generally for expensive wines, because I’m curious or simply find it interesting. Professional tasters usually have to think of customers or readers. I try to be optimistic and seek out interesting qualities I like rather than look for faults, but marking is perhaps easier based on a subtraction principle - assume a “perfect” wine and deduct for what’s missing or even faulty. Even Robert Parker in explaining his adopted 100 point system states that the approach is a "very critical look at wine". When it comes to Languedoc reds some tasters find too much volatile acidity for their taste, but that's often part of the package with a hot climate.

Another challenge with scores is that actually drinking the stuff, as opposed to tasting, is much more than the wine. Expectations, company, mood, location, event, climate and weather, food (or not), glassware and even wines that came before influence the enjoyment factor. A tasting sample can woo, but back home after the first couple of mouthfuls the wine can be anything from too overblown and heady to flat and one dimensional – fruit driven reds and viognier have track records here.

All that said, I usually enjoy reading wine scores for wines I know or writers I am familiar with, as long as a score does not replace a tasting note and an insight as to whether the taster actually likes the wine rather than just admires it.

Richard M James’s excellent site (until recently subscriber only) and accompanying blog is strong on Languedoc, as it should be given that Richard is based in the region. He also proffers scores, although does state “First and foremost, I don't really like giving a score to wine”. More than likely this reflects the reality of being a wine professional.

Past its best - remains of a wine storage pot at the excavation site of the oldest known winery in France (dating from the 10th year AD) at Aspiran in the Hérault valley