Wine
Times
Laurence Turetti is a historian who has a ph.D. from the University of Metz. Born in the Aude into a family of vignerons, she returned to her home more than ten years ago. Head of a wine boutique in the centre of Limoux, l’Atelier des Vignerons, she continues her search of discovery across Languedoc-Roussillon for the pearls of the vineyards.
LIMOUX
Limoux is the most versatile of appellations, and comes in many guises, with red and white still wine, but not pink, and pink and white sparkling wine, but not red, and there is also Pays de la Haute Vallée de l’Aude, to accommodate grape varieties, such as Pinot Noir, that do not fit into the appellation. But as the festive season is now upon us, I intend to concentrate on sparkling wine.
Limoux proudly claims to be the oldest sparkling wine of France, with an even longer history than champagne. The monks of the Benedictine abbey of Saint Hilaire take credit for the discovery of the vinification process. In 1388 the chronicler Froissart referred to the delectables beuveries de vin blanc Limouxin and authorities have set the date for the discovery of sparkling wine as early as 1531, which predates Dom Pérignon in champagne by more than a century. The discovery was probably accidental in that the monks found that their wine began to ferment again in the spring after the winter cold and they managed to contain the carbon dioxide. Blanquette de Limoux was made in this way for many centuries until the champagne method was adopted
The principal grape variety of Blanquette de Limoux is Mauzac, a variety that is rarely found elsewhere. Blanquette, meaning ‘white’ in Occitan, is so-called because for the white hairs on the underside of the leaves of the vines. However, Mauzac can lack flavour, so plantings of Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay, and more recently Pinot Noir, have been developed in the area, and therein lies the intrinsic difference between Blanquette and the more recent appellation, Crémant de Limoux. Blanquette de Limoux must include a minimum of 70% Mauzac whereas Crémant de Limoux need only contain 10% Mauzac. Both are made by the champagne method, entailed a second fermentation to create the festive bubbles, in the bottle in which the wine is sold. Time of ageing on the lees of that second fermentation is a quality factor too.
Good Crémant de Limoux has a ripe creamy quality that champagne can sometimes lack, and while Blanquette de Limoux can sometimes taste slightly rustic and less refined, it nonetheless has an authentic charm and individuality. I would happily drink good examples of either, in favour of inferior and acidic champagne. And both Blanquette and Crémant de Limoux can represent startling value for money.
The production of Limoux is dominated by two cooperatives, both of which produce sound wines under two brand names: Sieur d’Arques and Anne de Joyeuse. However, more interest comes from several small independent producers.
One of my favourite Blanquette de Limoux comes from a Dutch – Irish couple, Jan and Caryl Panman at Château Rives Blanques. The current vintage is 2011 at 10.50€, and they also make delicious Crémant de Limoux, Blanc de Blancs, 2010 vintage at 10.95€ and a Crémant rosé, 2011 at 11.45€. The estate is down a dirt track outside the village of Sépie and it is well worth going to taste in their welcoming tasting room, with a breathtaking view of the Pyrenees, on a fine day. And they produce some stylish still wines. .
J. Laurens was set up by a champenois about 30 years ago, and sold about ten years ago to the talented Jacques Calvel. He makes four different cuvées. I have particularly enjoyed two Crémants, namely the 2010 les Graimenous at 8.80€ and La Rosé No.7 at 9.80€.
Bernard Delmas in the village of Antugnac is an organic wine grower and makes a range of lovely Crémant and Blanquette. Most original, and also most expensive is 2009 Cuvée Audace, at 17.50€, for which the wine was fermented in oak barrels, which adds an extra dimension of flavour and depth. I also liked his non vintage Blanquette, which was more elegant than some, at 8.10€. And other names to look out for include Jean-Louis Denois and Maison Antech.
Rosemary George M.W./ November 2013
Talking to Vignerons : Marie-Claire and Pierre Fort, Domaine de Mouscaillo (AOC Limoux)
At the end of winter, the rain and the shortness of the days slows down a little the many and varied activities of vignerons. Is it the definition of a labour of love, this incessant, varied work which is married to the rhythm of the seasons and is incompatible with the practices of the service sector?
Being a vigneron is, in effect, the combination of a range of knowledge: firstly, the yearlong attentive care of the vines, then, after the high of the harvest, the complex alchemy of wine making. Finally, at the end of the year, at the earliest, the vigneron can hope to reap the fruit of his labour through marketing. That is to say, he also has to know how to be a manager… A multifaceted career, a passion without any doubt, which can sometimes take on the Christian meaning of the word. It is lucky to be able to spend time with these men and women whose words echo the wines they produce day after day with the same measure of tenderness one gives a child.
This year, the Domaine de Mouscaillo (AOC Limoux) is celebrating 10 years. Marie-Claire and Pierre Fort, after having made wine in the Loire, returned to this area in 2000: they cultivate 5 hectares of vines in the really beautiful area of Roquetaillade, situated at an altitude of 400m above Limoux. The name of the domaine is taken from all the little midges that fly around during the harvest in one of the plots. The modesty of this name hides the ambition of meticulous artisans who make chardonnays from the domaine. Mairie-Claire and Pierre Fort are serenely passionate people: everything appears straightforward, the quality of the wines and the beauty of the countryside are apparent.
Here we speak to them:
Which aspects of the job of a winegrower do you most prefer?
Pierre: It isn’t politically correct to say this but I believe there are relationships and exchanges which influence all the steps. At the moment of planting the vine we are in contact with a living soil specialist and a plant seller; during the wine making process, we talk with oenologists, vignerons or clients asking for news about the vintage. Throughout the whole year there are ongoing relationships with our clients and colleagues. There are also the salons we visit, like Vinisud or the Salon des Vins de Loire in Angers. It is very important for us to taste the wines of other domains. We travel a lot to give tastings and promote our wine. All of these meetings are enriching for us.
Which wines do you like?
Marie-Claire: For the whites: upright wines, elegant, fine with freshness and tension. Regards the reds, we especially look to bring out the fruit of the pinot.
Is there a secret to making them?
Marie-Claire: We are perhaps lucky: the place where we are, in Roquetaillade, allows us to make wines which are in keeping with what we love. It’s high up, at the foot of the Pyrénées where the air is very fresh. It’s been a fortuitous meeting between what we love and this place. Perhaps we love this wine because it comes from this place?
Pierre: We were born at Roquetaillade but lived and worked for a long time in the Loire. It’s the tension and the ligérienne (nb. ‘wines from the Loire’) freshness that we look for and find in our Limoux blanc.
How did your first vintage evolve?
Pierre: Our first wine, the 2004, was very austere. It had a lot of intensity, a good structure but not much taste. Something surprising for the wine taster. We presented it at Vinisud and it aroused the interest of some sommeliers. Today, 10 years later, it is magnificent: it has aromas of fennel and has become more complex…
What is your favourite vintage?
Marie-Claire and Pierre (in chorus): The 2008. It was a complex vintage: the malolctic fermentation* was not carried out. We had doubts right up until bottling that we wouldn’t find good wine. We didn’t taste it until the day where it made the first page of the Revue des Vins de France. It’s the vintage which made Mouscaillo successful. *Malolactic fermentation is a process in winemaking in which tart-tasting malic acid, naturally present in grape must, is converted to softer-tasting lactic acid.
**
In Limoux every weekend in March is dedicated to the carnival: At 11h, 17h and 22h the costumed groups and musicians parade under the arcades to the sound of the brass band. In this festive atmosphere, L’Atelier des Vignerons, a wine boutique located in the main square, organizes every Sunday at 11h meetings with vignerons and a tasting of their wines (free entry). Wine and Carnival:
Tasting programme
Sunday 16 March 11h – 12h30 (Carnival: All carnival groups)Domaine J.Laurens (AOC Limoux)Domaine des Schistes (Maury, Roussillon
Sunday 23 March 11h – 12h30 (Carnival: Les Aïssables)Domaine Les Hautes Terres (AOC Limoux)Château Bouïsset (AOC La Clape)
Sunday 30 March 11h – 12h30 (Carnival: Les Blanquetiers)Domaine Girard (AOC Malepère)Château Mirausse (AOC Minervois)
Sunday 6 April 11h – 12h30 (Carnival: Le Paradou)Domaine de Mouscaillo (AOC Limoux) celebrates 10 ans : Tasting of old vintagesChâteau de Lancyre (AOC Pic-Saint-Loup)Where:
L’Atelier des Vignerons – 2 place de la République – 11300 Limoux (04 68 20 12 42) – www.languedocwineshop.com
January, the most organic of months…
After the effervescence of December when we excel at all manner of gift giving, January is a more peaceful month, a real winter break when we can make the most of tasting and discovering new vintages. The organic wine fair in Montpellier takes place at the end of the month ‘Millésime Bio’, where we will catch up with our vigneron friends. During the three days more than 800 exhibitors from around the world come to share their wines. It is a veritable marathon for the taste buds.
In fact, what is organic wine? It is wine made from organically produced grapes and labeled AB. The management of the vines must be achieved without the use of any synthetic pesticides or herbicides. Fertilizers must be from a natural source. Organic winemaking limits oenological additives and sulfite levels in the wines. Some winemakers are going even further by employing biodynamic cultivation methods. The key principles for this were defined by the Austrian philosopher Rudolph Steiner in the mid 1920s. In response to the industrial agriculture which systemized the use of chemicals, winemakers explored ways to maintain a natural balance between plants, soil and environment, while taking into account the influence of celestial and terrestrial forces. Demeter and Biodyvin are the regulatory and certificatory organizations. A branch of organic production that develops ‘natural wines’, that is to say, with no additives. These wines are, by definition, more fragile and more sensitive (to temperature variations, for example) than others.
It is nonetheless reassuring to know that wine responds to such criteria and that one third of French people consume organic wines regularly. This proportion is still increasing. The winegrowing areas cultivated organically represent nearly 8% of the vineyards in France. If organic criteria are very important for us, so it is essential that the wine is above all good. In the forthcoming trade show ‘Millésime Bio’, there is plenty to choose from. There are some exceptionally charming gems. First is the wine of Borie la Vitarèle, a Saint-Chinian appellation. Jean-François Izarn, who has been cultivating his 18 hectares bio-dynamically since 1998, in one of the pioneers of organic production. The vintage Les Schistes, a blend of grenache, syrah and carignan, is a superb silky wine with powerful aromas of dark fruits and the garrigue. Precise wine making methods, balanced, generous and velvety wines are the mark of this domaine. Happiness in a bottle.
From the Corbières area are the wines of Château la Baronne which we are particularly fond of. At the foot of the massif de l’Alariac, the Lignères family produces elegant and refined wines such as this 100% mourvèdre, Las Vals, with its beautiful complex and heady aromas. The Lignère family is from several generations of doctors, who have also been winegrowers for the same amount of time; proof, if one needs it, that wine and health can go hand in hand. All of their wines are superb: the vintage Pièce de Roche comes from one of the oldest carignan plots in the whole of the Languedoc, dating from 1892. This excellent wine reflects the vast richness of a land still so unknown and bears a part of the history of viticulture in the Midi.
These wines and winemakers embody true harmony: land, cultivation methods, wine making and lifestyle concur. Everything is in place. It is part of this serenity, so rare in the bustle of daily life, which they share through their knowledge and their wines. Food for the soul.
Address Book:
Borie la Vitarèle, 34490 Causses-et-Veyran, tel. 04 67 89 50 43
Château la Baronne, Fontcouvete, tel. 04 68 43 90 20
Wines on line: www.languedocwineshop.com – tel. 04 68 20 12 42
What makes a wine taste the way it does?
Have you ever wondered what it is that makes a wine taste the way it does? It is after all extraordinary that grapes can produce so many different flavours. There is no other fruit with quite that flavour range.
Essentially the taste of wine is determined by four factors. The grape variety or blend of grape varieties is just one of the four. There are well over 1000 different grape varieties used for wine growing – if you want an exact figure, the definitive book on grape varieties gives 1368 different grapes, and the authors recognise that the list is incomplete. And of those, the red appellations of the Hérault use just five, namely Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Carignan and Cinsaut.
You then have to consider the soil, or what the French call terroir, which includes not just dirt, but also factors such as altitude and aspect. Grapes on a south-east facing slope will taste quite different from those ripened on a north facing slope. And a higher altitude will make for cooler conditions. As for soil itself, that of the Languedoc is quite varied. Faugères is grown on schist; as is Cabrières. St. Chinian also has clay and limestone. Near Pézenas you find basalt, and galets roulées. There are umpteen permutations.
Climate is very significant. The same grape variety grown in contrasting weather conditions will taste quite different. Chardonnay grown in Chablis and Chardonnay grown in the Languedoc are worlds apart. The warm sunny conditions of the Hérault make for ripe grapes most years, but none the less there are annual variations, which add to the interest. Rainfall or lack of it may be an issue, as is hail. Some years, such as 2013, the harvest is later than others,
And finally there is the human hand. The winemaker is presented with numerous choices in both vineyard and cellar. Any serious wine grower will tell you that it is their work in the vineyard that is the most important. Care in the vineyard will give you excellent grapes, and then, they say, the winemaking is easy. Maybe. But there are also choices in the cellar. Many of the Languedoc wines are blends and it is the wine grower who determines the precise proportions of the blend, depending on their taste buds. They can also decide how long to leave the grape juice on the skins; and whether to age the wine in oak barrels, and if so, what size of oak barrels. A talented wine grower can make something great in a difficult vintage, and a heavy hand can spoil good grapes. For that reason, I find my decision of what to drink depends more often on who made the wine, rather than where it comes from. So here are a couple of cheerful reds for winter days from a couple of my current favourite wine growers.
2010 Domaine des Trinités, Faugères Le Portail - 6.50€
This is a classic Faugères blend of 65% Syrah, 10% Mourvèdre and Grenache 25%. Medium depth of colour, and on the nose, lots of black fruit, with rounded ripe spicy notes. A medium weight palate, with ripe, silky fruit. Soft tannins, and a touch of pepper with a fresh elegant finish. Just the thing for a winter’s evening with a warming casserole.
2012 Domaine des Deux Rocs Rouge, Cabrières - 7.90€
This is a new estate in Cabrières, run by Jean-Claude Zabalia, who used to make the wine at Château St. Martin de la Garrigue. And now he is doing his own thing, with 2012 his first vintage. You can find his wines in a welcoming shop in the old town of Pézenas, at 10 rue de la Foire. This is a blend of 60% Syrah and 40% Grenache, aged in vat rather than barrel. There is some dry peppery fruit on the nose and the palate is ripe with supple tannins and a fresh finish. There is some very appealing spice, with lots of nuances and a satisfying finish. A lovely glass of wine.
Rosemary George M.W/ / December 2013
Rosemary George was lured into the wine trade by a glass of the Wine Society’s champagne at a job interview and subsequently became one of the first women to become a Master of Wine, back in 1979. She has been a freelance wine writer since 1981 and is the author of eleven books. She also contributes to various magazines and writes a blog on the Languedoc:
JANUARY
JANUARY
The wine of obliteration and the
wines of remembrance
There are sad wines and there are joyous wines; those from 1914 are the colour of blood and mourning. By way of exception, this month is a somewhat somber column which evokes the bitter wine of the war. The current commemorations of 14-18 bring to mind the dreadful images of the trenches and the miserable life of millions of soldiers, the historic tragedy of a sacrificed generation. The jargon derisively describes in a desperate humour the daily life of the ‘poilus’ (the French soldiers of WWI): those men imprisoned in the mud, cold and rain, the lice and the vermin, where death was ever present. Only a bad wine known as ‘pinard’, diluted with water and bromide could have emerged from the muddy trenches of Artois and Argonne. The daily rationed quart of August 1914 had doubled by 1916. 12 million hectoliters (1.2b litres) were drunk on the front in 1917. At the moment of an attack, the water of life, ‘gnole’ (hooch), would be generously distributed[1]. But it was above all behind the lines that wine was consumed. Much to the chagrin of the second lieutenant the soldiers resting in the second line were so intoxicated: “For five days all of my heroes have been drunk, they run to the neighbouring villages, nicking wine, falling into ditches, losing themselves there until they’re awarded their war medals,” writes Henri Jacquelin, a professor in civilian life; whilst philosopher André Bridoux[2] states, “A man, just like a bag, only stands up when he is full.” L’Assommation or alcoholic drinking places. Inebriation was not a social marker and equally affected the officers, as artisan Louis Barthas came to experience.[1] Gilbert Garrier, Histoire culturelle du vin, Larousse, 1998, p. 362 onwards.[2] Nicolas Morot, Tous unis dans la tranchée ? Seuil, 2013.eshop.com – tel. 04 68 20 12 42
[1] Gilbert Garrier, Histoire culturelle du vin, Larousse, 1998, p. 362 onwards.
[1] Nicolas Morot, Tous unis dans la tranchée ? Seuil, 2013.
In the countryside, women replaced the men who had been mobilized to work in the vines. Children left school early to “help with the ‘bêchage’, ‘soufrage’ and ‘sulfatage’ and all other jobs relating to work in the vineyards,” writes a school child from Sainte-Valière, north of Narbonne[1]. One of the truest accounts of the daily life of the ‘poilus’ is that of Louis Barthas, a cooper by trade from Peyrac-Minervois. In autumn 1917 he set out again after home leave with a heavy heart: “From the train station I could see once again all of my people harvesting the grapes in a near corner of the vineyard, and I asked myself if next year I’d be able to join them, stay here, this horrific war over, to relieve my elderly father from this harsh work.[2]” The country men who made up the 196e Regiment remained nostalgic for Minervois and Olonzac, the ‘land of good wine’.
In direct contrast to ‘pinard’, the unique virtue of which was the alcohol volume, the ‘wines of remembrance’ embody culture and know-how, transmitting the joy of good, well-made, well-drunk wine. They pay homage to times past, to the varieties planted and techniques used by those before. Clos Centeilles, in Siran, prioritises forgotten grape varieties. The C of Centeilles is a red wine comprising Piquepoul, Riverenc, Morastel and Œillade. It possesses aromas of red fruits (raspberry and morello cherry) with a hint of licorice. At Félines-Minervois, the Grenaches of Borie de Maurel are among the oldest appellations: the ancient twisted vines yield a marvelous juice which enchants the taste buds. Belle de Nuit is a superb vintage, honest, balanced and wonderfully seductive. Further south, on the hillside terraces of Banyuls overlooking the Mediterranean, classed as a world heritage site by Unesco, the Domaine de la Tour Vieille produces a rare wine using a little known tradition: a dry white, made from white Grenache picked at the peak of its maturity, then left to slowly ferment in oak barrels, with periodic topping up to avoid excessive oxidisation (known as élevage d’abandon). The vintage Mémoire d’automne pays homage to past practices when a portion of the grapes were removed before the remainder from the harvest. A surprising wine, atypical, it has aromas of shells and stones of nuts and dried fruit. As an aperitif, with anchovy toasts or ripened cheeses, it takes one on a journey in time. For a sweeter experience that pairs well with a dessert of fruits or frangipane is Solera from the Domaine des Schistes. Solera is a sweet wine, produced in an oxidative atmosphere, which contains many vintages: the oldest being 20 years. Every year a quantity of the new harvest is added. It is therefore a wine which perpetually links the years. The notes of dried fruit with characteristics of tobacco and honey from the old Rivesaltes make this a wine of meditation.
One hundred years after the Great War, these wines of Languedoc-Roussillon, while fulfilling the pacifist hopes of Louis Barthas and the soldiers of 14-18, continue to connect people and refined conversation between cultures.
[1] Rémy Cazals dir. Années cruelles, Atelier du gué, 1983
[2] Les Carnets de guerre de Louis Barthas tonnelier, 1914-1918, éd. La découverte/Poche, rééd. 2014.
Carnet d’adresses :
Clos Centeilles, Siran, www.closcenteilles.com
Borie de Maurel, Félines Minervois, tel. www.boriedemaurel.fr
Domaine de la Tour Vieille, Collioure, tel. 04 68 82 44 82
Domaine des Schistes, Estagel, www.domaine-des-schistes.com
L’Atelier des Vignerons, 2 place de la République, 11300 Limoux, 04 68 20 12 42 (ouvert 7 jours sur 7)
Boutique en ligne : www.languedocwineshop.com
FEBRUARY
MARCH
An overview of Terrasses du Larzac:
Twenty years ago we had never heard of the Terrasses du Larzac, but these days it is an area that is growing in interest, from both wine growers and consumers.
Essentially it covers the vineyards from the village of Octon and the lac de Salagou, going towards Aniane and the Pic St. Loup and includes Montpeyroux and St. Saturnin.
These are some of the most northern vineyards of the Languedoc, with some of the highest altitudes, at 350 – 450 metres, so that the temperatures are cooler, and the wines much fresher than those from vineyards closer to the coast.
Terrasses du Larzac first appeared on a label, for red wine only, as part of the extensive appellation of the Coteaux du Languedoc for the 2005 vintage, and included wines from 2004 retrospectively. And now it is in line for Cru du Languedoc status, as part of the repositioning of the Languedoc appellations.
This is another area that is attracting newcomers to the Languedoc. Vineyard land is affordable; old vines are available and many are those who aspire to the challenge of creating a reputation from nothing, rather than taking over a well-established estate. There is a sense among the younger generation of wine growers that anything is possible.
Take Sébastien and Béatrice Fillon at Clos des Serres in the little village of St. Jean de la Blaquière. They looked long and hard throughout the Languedoc before settling here.
Gavin Crisfield was the winemaker at La Sauvageonne, also in St. Jean de la Blaquière, and has now bought vineyards of his own, and moved to the even more isolated village of les Salses. He is pushing the boundaries with La Traversée.
Julien and Delphine Zernott came south from the Loire appellation of Menetou Salon to establish Domaine du Pas d’Escalette in the village of Pégairolles.
In St. Saturnin Virgile Joly was the first new independent wine grower for fifty years, and in Montpeyroux, which was once dominated by its cooperative, there are now a growing number of small producers, such Mas d’Amile and Villa Dondona.
You will find spicy flavours from the five classic varieties of the south, but with the cooler climate, there should always be an underlying freshness and perfume, that makes for appealing drinking. And two great occasions to taste the wines are at the ballade vigneronne of the Terrasses du Larzac and at the annual wine tasting in Aniane, both held on weekends.
But meanwhile here are a couple of recommendations:
2012 La Blaca, Le Clos du Serres. A blend of 70% Syrah with 15% each of Grenache Noir and Carignan. A smoky nose and on the palate some perfumed fruit with a touch of vanilla and a streak of tannin.
To age or keep. I also like their less expensive red wine, Le Clos, which is simple Languedoc AC, again with some ripe spicy fruit.
2011 Les Clapas, Domaine du Pas de l’Escalette - 13.60€.
Old Grenache and Carignan, with a little Cinsaut and Syrah. Part of the Carignan is aged in wood. Quite a firm closed nose. Some spicy nose. Some structure, some elegance, smoky and long.
Rosemary George M.W/ / December 2013
FEBRUARY
MARCH
April 2014
April 2014
The Soul of Wine
The tasting of a wine necessitates the use of three senses: firstly visual, followed by smell and finally taste. Smell is the richest of the senses: a trained professional can recognize up to 10 000 different fragrances. It is the sense most intimately linked to memory and language. The description of the aromas of a wine uses an evocative or comparative vocabulary: pepper, blackberry, humus, liquorice, chocolate… an impressionistic description to try to communicate the profile of a wine. This sensual intimacy and the fact that it can never be totally encapsulated explains the long relationship of wine with the arts. A 5000 year old engraved stone shows the royal couple of Ur celebrating a victory, a cup in hand. If drawing, sculpture and literature evoke wine, it is music, destined for a sensory organ useless for the tasting of wine, which is the closest to it.
Linked to the joy of being together, to solemn or lighthearted celebration, wine and song go hand in hand with opera or in the guardhouses. Wine cements friendships and lovers and veils traitors. In Les Huguenots by Meyerbeer, a glass of wine from the Loire temporarily seals the friendship between Catholics and Protestants. Berlioz, in Damnation de Faust, describes two cardinal emotions: joy and nostalgia: “Buvons, trinquons et qu’un joyeux refrain nous mette en train! » sing the students seated at the cabaret Dieu Bacchus. Magueritte, who begins the poignant and superb song about nostalgia:
Il était un roi de Thulé
Qui, jusqu'à la tombe fidèle,
Eut, en souvenir de sa belle,
Une coupe en or ciselé ! ...
(…)
Nul trésor n'avait tant de charmes !
Dans les grands jours il s'en servait,
Et chaque fois qu'il y buvait,
Ses yeux se remplissaient de larmes !
Just think of the intimate link between music and wine as something fleeting: the ephemeral and marvelous moment of the harmony of one note or aroma which touches our core. Michel Onfray describes it thus: “The time for wine is also the time for music, transitory and destined to bear into the soul leaving traces, memories and accounts”. Is the research carried out by a Bordeaux château - the Château Palmer – what inspired internationally acclaimed jazz drummer Daniel Humair to go to such lengths to interpret in music the 2013 vintage? But what is it really about? To talk about a great wine through music? To find a correlation between the language of music and of wine? Does the emotion of listening resemble that of the taste buds?
In the wine growing regions, music, in all its forms, is a way of celebrating wine. At the heart of a land renowned for its wine and for its sparkling wine, Limoux is a town where music has an important role. Popular, the music of the carnival resounds over 3 months in the centre. Then begins the festival season. Every last weekend of April, jazz is honoured through the Cuivrée Spéciale (Festival of Brass Bands). Internationally acclaimed artists perform there in a friendly atmosphere. This year, the Australian trumpeter James Morrison is heading the festival. Wine is also honoured there: the cave of Anne de Joyeuse et Antech is the sponsor and has baptized its vintages with musical names, Social Club, Emotion, to be sampled during the intervals. This is an opportunity to revisit, with wines, an extract from French writer Joris-Karl Huysmans, ‘A Rebours’ (‘Against Nature’), dedicated to the character of liqueur and brass instruments:
“Indeed, each liqueur corresponded, so he held, with the sound of a particular instrument. Dry curaçao, for example, was like the clarinet with its shrill, velvety note: kummel like the oboe, whose timbre is sonorous and nasal; crème de menthe and anisette like the flute, at one and the same time sweet and poignant, whining and soft. Then, to complete the orchestra, comes kirsch, blowing a wild trumpet blast; gin and whisky, deafening the palate with their harsh outbursts of comets and trombones; liqueur brandy, blaring with the overwhelming crash of the tubas, while the thunder pearl of the cymbals and the big drum, beaten might and main, are reproduced by the rakis of the Chios and the mastics.” (translated by Robert Baldick)
Finally, wine is not without a voice. From the time of pruning during the cold winter days, every wine grower I know tells me “talk to the bare stumps” as a way to describe the observation of the tendrils, the attention he gives them, the waiting, between each annual meeting, and the silent secrets. In September, in the barrels, the fermenting wine murmurs and sings… cultivating the vine is after all a dialogue between man and nature from where emotion is born. We have looked for vintages which more obviously than others demonstrate the link between wine and music. Firstly, the Cuvée Allégro from Domaine Ollier-Taillefer in Faugères. In an area known particularly for its red wines, this lively, fresh wine is, according to Françoise Ollier, taken from the gaiety of a bossa nova. The grape varieties Roussanne and Vermentino, samba and jazz, blend together in an accord of floral and white-fleshed fruit notes. Next, Coté Cabardès, the ‘Blue Note’ of Domaine de Cabrol, has seduced us. It is a wine born from jazzy notes floating out of a barge moored on the L’lll quay at Strasbourg. Fruity, rounded and informal, perfect for addressing the night and infinite conversations, this young wine from the Domaine de Cabrol is an unrepentant party-animal that has trouble staying still. We love it also for that: its unpredictability.
Last February 19th, two Audois parliamentarians, Roland Courteau and Marcel Rainaud, had a decisive sentence written into the bill on agricultural modernisation: “Wine and vineyards form an important part of the cultural, gastronomic and landscape of France”. Indeed, along with the arts, drunk with discernment does wine not enchant the soul, making us sometimes forget and sometimes feel the ephemeral nature of time?
Address Book:
Domaine Ollier-Taillefer, 34 320 Fos, 04-67-90-24-59
Domaine de Cabrol, 11600 Aragon, 04 68 77 19 06
Anne de Joyeuse, 11300 Limoux, 04 68 74 79 40
Antech, 11300 Limoux, 04 68 31 15 88
L’Atelier des Vignerons – 2 place de la République – 11300 Limoux (04 68 20 12 42) – www.languedocwineshop.com
Vinisud and the 2013 vintage:
The bi-annual wine fair, Vinisud, which takes place in Montpellier, is a brilliant showcase of for the viticulture wealth of the Mediterranean. I remember the very first Vinisud, back in 1994 when it filled just one hall of the exhibition centre. These days there are eight bulging halls, and it covers the wines of all the countries of the Mediterranean, as well as places such as South West France and parts of Spain that do not have a Mediterranean seaboard. If time permitted, you could explore Crete, the Lebanon, Portugal and Morocco as well as most of Italy and Spain. However, it really does concentrate on Languedoc-Roussillon, and also Provence, and that is where I stayed, revisiting old friends and making some new discoveries.
Amongst the new discoveries I include Domaine de Fabrègues in Aspiran with some rich flavoursome red wines. In Pic St. Loup there was Bergerie du Capucin, with a delicious red Dame Jeanne 2012, with some rounded fruit. Guilhem Viau is also very enthusiastic about the white wines of Pic St. Loup and he makes three, Les Cents Pas, Chardonnay, which is light and fresh and Les Cents Pas Viognier which is ripe and peachy, while his Pays du Val de Montferrand is a blend of the two varieties, with a little more depth. And among the old friends was an elegant Pinot Noir from Domaine Mouscaillo in Limoux. Pierre and Marie-Claire Fort have just clocked up ten years of wine making. Patricia Domergue was showing a range of older vintages of Clos Centeilles, showing just how well the Minervois can age. And I enjoyed more recent vintages from Château la Baronne in the Corbières.
Paul Lignières echoed the sentiments of most of the vignerons of the Languedoc when he enthused about the 2013 vintage. It may not have been the easiest of vintages; the spring was slow to come and the weather during flowering was not ideal, resulting in coulure for the Grenache, when the berries do not develop properly, resulting in a much smaller crop than usual. Also the harvest was much later than usual, entailing some nail-biting about the weather – would it hold, or would it not? And it did. The 2013s that I tasted at the fair were mostly vat and barrel samples, that were about to be bottled. And generally the wines were showing delicious fruit with supple tannins. Domaine de Familongue in St. André de Sangonis had a lovely pair of Cinsaut and Carignan. The Cinsaut has fresh cherry fruit, with a touch of spice and the Carignan is a touch more solid with some red berry fruit. Gavin Crisfield’s 2013 La Traversée Cinsaut is to die for, and virtually sold out before bottling. The St. Georges d’Orques stand, with a group of twelve wine growers, was showing several 2013s. Domaine la Prose’s Cadières had some lovely ripe cherry fruit; Thierry Hasard’s Della Francesca was quite structured, with elegant concentration.
However, the Comité des Vin du Languedoc which works hard to promote the wines of the Languedoc is very aware that the Languedoc risks being tarred by the bad 2013 vintage of more prestigious areas such as Bordeaux, Burgundy and the Rhone Valley. These are regions where the weather really was not kind in 2103, resulting in severe problems of rain, rot and hail. So the CIVL has produced an eye-catching badge saying: Millésime 2013 en Languedoc - 320 jours de soleil comme nulle part ailleurs! Please spread the word said my friend Christine, from the CIVL, so I am.
Rosemary George M.W