Terre des Chardons - a very exciting discovery

I first read about the wines of Terre des Chardons in an article by Richard James, one of the more unheralded Languedoc-Roussillon specialist writers and bloggers. It was only a week or so before I was due to go on holiday, but Richard's impressions of the wines (especially as he doesn't dish out praise lightly) had me all excited and determined to try and organise a visit. A quick Google, followed by a couple of emails to owner and winemaker Jerome Chardon did the trick and so, on the way to our holiday base in deepest Languedoc, we made the detour to Bellegarde, in the most south-easterly corner of the Costières de Nimes region. As is often the case, it took a bit of finding, being a couple of kilometres down a series of narrow, winding roads, with a mix of dirt and tarmac. As the crow flies, it is only a few hundred metres from the autoroute. In practice, it is one of those sort of places that feels like miles from anywhere, so isolated and tranquil is it. And I am so glad we made the visit, for it turned out to be a very rewarding journey of discovery.

Jerome Chardon

The Chardon family moved from Touraine (in the Loire Valley) to Bellegarde in the early 1980's, where they bought some land and began farming fruits such as apricots and cherries and vegetables, converting to organic farming a few years later. When their son Jerome graduated from his studies in agronomy in 1993, he moved to the estate to assist his parents. At the same time, he planted vineyards with Syrah and Grenache, and also bought an established vineyard planted with Clairette (the local white variety). Because much of Jerome's time was still devoted to the fruit and vegetable side of things, he employed the services of a certain lady by the name of Julie Balagny to manage the winery, which she did for the next 4 years. I have it on good authority - from more than one source - that Julie is now making big waves (and great wines) in Fleurie. I mention this because, by complete coincidence, I had had it in mind to arrange a visit with Julie earlier in the day, on our way down through southern Burgundy, but my (probably misplaced) perception of her fearsome reputation, and the fact that she probably wouldn't have any wine left to sell, dissuaded me. I must remedy that some time, because her wines sound wonderful! Suffice to say that Julie's passion for biodynamic viticulture rubbed off on Jerome Chardon, for the estate has for many years now been certified as both organic and biodynamic. 

Jerome Chardon is a gentle, unassuming man, with a clear passion not just for organic and biodynamic viticulture, but for the whole ethos of sustainable farming and respect for tradition. This even extends to the winery, which Jerome built himself next to the farmhouse, from natural materials. The walls are made from the same stone that was used by the Romans to build the nearby Pont du Gard. Each one is 2.1m wide, 0.9m high and 0.6m thick and weighs a whopping 2.5 tons! The roof structure consists of untreated oak beams and rafters, traditional baked earth tiles and 8cm thick cork insulation. The result is an extremely functional and cool yet really rather beautiful chai. The tasting table is actually a huge (and very ancient) grape press, which was rescued from a Burgundy grower who was about to send it to the tip.

The cellar - note the "bricks", weighing 2.5 tons each!

The idyllic setting of the Chardon farmhouse, with the winery on the right

The 9 hectares of vineyards (2 ha of Clairette, 4.3 ha of Syrah and 2.1 ha of Grenache) surround the property, along with fruit and olive trees. The soil consists of the same sort of siliceous rocks that are the hallmark of the Costières de Nimes region, and of course Chateauneuf du Pape, a few kilometres up-river, whilst the vines are trained on wire trellises, in order to facilitate good air circulation. No chemicals (apart from the occasional treatment with a very weak "Bordeaux mix") are used in the vineyards, the only regular treatments being completely natural herbal and biodynamic sprays and soil treatments, plus shallow tilling to keep weeds to a manageable level (with a flock of sheep doing their bit for the cause through the winter!). Similarly, no chemicals are used in the winery, save of course for a little SO2 at the fermentation and bottling stages. The grapes are de-stemmed and some parcels fermented traditionally, whilst others go through a sort of semi-carbonic maceration, depending on the style required from each parcel. Fermentation is entirely reliant on the naturally-occurring indigenous yeasts. Picking, racking and bottling are all carried out in accordance with the phases of the moon. Rather importantly (in fact crucially, in my opinion) the wines are all aged in vat - the only oak barrels in sight are old and purely ornamental. Which - biodynamic practices aside - is one of the main reasons why the wines all taste so alive and "un-mucked-about-with" - as you will gather from my rather enthusiastic tasting notes!

These vines are in extremely rude health!

Olive groves are also a feature of the estate, not to mention some majestic cedars and cypresses

Jerome makes 3 different dry red cuvées, a rosé, two dry whites (a "regular" Clairette and a "reserve") and also a late-harvested sweet Clairette. We didn't taste the reserve Clairette or the sweet wine (we have more than enough of those to be going on with). Apart from the Clairette, all are from the 2012 vintage (the Clairette may be slow to shift, but the reds obviously fly out of the door). All of these wines came in last week, so are available for you to buy. So what do they taste like.........? 

Clairette de Bellegarde 2010 

100% Clairette, harvested at just 35 hl/ha (between 6 and 8 bunches per vine). Pale straw colour. The nose is smoky, herby and spicy at the same time, with notes of over-ripe apples, apricot and lime marmalade. The palate is quite rich, even gently oily in texture, nicely fruity in a lemon and lime sort of way, with a rich seam of herbs and spices and even a touch of grape tannin, which leads to a long, tangy finish. It is considerably complex and concentrated, and whilst the acidity isn't high, it is a match for many an expensive southern Rhône white and really does come into its own with food. 13.5% abv. 

Rosée d'Été 2012

70% Grenache, 30% Syrah. A delightful pale copper/pink colour, offering aromas of ripe red fruits, peach, apple and orange blossom and an intriguing touch of florality and smokiness. The palate is soft, almost creamy, medium-rich, with loads of summer fruit flavours, shot through with garrigue herbs and a gentle spiciness, cracking acidity and a long finish. This is serious rosé, not cheap, but definitely on a par with many of the more expensive Provence rosés (Bandol included). Lovely stuff! 12.5% abv. 

Bien Luné 2012 Costières de Nimes 

50% Syrah, 50% Grenache. This is so fresh, so intensely aromatic - it simply reeks of violets and lilies, damsons and cassis. Indeed, if you didn't know better, you'd be forgiven for thinking you were in the northern Rhône! The palate is one of real contradictions - wonderfully fresh, elegant and airy, but at the same time intense, concentrated and considerably complex. A core of ripe, tangy red berry fruits, black cherry, a lick of blackcurrant and a gentle herbaceous streak, married to ripe tannins and mouth-watering acidity, make for something really rather special. When I first tasted this wine, I was amazed to find that it contained any Grenache at all, for it smells and tastes for all the world like a pure Syrah from Crozes-Hermitage or even Hermitage - it really is that good. I was also pleasantly surprised to hear that it spends no time in oak whatsoever - indeed, none of the wines from this estate do - which allows the fruit to express itself to the full. And the best thing about it is that it is so good to drink now, despite its obvious age-worthiness. Wonderful wine. 12.5% abv. 

Marginal 2012 Costières de Nimes

80% Syrah, 20% Grenache. Initially a touch closed, with dark, smoky, mineral, citrus peel and tobacco notes. It opens-out nicely after a few minutes, revealing complex aromas of cassis, raspberry, cherry, black olive and lilies. As with its "Bien Luné" sibling above, it manages to be both delicate and light on its feet, yet possessed of a core of rich, concentrated black fruits and soft citrus, with subtle flavours of tapenade, garrigue herbs and warm curry spices (perhaps courtesy of the Grenache element, which shows a little more in this cuvée). Once again, the velvety tannins and ample acidity combine with all of that wonderful fruit (and no oak, remember) to give real definition and focus, all the way through to a very long finish. Another superb wine, from one of the star estates of the future. Voted the best Languedoc red at the 2013 "Signature Bio" competition. 12.5% abv. 

Chardon Marie 2012 Costières de Nimes

100% Syrah. This is the estate's top red wine, named in honour of winemaker Jerome Chardon's grandmother, Marie (Chardon-Marie is also the French name for milk thistle, hence the label design and the play on words). It comes from the best parcel of Syrah vines - and it shows. The nose simply reeks of all manner of red and dark fruits, especially raspberry, blackcurrant and red cherry, with complex floral and savoury undertones such as violets, black olive tapenade and just a hint of meat/leather. There's no oak, remember, but a wine as good as this doesn't need oak. It is so clean, so fresh, so full of life and youthful vigour, with a palate crammed full of concentrated fruit and herb flavours. There's an intriguing touch of saline minerality, countered by a cool, almost minty quality, whilst velvet tannins and a rasp of gloriously prickly acidity make for a supremely balanced and deceptively elegant wine. The finish is delightfully sweet and sour - and very long. This is very much in the Northern Rhone style of winemaking (with a nod to the elegance of the Côtes de Nuits) and, whilst unbelievably good to drink already, has the capacity to age and evolve into something even more beautiful, over the next 5 to 10 years. A very special wine, which (for me) sets a new benchmark for the appellation. 13.5% abv.

So there you have it - a brilliant grower, and brilliant wines. Indeed, the reds are a real eye-opener, and redefine for me what is possible in this little corner of south-east Languedoc. In fact, not only do they set a new benchmark for the Costières de Nimes appellation, they are simply some of the best Languedoc Syrah-based wines I have ever tasted. Trust me - they are that good!

Update - June 2020
The latest vintages from Terre des Chardons are available to buy via our new website, by clicking the following link;
https://www.leonstolarskiwines.co.uk/terre-des-chardons-bellegarde-biodynamic-c102x3788241
                                                 

Delicious Southern Rhône warmth in a glass

Well, technically, Costières de Nîmes isn't actually in the Southern Rhône, it is in the Languedoc. But geographically, it is pretty close and the wines are stylistically even closer - for my money, at least. The Costières de Nîmes are situated on a large, low-lying plateau, between the city of Nîmes and the west bank of the Rhône. Just to the south lies the Carmargue and the Mediterranean, and the climate is therefore extremely pleasant. The large stones or "galets roulés", which are a feature of the soil in this region, were washed down the Rhône valley from the Alps in prehistoric times, and the terroir is therefore very similar to Chateauneuf du Pape (a little further up the valley). And the resulting wines can often bear a more than favourable resemblance to decent Chateauneuf (despite often being more Syrah than Grenache-dominated), though without the hefty price tag - and this is a fine example......

Domaine de Calet Long Terme 2008 Costières de Nîmes

85% Syrah and 15% Grenache. A complex array of aromas, with bramble and casssis, raisins steeped in eau de vie, polished old wood and forest floor. It manages to be at the same time spicy (cinnamon and clove), citrussy (some lovely orange peel notes) and savoury, with some enticing tobacco and cedar notes lurking in the background. It really is a nose that many more fancy Southern Rhône wines would kill for. The palate is still relatively primary, but all the components are beginning to knit together nicely, with an abundance of rich, brambly fruit, a touch of bitter cherry kernel and spice, fine, grippy tannins and a streak of citrussy acidity. All of which makes for a beautifully balanced wine, with a gently warming touch of eau de vie and spice on the finish. It really is a joy to drink now (even more so than I was expecting) but also has the structure to age and evolve into something quite special over the next 5 to 8 years. A glorious wine for the money (£11.30).  

The Outsiders (Part 4) - Domaine de Calet and Domaine de Cébène

This is the final instalment of my write-up from last week's Outsiders tasting in London, featuring two more growers whose wines impressed me greatly. 

Anna-Lena and Yvon Gentes - Domaine de Calet, Beauvoisin

Website - www.domaine-de-calet.com/

Anna-Lena and Yvon Gentes spent 30 years in Anna's native Sweden - Anna-Lena was a nursery teacher, whilst Yvon was a major player in the Swedish seafood industry. In 1999, they bought a run-down 30 hectare wine estate on the fringes of the Camargue, in the Costières de Nîmes. I almost didn't get around to sampling their wines, as time was fast running out, but I am mighty glad that I did so, as they are producing some really excellent wines, made with the minimum intervention and careful (i.e. minimal) use of sulphites. They received organic certification 2 years ago and are currently in conversion to full biodynamic status.

Domaine de Calet Long Terme 2008 Costières de Nîmes
75% Syrah and 25% Grenache. 20% of the blend spends time in 2 year-old oak barrels. The nose is lovely - very perfumed and clearly dominated by Syrah. In fact, there's even a hint of the Northern Rhône about it, with flowers, spice and savoury making for a wine of surprising complextity (given the relatively low price). And the palate certainly lives up to its promise, with a hint of oak influence, but dominated by rich, expressive, spicy fruit, whilst remaining very elegant. If only most Côtes du Rhône was half as good. A really lovely wine!

Domaine de Calet Grand Mas 2007 Costières de Nîmes
85% Syrah and 15% Grenache. Quite a similar wine to the Long Terme, again with an amazing Northern Rhône-like Syrah nose. The palate is again rich, but soft, velvety, ripe, and chock full of wild strawberry, bramble and plum flavours, whilst managing to remain beautifully elegant. Another lovely wine.

Domaine de Calet La Tournerie 2007 Costières de Nîmes
85% Grenache, 15% Syrah, aged for between 12 and 15 months in oak barrels. This has only just been bottled and is currently a little dominated by the oak, but it is very skilfully done, and there is so much fruit lurking in there, with abundent bramble and cassis flavours, complemented by garrigue herbs and soft spices. Quite a big wine, but very long in the mouth and showing huge potential for medium to long-term ageing.

Domaine de Calet Travers du Rey 2005 Costières de Nîmes
100% Syrah, from yields of just 20 hl/ha, aged for 18 months in new oak barrels. I must admit I found this quite hard to taste, since the oak is still very dominant. There is undoubtedly an enormous amount of fruit underneath the oak, but I feel it needs a good few years to really start to express itself. Given my experience of the other wines, I wouldn't be surprised if this turned out to be a really fabulous wine in 5 to 10 years, but it is currently a bit "international" in style, for my palate.

Brigitte Chevalier - Domaine de Cébène, Caussiniojouls

Website - www.cebene.fr/english.htm

The delightful Brigitte Chevalier needs no introduction to regular readers of my blog, nor to those of my customers who have been lucky (or canny) enough to have tasted her wines. I have written about Brigitte a couple of times already this year, once as part of my Vinisud report and again in June, when I visted her cave in Caussiniojouls, deep in the heart of the Faugères region. I tasted the following 3 wines in June, whilst they were still resting in cuves, prior to being bottled, but I lost my notes. I didn't actually taste them on the day of the Outsiders tasting (knowing that I would soon be taking delivery of a range of wines from Brigitte very soon anyway) but took the bottles of Ex Arena, Bancels and Felgaria back home with me to taste. Even then, I didn’t actually taste them and write my notes until a few days ago – and they still tasted wonderful, even after being open for up to 5 days!

Domaine de Cébène Ex Arena 2009 Vin de Pays d'Oc
Grenache and Mourvedre, from sand-based terroir in Corneilhan, just north of Béziers. Tasting this after being open for 2 days, it really is only just beginning to get into its stride. Lovely aromas of poached raspberry, cherry and redcurrant, with background notes of leather, sandalwood and eau de vie. There are also enticing notes of fresh bread, spices and garrigue - so complex! The palate has layer upon layer of red and black fruit flavours, with hints of soft citrus and peel, with a touch of nicely integrated oak. It has power, but without too much weight or extraction, grippy but fine tannins and a decent backbone of acidity. It is a really lovely wine, which probably needs 3 to 5 years to show its best - or just a couple of days' air, to help it open-out(!) Very complex, and worthy of contemplation.

Domaine de Cébène Les Bancels 2009 Faugères
50% Syrah, 35% Grenache and 15% Mourvedre, grown on schiste. This had been open for 5 days(!) and was still very fresh. Indeed, the aromas fairly leap out of the glass, which is sitting a foot away from me as I write, and I can still smell the glorious aromas of bramble, raspbery and redcurrant steeped in eau de vie, with notes of oregano and cinnamon, leather and polished wood. It is indeed a rare wine that can do that.The palate is truly expressivewith warming spice and savoury/herby flavours mingling with red and black fruits, fine tannins and excellent acidity. The result is a wine of enormous complexity, combining fruit, savoury, sweet and sour in a rich, even powerful, yet deceptively elegant, feminine wine. A fabulous wine, with great potential for development. No wonder Tim Atkin scored it 94/100!

Domaine de Cébène Felgaria 2009 Faugères
50% Mourvedre, 30% Syrah, 20% Grenache. This is Brigitte's top cuvée - deep, dark (almost opaque), brooding and even more serious than Les Bancels. Bramble and blackcurrant aromas mingled withblack cherry and seville orange. Once again, laden with herbs and exotic spices, meat and and an enticing hint of volatile acidity. There's a strong schiste/mineral streak, together with classy cedar/cigar box and an amazing freshness and vitality (again, even after several days) - another astonishingly complex wine. The palate is rich, deeply flavoured and beautifully extracted, without sacrificing its inherent freshness. The flavours are complex and full of fruit, with supple tannins and fresh, almost lemony acidity. The finish is spicy, zesty and very long. A glorious bottle of wine. It won't be cheap, at over £20, but Faugères does not get any better than this.

That's it for this year's Outsiders tasting. Well done to Louise Hurren for such a brilliantly organised event and thanks to all the growers for coming over. I do hope it will become an annual fixture, and that the Outsiders group go from strength to strength!