Buying Wine - Languedoc Select Wine Club

When I first heard of the Languedoc Select Wine Club I must admit to being sceptical. For quite a few Euros (price now reduced) you receive a 10% discount at around 60 independent vignerons listed on the web site. Perhaps not quite as beneficial as it sounds as, with a reasonable purchase, vignerons usually throw in a bottle of something you didn’t buy to try anyway. Tastings are also organised where a number of growers bring their wines, something I’ll definitely attend when location and diary permits.

The other week I heard the main man, Colin Trickett, talk about Languedoc Select (as well as other Languedoc wine matters, but I won't diverse). Colin had a career in the wine industry and this seems to give him a refreshing and pragmatic perspective. The idea is to help independent vignerons while encouraging wine lovers to discover how much more character their wines have over what’s available in the supermarkets and co-operatives. There’s also the dimension that wine isn’t anonymous; seeing where it’s made and the people behind it increases understanding and appreciation.

With way over 1000 independents in a region with some 6000 wineries everyone has their favourites, but the Languedoc Select list of 60 growers have passed some very specific criteria. Firstly, they’ve been visited unannounced to ensure a friendly welcome. Tasting facilities need to be available. Coverage across the region is even with a spread of prices for all pockets and occasions. There's also a broad mixture of styles e.g. international vs regional grape varieties. While fun, apparently 200 domaines were visited, all this research involves seriously significant travel costs, something the now reduced to €10 annual membership is unlikely to cover.

As with any list of Languedoc producers there are plenty I’ve never heard of or are just a name. In the Hérault the following Domaines are well worth checking out - Canteperdrix (Gabian), Ollier-Taillefer (Fos, very reliable wines), la Croix Belle (Puissalicon), Jordy (Loiras), Domaine Saint Hilaire (Montagnac, I love their simple Vermentino), Domaine Ribiera (Aspiran), Domaine des Conquêtes (Aniane) and Mas Brunet (Causse de la Selle). Mas Brunet is an established favourite. A bottle of Mas Brunet Cuvée Prestige 2006 red the other evening had savoury red fruits and blackberry plus a hint of sweet leather from some oak. Ripe and mouth filling with some fruit stone grip and showing well. Syrah (75%) with Grenache. A Terrasses du Larzac that could pass as a Pic St Loup. About €13, but 10% less if one joins Languedoc Select and makes a visit. The white is also delicious although a touch too oaked for my taste in some years.

Domaine Rimbert Mas Au Schiste 2006

It's been a while since I've tasted any Domaine Rimbert wines. Most recently was a Les Travers de Marceau in a restaurant - a good uncomplicated and inexpensive luncheon choice with the benefit of a relatively tame 12.5% alcohol. The Mas au Schiste is about a third each of Carignan, Syrah and Grenache with a splash of Mourvèdre. Schist is the clay/shale soil found in this part of Saint-Chinian, the village of Berlou, along with neighbouring Faugères. I decanted it a couple of hours in advance as advised by the caviste. Chocolate red colour. Quite an elegant and gentle wine - mineral with hints of sour cherry, wild mint and smoke. Nice finish. It's not a layered wine, more a sweeping curve of flavour, and it certainly doesn't come at you. The flowers are a type of wild garlic (allium acutiflorum) that grow by vines.

Two Carignans

Other than the extraordinary Le Carignan 1998 from Domaine d'Aupilhac I haven't said much about pure red Carignans. It's well understood these days that old vines with self-regulating low yields on poor soil can give Carignan the one thing it normally lacks; interesting fruit flavours to contrast the clumsy tannin and acidity it possesses in spades. These two examples illustrate this, and at around 8€ and 9€ respectively are pushing half the price of the areas benchmark.

Mas d'Amile Vieux Carignan 2007 I came across at the Montpeyroux Toutes Caves Ouverts day in 2009. There are too few interesting sub 10€ wines in this commune these days, but at least this was one of them. I know little about it except that 2007 was the first vintage, there isn't much of it, and the wine is unfiltered - witness the sediment in the empty bottle. It's also produced by Amélie, daughter of Le Mairie of Montpeyroux, which is perhaps all one needs to know. In the glass there's cool thyme and blackberry and the mouth gets a pleasant coating of meaty fruit, certainly a fine quaff with interest.

I mentioned Mas Gabriel Les Trois Terrasses 2008 here when I purchased a half-case of the then just bottled wine after nearly a year in tank. It has settled down to layers of mint leaf, composting leaves, ribena and wild rose. There's also a ripe freshness and while there's heaps of tannin this stays in the background. I will be stocking up with more - the last bottle posed for this picture and yes, I pasted the image in.

Terrasses du Larzac Geology

I posted a map of the Terrasses du Larzac appellation in an earlier post here. Thanks to Languedoc Wines on Facebook I recently came across this fascinating video (in English) on how the Terrasses du Larzac were formed. It features Charles-Walter Pacaud of La Croix Chaptal, a domaine in the tiny hamlet of Cambous at the southern end of the Terrasses - the stepped plateaus that Charles-Walter explains and points out in the video.

Jonquières May Day “Caves Ouvertes”

Montpeyroux’s “Toutes Caves Ouvertes” day has always been a great success the couple of occasions I’ve been over the years. Well attended despite low key publicity, even in 2009 when someone realised very late on the annual Roger Pingeon cycle race would be passing through and the date was hastily rearranged. The village is sealed off to vehicles and you purchase a glass and a map for a few euros that gives access to a tasting at a dozen or so of the producers. This year was the first equivalent event for Terrasses du Larzac next door neighbour Jonquières.

Here the format was more low key. There was a bustling “bin end” pottery sale in the centre of the village and leaflets were handed out showing how to navigate to the nine participating caves.

This was all well and good except that few people seemed to be actually visiting the caves – we were on our own with growers for much of the time. Given this was a major public holiday and they gave up their day, no doubt with a three line whip from the Mairie, I’m sure there will be an inquest over a lack of publicity. Debates will also ensue on whether to broaden the appeal of the day – animations is the French term that comes to mind. Paying for the tastings is another. Nevertheless, with the exception of Mas Jullien where no mainstream wine is available for sale due to advance allocation, everyone was generous with their time and had plenty to say about their products.

First up was Mas Cal Demoura with a thorough and personally tutored run through the range by articulate Vincent Goumard himself. These are wines that impress me more every time I taste them, no doubt due to Vincent’s approach of considered evolution rather than revolution since taking over in 2004. Rosemary George’s impeccable recent blog post here has all the background and tasting notes. I would only add that L’Infidèle, the main red, has moved on to the 2007 vintage; a cooler year that has resulted in elegant reds that are relatively attractive now. This has fresh red berries and a touch of garrigue about it, not dissimilar to neighbour Mas Jullien’s 2007 except it’s approaching half the price - €13,50. A 2002 L’Infidèle, made before Vincent took over the estate, was available to taste and showed continuity in style and how elegantly a cooler year can mature.

A short walk out of the village is Pascal Fulla’s Mas de L’Ecriture, a wine I encountered in London when the first vintages (1999-2001) were being launched. Then the young wines were impressive and seductive but for some reason, perhaps not decanting in advance as Pascal emphasises, those I’ve broached have not been memorable. Pascal put on a splendid show of decanted ready to drink vintages.

Emotion Occitane 2006 €10 is a Syrah, Grenache, Cinsault and Carignan mix. Plenty of red berries, quite elegant, hints of liquorice and sweetness. Seemed lighter than it was. Les Pensées 2004 €18, half Grenache with Cinsault, Syrah and Carignan. Ripe raspberry and blackberry with quite mellow integrated tannin and a fine finish. The Tour de Force, L’Écriture 2004 €29, is 60% Syrah with Grenache and Mourvèdre. Much richer fruit with some spice. Silky mouth feel, complex and long but more of a progressive curve of pleasure than layers of flavours. There was an extra surprise, Message Personnel 2005 €18 (on the day, but not normally for retail) with 70% Syrah plus Grenache, Mourvèdre and Carignan. The Syrah, apparently from an excellent Syrah vintage, comes from a vineyard on a small hill called terroir de «Pechaurel». I would crudely describe the “soil” as consisting of large stones of fossilised shells such as oysters. It has a seductive fatness, rich but with less opulent fruit, dashes of smoke and a finish that was trying to dance around a bit. It had no problem following the L’Écriture. I don’t often buy €18 wines but left with a bottle of this. To me the wines illustrate what must be a dilemma for many Languedoc winemakers. Edgy, less crafted wines that strive to express the terroir that I’m continually learning to love seem impossible to market at this price level. The area desperately needs more prestigious global wines, and this is one that’s doing it with Mediterranean grape varieties, so a chapeau to Pascal for that.

Back in the village to visit Mas de Pountil that I wrote about last year - click on Mas de Pountil on the contents menu. The wine that stood out was the rouge 2006 (€10), that blends all five of the mainstream red grapes. It has a reassuring grip in the background from a touch of oak and a pleasant mixture of cooked fruits, leathery aniseed along with a hint of butterscotch.

Marcillac

Marcillac is just west of Rodez in the Aveyron so not part of the Languedoc, even historically, and is well away from any Mediterranean influence. With only about 160 hectares in the AOC it’s also pretty small and perhaps one reason for being relatively little known, although it does crop up on a surprising number of restaurant lists in the UK.

Usually considered a South West French wine the grape, Fer Servadou, is certainly a South West speciality. The area does have one thing in common with the Languedoc – it shares the same red volcanic soil. A Permien Sandstone with bands of limestone coined ruffes also occurs in the bit of the Terrasses du Larzac below Lodève; this picture was taken near Octon and Lake Saligou.

For the absolutely delightful Vieux Pont restaurant in Belcastel, Marcillac is the local wine. 2007 Domaine Laurens had fresh juicy fruits with some herbaceous and mineral notes. The palate seems quite light and hollow and this can be a shock, but everything is in proportion and it ends with good finish. A modest 12.5% makes it an ideal luncheon choice and at just under €20 extraordinary value given the quality of the dining experience.

2007 Reds, Corks and Wine Boxes

The more serious 2007 reds have been emerging from producers cellars over the past year. I’ve tasted several in the last couple of weeks from some favourite domains - Mas Jullien (Jonquières), Aupilhac Montpeyroux, Ollier Taillefer Grand Reserve (Fos in Faugères), Mas Gabriel, Clos de Lièvre (Caux) and Treloar Three Peaks (Trouillas, Roussillon). They all make attractive drinking now; the tannins seem softer with the fruit more the red rather than purple end of the spectrum. They're certainly ripe, balanced, not short of concentration and, by Mediterranean standards, elegant. Recommended as a restaurant young wine choice.

The 2007 growing season was somewhat cool and the results are not unlike the 2002s, also a cool year although one that suffered harvest downpours to the east of the region.

Corks
I'm not going to even begin discussing the merits of various wine closures. Whatever the problems with tradition corks and corked wine, nothing beats the look of them. So what to do with all those pulled corks and, in the Languedoc, increasingly rare wooden wine cases?

Here are some ideas.

A sculpture with corks, part of a wine box and a vine leaf	Or a bedside shelf with a wine box
Maybe some bathroom shelves	Perhaps a door fly screen
Or simply box in some pipes