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!
     

The Outsiders (Part 3) - Château d'Anglès and O'Vineyards

Here's the third part of my review of the Outsiders tasting in London last week, featuring the wines of a couple more excellent growers. Part 4 will follow tomorrow.

Eric, Vianney and Arnaud Fabre - Chateau d'Anglès, Saint-Pierre la Mer, La Clape

Website - http://www.chateaudangles.com/

Following 8 years as technical director at Château Lafite Rothschild in Paulliac, Eric Fabre purchased the historic La Clape estate of Château d'Anglès in 2002. He now runs the estate with his two sons Vianney and Arnaud. Only 36 of the 80 hectares are planted to vines, the remainder being a mixture of wild garrigue and pine forest. La Clape was once a small island off the coast of Narbonne, but is now joined to the Mediterranean coastline and is effectively a small mountain (well, a hill really) reaching an altitude of around 200m (650 feet). Average temperatures are amongst the highest in France, thus providing an ideal climate for grape growing, whilst the closeness of the Mediterranean ensures the wines are imbued with a certain maritime savoury/saline quality.

Château d'Anglès Classique Blanc 2008 Languedoc La Clape

A blend of Bourboulenc, Grenache Blanc, Marsanne and Roussanne. Apricots and flowers on the nose. A rich palate, quite warming and winey, rather than obviously fruity. But the nose won me over - and I think it has more to give, with a year or two more in bottle.

Château d'Anglès Grand Vin Blanc 2007 Languedoc La Clape

Same blend, which I assume spends at least some time in oak barrels. A bready, mealy, quite oaky nose, with notes of honey, apricot and orange. The palate is rich and oaky and quite warm.

Château d'Anglès Classique Rouge 2007 Languedoc La Clape

Syrah, Mourvedre and Grenache, aged in vat. Garrigue herbs and soft, crystallised fruits on the nose, with a touch of savoury/saline. The palate is very elegant and soft, with savoury, spice and bags of fruit, complemented by fine tannins. Quite complex and long. I like it.

Château d'Anglès Grand Vin Rouge 2007 Languedoc La Clape

40% Syrah, 40% Mourvedre, plus Grenache and Carignan, aged for 10 months in a mix of new, one and two year-old barrels. Very fragrant on the nose, with soft fruits, savoury and garrigue in equal measures, with nicely softened cedary oak. Rich, but soft in the mouth, with crystallised fruits and a gentle spiciness. Quite modern, but very elegant. Lovely wine.

Ryan O'Connell - O'Vineyards, Villemoustaussou, Carcassonne

Website - http://www.ovineyards.com/

Blog - http://love-that-languedoc.com/

Ryan O'Connell, his American father Joe and French/Vietnamese mother Liz arrived France in 2005, having traded the family business building luxury homes in Florida for a more rural existence making wine in the Cabardès region. Ryan is full of infectious enthusiasm and, as well as making some very good wines, works tirelessly in promoting the wines of southern France as a whole.  His favourite toy is his flip video camera, which he uses to good effect, creating an ever-increasing number of informative and enthusiastic (and occasionally very funny) short videos, featuring visits to different growers the length and breadth of Languedoc and Roussillon, which he posts regularly on his Love That Languedoc blog. In fact, Ryan leaves no stone un-turned in using the power of the Internet to get the message across about the joys of wine as a whole, and about Languedoc and Roussillon in particular. Long may he keep blogging, Facebooking, Tweeting and generally bigging-up his adopted region!

The shy and retiring Ryan O'Connell(!)

O'Vineyards O'Syrah 2005 Vin de Pays de La Cité de Carcassone

100% Syrah. Cassis, plums and bramble, beef and spice aromas - lots of fruit, but savoury too, with notes of garrigue herbs. The palate is rich and very spicy, but the Syrah character still comes through, and it is surprisingly elegant, for such a big wine. At 5 years old, it is good to drink, but there is absolutely no hurry.

O'Vineyards Trah Lah Lah 2005 Vin de Pays de La Cité de Carcassone
65% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep, dark colour ,with a tiny rim. Again, a savoury, meaty nose, like a fruity gravy, with hints of new leather. The palate is rich with sweet fruit, still quite tannic, but with good underlying acidity. The finish is bitter-sweet. Another keeper. For me, not quite as enjoyable as the Syrah, but a good wine nonetheless.

O'Vineyards Proprietor's Reserve 2005 Cabardès
Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. There's oak, but it is nicely integrated, with plenty of rich cassis and plum fruit, leather, polished wood and spice. The palate is loaded with rich, sweet fruit flavours, but with excellent balancing acidity, something akin to a new world Claret blend. In fact, if I somebody told me it was from California, I might believe them - and that would be no mean compliment. Very nice wine!

I like the way Ryan and his father are pushing the boundaries in the somewhat unfashionable (by which I mean relatively unknown) region of Cabardès, immersing themselves totally in the French culture, whilst bringing fresh ideas and new world innovation to the winemaking process. They deserve to succeed.

Next up - Domaine de Calet and Domaine de Cébène.
       

The Outsiders (Part 2) - Domaine Jones and Hegarty Chamans

Continuing my write-up from the recent Outsiders tasting at the Maison du Languedoc-Roussillon in London, here are my notes on the wines of two more excellent growers. Once again, if you want extra information about the growers, I have added links to their websites.

Katie Jones - Domaine Jones, Tuchan

Website - http://www.domainejones.com/

Katie Jones hails from Ashby de la Zouch in Leicestershire, but worked for a good number of years as export sales and marketing director at the Mont Tauch Co-operative in Tuchan, before finally succumbing to the urge to make her own wine. Katie owns just under 3 hectares of vines near Maury, although she makes her wines (with the help of Australian winemaker David Morrison) at her cellar 25 km away in Tuchan. For this reason (not to mention the fact that it also avoids much bureaucracy and paperwork) the wines are labelled as Vins de France.

Katie Jones 

Jones Blanc 2009 Vin de France

Grenache Gris, with a splash of Muscat a Petit Grains. Grenache Gris isn't usually the most expressive or aromatic variety, but the addition of that small amount of Muscat has imbued this wine with a lovely perfume of honey, apricot and flowers. The palate is gloriously fruity, with a certain richness and gentle spiciness, but  beautifully balanced and elegant with it. Long, too. A lovely wine.

 

Jones Rouge 2009 Vin de France

100% old-vine Grenache. This has a nice light colour and another really expressive nose of fresh fruits, garrigue herbs and spice, with a hint of cigar box. The palate is a riot of bramble, raspberry and redcurrant, but with plenty of garrigue herb and spice flavours - there's a lot going on in this wine. The tannins are fine and the acidity is ample, making for a quite rich, but very elegant - even feminine - wine.

 

Jones Muscat 2009 Vin de France

I was so busy chatting away to Katie and enjoying this wine that I completely forgot to write any sort of note. But I do remember that it was deliciously aromatic, grapey and apricotty, in the way that only a Muscat can be. It is an unusual wine, in that it is neither bone dry nor fortified (the two styles most often encountered in Languedoc and Roussillon). Instead, it falls somewhere between off-dry and sweet, making for a deliciously drinkable wine, with residual sweetness balanced by plenty of orange-tinged acidity. Yum!

 

Sir John Hegarty and Philippa Crane - Hegarty Chamans, Trausse-Minervois

Website - http://www.hegartychamans.com/

Sir John Hegarty made his name as co-founder and Creative Director of advertising agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty (remember "Vorsprung duch technik" and the Levi's jeans launderette ads?). In 2002, John and his partner, New Zealander Philippa Crane, bought the 20 hectare Chamans estate. With the help of their winemaker Samuel Berger, John and Philippa are making some excellent red and white Minervois wines.

Philippa Crane and Sir John Hegarty

 

Hegarty Chamans Les Chamans Blanc 2008 Minervois

50% each of Marsanne and Roussanne. Honey, almonds and spring flowers, with nicely integrated oak. the palate is rich with fruit and considerably complex, with flavours of honey, lemon zest, peach and apricot. It manages to be both full-bodied and warmly spicy, yet very elegant. Lovely wine.

 

Hegarty Chamans Les Chamans Rouge 2007 Minervois

35% Carignan, 35% Syrah, 20% Grenache, 10% Mourvedre. Fruit - and lots of it! The palate is rich, fruity and robust, even a touch rustic, but so clean and fresh. In fact, quintessential Minervois, with lots of sweet red and black fruit flavours, nicely rustic but ripe tannins and excellent acidity. A really nice wine.

 

Hegarty Chamans Cuvée No. 1 2005 Minervois

60% Syrah, 40% Carignan. Sweet fruits on the nose, with a touch of meatiness, even funkiness. Very together and complex, with nicely integrated oak. The palate is rich and spicy, with pastilley fruit flavours and nicely resolved tannins and a soft oakiness. I like the nose more than the palate at the moment, but I think this wine will develop nicely with a few more years of bottle age.

 

Hegarty Chamans Cuvée No. 2 2008 Minervois

70% Grenache, 20% Mourvedre, 10% Cinsault. Crystallised fruits, cloves and garrigue herbs, and nicely woody, in a cigar box/cedar way. Soft, fruity and rich but again elegant. An impressive wine, which is really lovely to drink already, but will surely age well over the next 3 to 5 years.

 

Next up will be Chateau d'Angles and O'Vineyards.

      

The Outsiders - a disparate bunch of "aliens" making wine in Languedoc and Roussillon - Part 1 - Chateau Rives-Blanques and Mas Gabriel

It has been a busy week for me, hence the distinct lack of blog posts in the last few days. But I have plenty to write about in the coming days, not least of which will be lots of notes and observations from my day at the Outsiders tasting last Wednesday, at the Maison de Languedoc-Roussillon in London. The Outsiders are a group of growers, based in various corners of Languedoc and Roussillon, with one thing in common – they are all non-native to the region. A dozen growers, with origins as diverse as the UK, Ireland, Holland, Switzerland, New Zealand, Sweden, the USA and Bordeaux gathered at La Maison, to showcase their wines to the trade and media.

The Maison de Languedoc-Roussillon in Cavendish Square

Two of them I know very well, as their wines already feature very heavily on the Leon Stolarski Fine Wines list – Jonathan Hesford of Domaine Treloar and Brigitte Chevalier of Domaine de Cébène. But the rest were all pretty new to me. In fact, I hadn’t knowingly tasted any of their wines before, so this was a chance for me to discover some really good wines, from some of the region’s best up-and-coming growers in one go. There is far too much for me to publish in one post, so I’ll try and cover the event in a series of posts over the next few days. For now, here are my notes on a couple of growers whose wines impressed me very much. I’ll stick to my impressions of the wines themselves – if you want more details on the growers, I’ve added links to their own websites.

Jan & Caryl Panman – Chateau Rives-Blanques – Cepié, near Limoux

Website – http://www.rives-blanques.com/

Chateau Rives-Blanques Chardonnay du Domaine 2009(?) Vin de Pays d’Oc

This is actually Chardonnay, with 15% Chenin Blanc, aged in vats (no oak). Lemony, herby, floral nose, with a hint of pear drops. Fairly full and rich on the palate, with a zesty, limey quality. A touch of pithiness on the finish. Not my favourite style of wine, but well made, and quite long, too.

Chateau Rives-Blanques Cuvée de l’Odyssée Chardonnay 2009(?) Limoux

100% Chardonnay, fermented and aged for 6 months in oak barrels (one-third new). The nose has aromas of oak vanillin and lime oil, with herby notes. The palate is oaky, too, but with a lot of other stuff going on – lemon and lime fruit flavours with hints of spices and orange zest. Fairly rich and extracted, warm and spicy. Very promising, but needs a year or two to integrate.

Chateau Rives-Blanques Sauvageon 2009 Vin de Pays d’Oc

Sauvignon Blanc, from vines planted as recently as 2006. Sauvignon is not a variety permitted by the Limoux AOC, so this has to be labelled as a vin de pays, but it benefits from the same oak treatment as the Cuvée de l’Odyssée. And it makes for a really interesting, quirky wine. The nose is oaky and buttery, but with lots of other aromas, such as lime and mandarin, fennel, cloves and herbs. The palate is again quite oaky, but adds structure, rather than dominating, with some quite intense flavours of orange, honey, apple pie and spice. It is very long and very interesting. I want some!

Chateau Rives-Blanques Occitania Mauzac 2009 Limoux

This is 100% Mauzac, once again fermented and aged for 6 months in oak barrels. The aromas suggest very ripe/cooked apples, spices, vanilla and cream. The palate is bone dry and quite neutral (i.e. not overtly fruity) but nevertheless very “winey”, with a refreshing zestiness and minerality. Long, too.

Chateau Rives-Blanques Vintage Rosé 2007 Crémant de Limoux

Made from Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc and Pinot Noir, this is a really expressive sparkling wine, with aromas and flavours of strawberry and raspberry and a hint of sweet apple. The palate is wonderfully rich and dense, deeply fruity and spicy, soft and very approachable. A lovely wine.

Chateau Rives-Blanques Blanquette de Limoux NV

90% Mauzac, plus Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc. For a relatively low dosage (4 or 5 g/l) and recently-disgorged Blanquette, this fooled me into thinking it had some decent bottle age. Then again, it is kept for a minimum of 15 months on its lees, making for a toasty, rich, slightly yeasty wine, but full of rich, apple fruit and real mineral depth. Another really cracking sparkler.

Chateau Rives-Blanques Blanc de Blancs Crémant de Limoux NV

This was an “extra” (i.e. not on the tasting list) but I think it is a blend of Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc. My scribbled note was very brief….. “Bready, with minerals and citrus. This is really good stuff.” I guess I must have liked it!

Peter & Deborah Core – Mas Gabriel – Caux, near Pézenas

Website – http://www.mas-gabriel.co.uk/

Mas Gabriel Clos des Papillons 2009 Vin de Pays de l’Hérault

100% Carignan Blanc, from just 20 ares (less than half an acre) of old vines. Smells of apples, pears and star anise. The palate has a touch of pear to it as well, with delicate flavours and a touch of minerality. An unusual and classy wine.

Mas Gabriel Les Trois Terrasses 2009 Vin de Pays de l’Hérault

100% old vine Carignan. A very deep colour, and very Carignan on the nose – pungent aromas of bramble and polished leather, garrigue herbs and spices. The palate is enormously fruity, with concentrated (but carefully extracted) flavours of bramble and cassis, with a refreshing note of citrus. Young Carignan can sometimes be a bit tannic and rustic, but not this one. The tannins are beautifully ripe and soft, and the fruit is sweet, but focused, and countered by a delicious backbone of acidity. Long and absolutely delicious. The 2008, which I tasted afterwards, seemed richer and much more evolved – and perhaps even a touch porty, to my palate. Although it opened out a bit in the glass, it was no match for the sheer vivacity and deliciousness of the 2009.

Mas Gabriel Clos des Lièvres 2008 Coteux du Languedoc

Syrah, Grenache and Carignan. The Syrah is aged in oak demi-muids, whilst the Grenache and Carignan are aged in vat. The nose is savoury and meaty, with hints of cedar and polished mahogany. The palate is loaded with crystallised fruit and orange peel flavours, with plenty of herby, spicy notes adding further interest. The tannins are soft, and there is ample acidity. Long and very lovely. I also tasted the 2007, although my note runs to just one word…. “Gorgeous!”

Next up will be my notes on Domaine Jones and Hegarty Chamans.