Terre Inconnue - finally, they are here!

Robert Creus (pronounced "Cruise"), works for the French Chamber of Commerce. He is actually an experienced scientist, having been heavily involved in the Ariane space rocket programme. Whilst continuing in his main career, he also began making some wine in 1997, having bought some old Carignan vines. He has since added Grenache, Syrah, Serine (a northern Rhone variant of Syrah) and a little Tempranillo, all in excess of 30 years old, in several small plots near the villages of Saint-Christol, Saint-Geniès-des-Mourgues and Restinclières. One plot of Carignan is in excess of 70 years old (see the picture below). The total area under vine is just 4 hectares - and with yields of between 10 and 25 hl/ha (depending on the vineyard), it doesn't take a mathematician to work out that there isn't much wine to go around. 

The work in the vineyards throughout the growing season is minimal, aside from a certain amount of green harvesting (resulting in just 4 or 5 bunches per vine) and no treatment (organic or otherwise) are used. Robert employs a dozen or so amateurs for the grape picking, at a rate of around 1.6 tonnes per day. He says that the harvest is "sober until noon, but after that I can guarantee nothing"(!) Around 80% of the grapes are de-stemmed, and maceration/fermentation lasts for between 3 and 5 weeks. The use of sulfites is minimal, with just 5 mg per litre added before fermentation, and none thereafter. The free-run wine is then mixed with the pressed wine and placed into old oak barrels and aged for 2 years. The finished wines are then transferred to tanks for at least 2 weeks to settle, protected by nitogen, after which they are bottled without fining or filtration. Although Robert's farming and winemaking principles are essentially biodynamic, his day job dictates that he bottles when he has the time, irrespective of the prevailing atmospheric pressure or phase of the moon. 

TLD and I actually first visited Terre Inconnue in the summer of 2010. Having heard so much about the wines (and having recently tasted a 1999 Carignan, which was pretty amazing) I was very keen to taste the whole range. Unfortunately, Robert was working on the day we visited, so his father Lucien received us at his house in Saint Seriès. Although Robert makes the wines, Lucien himself has more than a little involvement in Terre Inconnue. Indeed, he no longer has room in his garage for his car, since it clearly comprises part of the Terre Inconnue wine store! Lucien is a charming old man, with a real passion for the wine, not to mention a real zest for life and a wicked sense of humour. 

Lucien Creus shows me around the vineyards in the summer of 2010

Ever since that visit in 2010, we had been trying (but for a variety of reasons failing) to secure some of these wines for our list.Fast-forward to the summer of 2013 and we were invited to a tasting of a variety of wines, including several Terre Inconnue wines, at the house of Mark Ratcliffe, a friend and associate of Robert Creus who has a house in a nearby village. 

A rather pleasant way to spend a June afternoon in the Languedoc. Incidentally, the gentleman on the right is Olivier Crouzet, who makes brilliant wines at Domaine de Foltodon. The man on the left also makes some rather delicious wines, too. I don't recall his name - only that he bears more than a passing resemblance to Paul Newman!. 

Once again, Robert's work schedule meant that he could not be at the tasting - but a flurry of correspondence with him at the beginning of 2014 eventually led to him offering us a few cases of several different cuvées! And now we have our proverbial foot in the door, we hope to be able to secure more Terre Inconnue wines in the future. 

Since Terre Inconnue is essentially a "garagiste" operation, all of the wines are labelled as Vin de Table - mainly because Robert and Lucien cannot be bothered with the bureaucracy involved in applying for appellation controllée (or even vin de pays) status for their wines. Vin de Table is (at least, in theory) the “lowest” denomination possible for wine produced in France. Indeed, until recently, it was not permitted to even show a vintage on the label, although Robert got around that problem by including a code (for example, L:2005) in small print in the bottom right-hand corner of the labels. This no longer poses a problem, as the vintage can now legally be added to the label. Not that such a humble denomination is any indication of the quality of the wines, for although they are not cheap, these are some of the most expressive, concentrated and finely-crafted wines you will find anywhere in Languedoc. Can we sell them? Who knows - but we'll have a damn good try. And if all else fails.... TLD and I will be more than happy to drink them ourselves!

Here are my notes for the wines we have just imported, all of which are now available to buy on our website...

Sans Nom 2005 Vin de Table de France 

The wine without a name(!) 100% old-vine Grenache, described by Robert as a "cuvée oxidative". And on first opening, there is perhaps a slightly oxidative quality to it, but it opens-up in double quick time to reveal an impressive array of aromas and nuances - a mix of crystallised and baked red and black fruits, freshly-baked bread, polished leather, meat, sun-dried tomato, incense, curry spices and damp earth. Indeed, over the course of a couple of hours, it grows yet more complex, as does the palate, which is crammed full of fruit, spices and herbs, rich and warming, with fine, soft tannins and plenty of acidity, making for a powerful but supremely balanced wine. A perfectly mature wine, and a brilliant introduction to the Terre Inconnue style - and because we were able to get some for not much money, so can you! £11.99 

Guilhem 2011 Vin de Table de France

Carignan, Grenache, Tempranillo and Merlot. Despite the seemingly eclectic blend, the nose is classic Carignan - intense aromas of soused bramble and raspberry, fresh bread and aromatic herbs, with evocative sous-bois notes, like a funghi-filled autumn forest. The advertised 15% abv is in this case just a number, for it feels more like 13% - the palate is tremendously fresh and vibrant, with a combination of ripe red and black fruits, fine tannins and mouth-watering acidity making for a wine of real balance and not a little elegance. It's lightness of touch really is a very pleasant surprise, and whilst the finish is underpinned by a gentle warmth and spiciness, it remains fresh and juicy to the very end. A fine, complex and delicious wine, and yet another which demonstrates what old-vine Carignan is capable of, in the hands of a skilled vigneron. £17.95

Leonie 2006 Vin de Table de France 

100% Carignan from 100 year-old vines. A wonderfully expressive and fresh nose, crammed full of red and black summer fruit, spice, mint and blackcurrant leaf aromas. And with the benefit of several years of evolution, it has developed complex secondary notes of polished leather/wood, smoking incense, damp earth and all manner of other things. And if you are (like me) a bit of a Musar freak, then you will love this, for it has that unmistakeable whiff of volatile acidity, which gives tremendous lift and definition to the fruit. It really is very evocative and alluring! The palate is a charismatic and quirky mix of fresh bramble and currants (of both the black and red varieties) and deep, rich fruitcake and preserved fig flavours, wrapped around a core of intensely juicy acidity. And with a firm but ripe tannic structure, it is a wine that is good to drink now, but also has the stuffing to age and evolve for at least another 10 years..... if, that is, you can resist drinking such a delicious and mouth-watering wine! A Languedoc classic. £22.50 

Los Abuelos 2010 Vin de Table de France 

100% old-vine Grenache. This wine is a complete enigma, and one that (were I to taste it blind) would have me all over the place. With notes of preserved/crystallised redcurrants and raspberries, polished old wood, garrigue herbs and leather, it does have some of the traits that you would expect from Grenache. Conversely, it has a lightness and freshness - both in terms of appearance and aromatically - that would put me somewhere much further north, perhaps even in Burgundy, with lifted notes of tea, violets and roses making for something really quite elegant and delicate. Which I suppose is not too fanciful, since I have occasionally heard Grenache (especially from very old vines) described as the "Pinot Noir of the Languedoc". And this wine illustrates the point almost to an extreme, for the palate is even more Pinot-like than any Grenache I have ever tasted, with redcurrant and red cherry flavours to the fore, a hint of strawberry sweetness lurking at the end. A core of fine but firm tannin and the most amazing rasp of cherry/citrus acidity carries the fruit all the way to a long, bitter-sweet and totally mouth-watering finish. As for the advertised 15% abv on the label..... well, I am flabbergasted, for it feels for all the world more like 13% or less. This wine might not be typically Languedoc - in fact, it is almost as far removed from the template as it is possible to get. Indeed, the style is not even typical for this estate. But if you have an open mind - and perhaps even a love of fine Burgundy - then you will love this! £29.50 

Sylvie 2010 Vin de Table de France 

A 50/50 blend of Sérine and Syrah. Sérine is (depending on where you look or who you read) either a particular clone of Syrah or - more likely - the original Syrah, from which other clones were developed. Either way, it seems that many of the Northern Rhône's greatest red wines are based on the Sérine variety and, having become almost extinct in the second half of the 20th century, it's cuttings are now highly-prized by the best growers. And whilst it may still be a relatively rarity in the Rhône, it is even more so in Languedoc, especially old vines like those of Terre Inconnue. Yields for this wine are miniscule, at an average of just 10 hl/ha, and it shows. The colour is deep and concentrated - as is the nose, which at the same time exudes freshness, with notes of violets and cherries, bramble and leather, infused with garrigue herbs and exotic spices, a fleeting hint of coffee grounds and a refreshing streak of volatile acidity. The palate grabs you from the off, with fine, grippy tannins and bright, fresh, mouth-watering acidity, combining seamlessly with dense, ripe red and black fruit flavours. With time in the glass, it develops notes of fresh bread, mint and oregano on the nose, with more in the way of red fruit flavours such as cranberry and redcurrant. It is still relatively young, but supremely balanced and already deliciously drinkable, with a persistent finish. You can drink it now, or age it for another 10-plus years. Either way, it is a fine, complex and compelling wine. £33.95
           

Carignan - the ugly duckling of the wine world?

Who says Carignan isn't capable of making great wine? Well, lots of people, as it happens, including some of the wine world's most prominent and influential writers and journalists. In the 3rd edition of The Oxford Companion To Wine (published as recently as 2006), Jancis Robinson MW describes Carignan as a "late-ripening black grape variety which could fairly be called the bane of the European wine industry, although old bushvines, as is their wont, are demonstrably capable of producing particularly concentrated wine." Frankly, the last part of that sentence serves as little more than an afterthought, and simply adds insult to injury. To be fair (and I'm struggling here) she does add later, "the produce of old vines on very poor soils such as at Domaine d'Auphilac in Montpeyroux and Ch de Lastours in Corbieres is exceptional - even if some would argue better in a blend than as a 100 per cent varietal." If you try very hard, you might spot in that statement the merest hint of damning with faint praise.

To be even more fair (and believe me, I'm still finding it difficult) I have heard rumours that Jancis has since made the occasional conciliatory remark about this or that Carignan-based wine. But because my knowledge of such remarks is at best second-hand or anecdotal, I can do no more than dismiss them as heresay.

So are the capabilities of Carignan limited entirely to adding the occasional bit of interest to wines made predominantly from other grapes varieties? I don't think so - and my friend and fellow Nottingham Wine Circle member Andy Leslie and I this week presented a line-up of wines which we hoped would give our own nay-sayers (and they are a hard bunch to please, believe me) plenty of food for thought. The line-up comprised wines from France, Sardinia and California, with vintages ranging from 2008, back to 1997. Most were 100% Carignan, though the first two were blends. Prices of the wines with links are my website prices. Other prices are either what Andy or I paid at auction, or wine-seacher prices, where currently available.

1. Mas de Lavail Ballade 2007 Vin de Pays Cotes Catalanes (£8.63)
50% Carignan and 50% Grenache, from vines in excess of 50 years old. I have to admit that many of those present didn't think much of this wine (I did say they are a hard lot to please!) but they are of little faith, for it has potential that is hidden to all but the most ardent and patient Languedoc wine fans. On the night, it was dominated by its inherent tarriness (some said rubber) but there is so much fruit in there that it cannot fail to emerge. And as I type (a full 4 days later) I am enjoying the remnants of the bottle immensely, with the tar almost gone, to be replaced by mixed red and black fruit aromas, oranges and a hint of damp earth. There's a touch of savouriness to the palate, but again plenty of sweet fruit and a good acid/tannin structure. If you want to drink it now, decant it at least a day in advance. Otherwise, give it 3 to 5 years (or even more) and watch it grow in stature and (dare I say it) become more and more like a really good Cotes du Rhone Villages.

2. Mas Foulaquier Gran’ Tonillieres 2006 Pic Saint-Loup (£18.89)
Again, a 50/50 blend of Carignan and Grenache, from old vines, grown in the far north of the Pic Sain-Loup appellation. Aged for 24 months (half in concrete vats, half in barrels and demi-muids of between 3 and 10 years old). Biodynamic, and with just 10 mg/l of SO2 added at bottling. I was too busy talking and presenting to make much of a note on this bottle, but it showed very nicely, as did my previous bottle;  "Intense and amazingly pure blackcurrant and bramble aromas mingle with garrigue herbs, clove and cedarwood, along with some quite meaty/savoury notes and an interesting hint of iodine (always a good descriptor in my book, by the way). The palate is packed with red and black fruits, herbs, allspice and dark chocolate, with firm but fine tannins and ample acidity."

3. Domaine Monplezy Emocion 2005 Vin de Pays des Cotes de Thongue (£18.00)
100% old-vine Carignan, aged in barrel for 12 months. Fresh and perfectly balanced in the mouth, with concentrated black fruit and chocolate flavours. Good acidity and fine tannins. Both fruity and savoury, with plenty of weight, and a good structure for ageing. As I sell this wine, I have tracked its progress over the last couple of years and, having finally lost its first flush of youth, it appears to be going into a bit of a closed/dumb phase. But it certainly has both the fruit and the structure to evolve beautifully over the next 5 to 10 years. Perhaps it is time to squirrel-away a few of my remaining bottles for myself!

4. Domaine de La Marfée Les Vignes qu’on Abat 2007 Vin de Pays de l’Hérault (£24.50)
100% old-vine Carignan, aged for 2 years in barrel. Biodynamic. The name "Les Vignes qu'on Abat" translates roughly as "the vines they are pulling up" - a commentary on the sad fact that so many precious old Carignan vineyards have been consigned to the bonfire. Although my own experience of winemaker Thierry Hasard's wines covers only the 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2007 vintages, I have a feeling that this wine will never go into a closed phase, such is its sheer vibrancy and level of unctious fruit. Again, I didn't write a note on the night, simply because the bottle we tasted conformed almost exactly to the note on my website, which reads "Raspberries and blackcurrants leap from the glass, with myriad other aromas, including strawberries and cream, garrigue herbs and even a hint of elderflower. Although aged in oak for 2 years (mostly older oak, with just a small percentage of new barrels used each year) there is just the merest suggestion of pencil shavings, with no obvious oak aromas - the sign of very skilful winemaking. The palate is medium-rich, with flavours of blackcurrant and cranberry, tar and spice, hints of garrigue and an almost schiste-like minerality and remarkably ripe, velvety tannins. A touch of sweet fruit returns on the finish, which is spicy and long." Tasting it again did, however, remind me of how remarkably lovely this wine is to drink now. That said, it has a long and brilliant future ahead of it, and will surely age and evolve for at least another 5 to 10 years. All of which does nothing to alter my opinion that Thierry Hasard is firmly established in the Premier League of Languedoc winemakers - and an absolute master of the Carignan variety.

5. Santadi Terre Brune Carignano del Sulcis Superiore 2005, Sardinia (Approximately £35.00 - but Andy got it for nothing, from his brother-in-law, who runs a restaurant!)
90% Carignano, with 10% Bobaleddu. Intense aromas of bramble - and pickled bramble, at that - with notes of blackcurrant leaf and menthol, and a healthy dollop of volatile acidity. Complex red and black fruit flavours. There is a backbone of lemony acidity, which may or may not be natural, but it gives a delightful freshness to what is essentially a big, quite modern red wine - albeit identifiably Italian (well, Sardinian). Bags of fruit, bags of character, and really quite lovely - though you wouldn't necessarily identify it as Carignan.

6. Agricola Punica Barrua 2002, Sardinia (Current vintage is around £29, but this vintage was £22 when Andy bought it, several years ago)
85% Carignano, with 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Merlot. Perhaps it was the addition of the Cabernet and Merlot, but this one, although still undoubtedly a very nice wine, was just a little bit more "international" in style - although even then, it didn't entirely betray its Sardinian roots. Soft, smooth, tobacco-infused fruit aromas and flavours, but with plenty of meaty/grippy tannic structure. There's quite a lot of oak influence, too - and tasting the remnants of the bottle 4 days later, the impression of oak has grown, with the grape tannins being overtaken by some rather harsh and raw oak tannin. Then again, that may just mean that this wine will take a few more years to really get into its stride.

7. Porter Creek Old Vine Carignane 2008, Mendocino County, California (Around £15 retail in USA)
I can only assume that this is 100% Carignane, as even the grower's website doesn't mention any other grape variety. The nose initially offers an intriguing mix of elerberry, elderflower and apple aromas - and then there's a big hit of raspberries, like summer pudding in a glass. The palate is still quite tannic and a touch tarry, and not overtly fruity, so I think it needs to be aged for a few years. That said, it seems really nicely put together. Later on (in this case, a few hous later) it really begins to open-up, with some fresh, vibrant strawberry and bramble fruit emerging, with a hint of oak vanillin, juicy acidity and softening tannins. Almost (but not quite) like a strapping young Beaujolais. Nice.

8. Joseph Swan Cotes du Rosa 2008, Russian River Valley, California (£20.38)
100% Carignan. What can I say about this wine that I haven't said before? Here's my full tasting note, added to my website just before Christmas; "The nose offers beguiling scents of strawberries, raspberries, plum skins, citrus/orange, a hint of savoury/leather and exotic spices. In fact, those spices, married to what I assume is some old(ish) oak barrel maturation, are strongly suggestive of incense and polished wood. The palate isn't too shabby, either - a delicious mouthful of fresh red and black fruits, incense (yes, I swear you can actually taste it, too), supple, savoury tannins and a simply mouth-watering core of juicy, orangey/appley acidity. With a relatively modest 13.6% abv, this is no glass-staining Cali/Rhône monster - it is supremely balanced, elegant and thoroughly charming. And although it is eminently drinkable now, it also has the capacity to age beautifully for a decade or more - I can say this with confidence, because I have tasted one or two older vintages that were quite memorable. This wonderful wine only serves to strengthen my opinion that anyone who says that Carignan can't make charming, elegant, age-worthy, world class wine needs their head examining!" Enough said!

9. Bonny Doon Ancient Vines Carignane 2004, Santa Cruz, California (£10 retail, locally)
A touch of eau de vie on the nose, but just enough to make it really interesting. There's plenty of varietal character in this wine, with some nice lifted notes and even a touch of that elderflower. The palate is meaty, tarry and full of bramble fruit, full-bodied, with a good deal of concentration, again nicely lifted, with supple (if slightly rustic) tannins and juicy acidity. For £10, this represents cracking good value for money.

10. Terre Inconnue Les Bruyeres 1999 Vin de Table de France (Approximately £12 at auction)
100% Carignan, from vines in excess of 100 years old. I wrote a very enthusiastic blog entry on this wine in 2009, and had specifically saved a bottle for just such a tasting as this. And this bottle was just as good, if not even better - and certainly had the group purring as one in their appreciation. A lovely light carmine/blood red colour. The nose is like smelling an old wardrobe (a favourite descriptor of mine), with additional notes of mint/menthol, oldish oak and a whole box full of mixed fruits, albeit at a fairly tertiary stage. Oh, and a very alluring touch of volatile acidity, which puts one in mind of Musar, but in a somewhat "cleaner" (i.e. less quirky) way. Although this clearly has plenty of age, it still seems so vibrant and full of fruit and life. I'm not sure it will get any better, but neither is it likely to fall off its perch anytime soon. Shame, as this was the last of my 2 bottles! A lovely, lovely wine.

11. Domaine de La Marfée Les Vignes qu’On Abat 1999 Coteux du Languedoc (Approximately £16 at auction)
100% old-vine Carignan. I opened and decanted a bottle of this a few hours before the tasting and wasn't sure if it was quite right. Nevertheless, I took it along and passed it around, to see what others thought. The general consensus was that it was corked (and indeed it was, if only "slightly"). Thankfully, my suspicions led me to take a back-up bottle along, which I opened and passed around the table. Although I am always sad to encounter a corked bottle (especially one which promised much) the second bottle served only to show the immense gulf between a "slightly" corked bottle and a perfect one. And the second bottle really was perfect - a full 8 years older than wine number 4, but still with more than a little of that trademark elderflower and mint perfume, together with an abundance of plum, damson and bramble fruit - a truly glorious nose. The palate is beautifully focused and in balance, with dense fruit concentration, softening tannins and fine acidity. An utterly more-ish wine, which is beginning to approach its peak (though it isn't quite there yet) and will undoubtedly hold for another 5 years or more. Brilliant wine!

12. Joseph Swan Cotes du Rosa 1997, Russian River Valley, California (Approximately £12 at auction)
100% Carignan. Boy, is this different! The Swan label says 14.6% abv, but the UK importer's label says 16% - work that one out! The nose is unbelievably rich and perfumed, with dense bramble, plum and rich fruitcake aromas. A touch of VA balances the almost Port-like, tarry aromas, making for a wine that fills the senses. And it does the same thing to the palate - rich and dense, almost akin to a fortified wine, but without the excess alcohol. In fact, for a dry wine, this wears its 16% remarkably well. I bet it was a bit of a monster when it was young, but it has evolved into a delicious, almost elegant wine, with intensely sweet fruit, balanced perfectly by lemony, almost volatile acidity and resolved tannins - big, but very beautiful. A real curio, and if you are lucky enough to have some in your celler, I'd say drink it with a juicy steak, or just enjoy it on its own, by a warm fire. A fine way to finish a most interesting and educational tasting.

So what are the conclusions? Well, there's no doubt that the best Carignan wines are made from old (and preferably very old) vines, and take a good while in bottle to really show their potential.

Vinous treasures - 100-plus year-old vines, owned by Terre Inconnue in Languedoc

Frankly, it is a crying shame that so many great old Carignan vineyards around the world (though especially in southern France) have been ripped up over the last 10 to 20 years. I'll wager that there are a good many vignerons who are quietly remorseful about the fact that they took what must have seemed good money at the time, in order to rid the planet of such an "undesirable" grape variety. For a list of just some of those that resisted the temptation to do so, have a look at the Carignan Renaissance website, created and maintained by John and Nicole Bojanowski, owners of Clos du Gravillas, who make some cracking wines (from Carignan and other varieties). The list is far from exhaustive (where are Joseph Swan and Domaine de La Marfée?!) but it provides a good starting point.

Furthermore, I am greatly admiring of anyone who is brave enough to plant new vineyards with Carignan. But if they don't, where are the great old-vine wines going to come from in the future? For it is a sad fact of life that old vines are like people - they are going to die eventually - and wines like the ones above may eventually become as rare as hen's teeth. For now, though, I can only urge you to seek these wines out and treasure them. And once you have aged them to perfection (for most of them do indeed take 10 years or more to show their best) enjoy them in all their glory - and damn the critics!

Meanwhile, I'll leave you with another quote from Jancis Robinson MW;

"But perhaps this is to miss the point of Carignan. Perhaps it is meant to be a cussed brute, like the rocks that litter the Languedoc landscape? If so, let others wallow in it."
    

En vacances 3 - some great wines plus a few lazy days

As I'm typing this, I'm sitting on the patio of our lovely gite in Laurens, in the Faugeres region of Languedoc. It is 11.30 (French time) and pitch dark. The heat of a scorching day has been replaced by a beautifully cool evening. There's not a breath of wind and the only sounds to disturb the still silence are the distant croakings of a few frogs (at least that's what I think they are) and the occasional hoot of an owl. It is complete bliss.

I've been a bit lazy with the blogging, actually, as it isn't as if we've been sitting sunbathing all the time - we have been busy doing other things too! Having arrived here in Laurens on Saturday to cloudy weather (and some rain on the way) we awoke on Sunday to a bright, sunny day. From what I am told, the Languedoc (much like many other regions of France) has had a funny old spring - in fact, not much of a spring at all. Until we arrived, the weather has apparently been cool and very changeable. Since Sunday, though, things have picked up considerably and summer has now definitely arrived with a vengeance in Languedoc. It took a day or two for the wind to die down, but the days are now accompanied by the gentlest of breezes and temperatures pushing 29C - too hot for me to sit out in (though TLD loves it) but the house is built of stone and is beautifully cool. Thankfully, the pool has also now warmed up a little, so provides some extra relief from the hot sun.

As I say, though, it hasn't all been about lazing around. Diane and I have been out for several bike rides in the surrounding countryside and yesterday (Tuesday) we visited Brigitte Chevalier at Domaine de Cébene, along with my good friends Jonathan Hesford of Domaine Treloar and Guy Vanlancker of Domaine La Combe Blanche. I'll tell you more about that visit in my next post. For now, I'll tell you about the brilliant Terre Inconnue.

Robert Creus (pronounced "Cruz" or "Cruise") works for the French Chamber of Commerce. He is actually an experienced scientist, having been heavily involved in the Ariane space rocket programme. He began making wine in 1997, having bought some old Carignan vines near the village of Saint Christol. He has since added Grenache, Syrah, Serine (a northern Rhone variant of Syrah) and a little Tempranillo. Some of the vines are very old, including some Carignan which is in excess of 100 years old. Having heard so much about the wines (especially having recently tasted a 1999 Carignan, which was pretty amazing) I was very keen to taste the whole range. The only really suitable day for us to visit was Saturday, on our way from the Cote d'Azur to Faugeres, since it entailed just a short detour from the autoroute between Nimes and Montpellier. Robert was working on the day we visited, so his father Lucien received us at his house in the small village of Saint Series.

Although Robert makes the wines, Lucien himself has more than a little involvement in Terre Inconnue. Indeed, he no longer has room in his garage for his car, since it clearly comprises part of the Terre Inconnue wine store! Lucien is a charming old man, with a real passion for the wine, not to mention a wicked sense of humour. He took us through the current range of wines - 6 different cuvées, made from around 4 hectares of vines from different parcels around Saint Series and Saint Christol. As Robert cannot be bothered with the bureaucracy and paperwork involved in Appellation Controlée or even Vin de Pays certification, all of the wines are labelled simply "Vin de Table de France". My notes were fairly brief, although I came away in possession of sample bottles of each, for which I will eventually post more detailed notes. Here are my brief impressions.

Les Bruyeres 2009

100% Carignan, with a nose of Bramble and damsons. Dense and mouthfilling, with fine young tannins and lovely structure. Immensely fruity, but with some nice herbal notes. My experience of the 1999 (which I blogged about a couple of months ago) tells me that this will age beautifully for a good few years, even though it is already lovely.

Los Abuelos 2002

100% Grenache. The nose is spectactular - a complex array of pastille fruits, leather, spices, herbs and forest floor. There's an impression of subtle coffee-infused oak, although only older barrels are used. There is still a lot of fruit, although it is beginning to take on all those wonderful secondary aromas and flavours. Dense, fairly rich, but supremely elegant, hugely complex and utterly gorgeous. A truly remarkable wine, from a difficult vintage.

Los Abuelos 2007

Again, 100% Grenache. The 2002 was an "extra", as I had asked to taste an older wine - 2007 is the current release. It is dense, full of bramble fruit and tar aromas and flavours, again with those lovely pastilley, crystallised fruits to the fore, and the same restrained use of older oak. Rich, concentrated and super-ripe, but so elegant. Very long, too. A superb wine.

Guilhem 2008

Grenache, Carignan and Tempranillo. This is so complex on the nose and I certainly need a longer look at this when I open my bottle, in order to fully appreciate it. Dense, fruity, spicy, with notes of polished wood. Rich and very long in the mouth. An impressive, complex wine, with enormous structure and not a little ageing potential.

Sans Nom 2005 (i.e. it doesn't have a name)

I'm not sure what the story is behind this wine, but it is by no means one of the more expensive wines in the Terre Inconnue portfolio. This is an extraordinary wine. Lucien gave me the rest of the opened bottle to enjoy with our meal that night, and you can see my full note in my post below. Huge fruit aromas and flavours, mingled with mint, eucalyptus and menthol, tar and polished wood. An amazing wine - very alluring and unusual, and utterly memorable.

Leonie 2003

100% Carignan. Fruit pastilles again, along with elderflower, mint, thyme and lavender. Less dense than you would expect from the vintage - elegant and almost feminine. Another lovely wine, and yet more evidence (as if I needed it) that Carignan can make extremely fine wines.

Sylvie 2005

Syrah and Serine. Not surprisingly, this smells a little like a northern Rhone, but with a Languedoc structure marked by notes of black olives, garrigue, bramble fruits and eau de vie. It is still clearly very young and immature, dense and slightly tannic, though the tannins are almost obliterated by the sweet fruit flavours. That said, it is hugely complex and I think there are hidden depths, which will only be revealed in time. And at 15% abv, it isn't weedy, either, although this is a classic example of a wine which is totally in harmony with its alcohol - it is warm and rich, without any feeling of heat. I think it will be brilliant in another 5 to 10 years.

After our tasting, Lucien's wife took pity on us (we hadn't eaten since breakfast) and prepared us a delicious dish of fried eggs, cured ham, pickled red capsicum peppers and crusty bread. A delicious combination, and just what the doctor ordered. Lucien then took us to see some of the vineyards, including some 40 year-old Grenache, a new Syrah vineyard and some amazing 100 year-old Carignan.

In a vineyard outside the village of Saint Series - I think this is young Syrah

There's no doubting what these vines are - precious 100 year-old Carignan

The vines were healthy and well-tended, with a reassuring amount of vegetation growing between the rows - Robert prefers as little intervention as possible, particularly in the vineyard. The wines are made as naturally as is sensible, with little or no spraying in the vineyard and only a small amount of SO2 used in the winemaking process. The result is a truly remarkable range of wines, with a real "wow" factor, and I hope to be able to add some (if not all) of them to my list, in due course.        

         

We are off to the beach at Marseillan tomorrow. I'll post some more stuff before the end of the week, including notes on our visit to Domeine de Cébene.
  

En vacances 2 - moving day, plus an extraordinary Languedoc red wine

We have spent a fabulous week in Agay. Diane and I quickly become accustomed to not having the boys with us and it is actually shaping-up to be one the best holidays we have had in many a year. Of course, it helps enormously that we love each-other’s company, and the relative solitude of our surroundings and the fact that we can do what we want, when we want has been very liberating – and very relaxing.

Since the rains of Tuesday, the weather has been fine and settled. Yesterday (Friday) was the hottest day so far, with temperatures having reached 30C or more in the afternoon. A cooling breeze and the occasional dip in the pool provided welcome relief. The only exertion we subjected ourselves to was a cycle ride down into the town to buy bread for dinner.

Early evening on the beach at Agay

We then repaired to the living room to watch (or perhaps endure would be a better word) England’s latest World Cup Match against Algeria. Frankly, our national team is becoming a bit of an embarrassment. The Premier League may be one of the best in the world, but then again most of its best players are foreigners. The England team may have one of the best managers in the business, but even he can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. In fact, they are almost as bad as the current French team! The sooner the preliminary stages are over and the rubbish teams like ours are on the plane home, the better – then we can get down to watching some proper football.

Anyway, back to more important things. Thursday, we drove to Antibes, to visit Fabrice and Sandrine. As I mentioned in my earlier post, Fabrice is a Gendarme, and each promotion means moving to a new location. Having previously been posted to Melun (near Paris), Versailles and St-Girons (near the Pyrénées) he had to move to Antibes around a year ago. Fabrice was on duty until 6pm, so Sandrine took us for a stroll around the town and the port. Although Antibes is as chic as any other resort town on the Côte d’Azure, it seems much more at ease with itself and less pretentious than (say) Cannes. It is relatively small and compact and much more like a traditional old French town. Even in mid-June (i.e. not yet the high season) its streets were thronged with people and the shops and cafés were doing good business.

The port is a different matter – some of the ships and yachts have to be seen to be believed, and Antibes is clearly THE place to be seen, if you have a few million spare to spend on a boat. And although the harbour was full of mightily impressive boats, it seems the best ones are anchored out in the bay…..

This was probably the most expensive and extravagant one we saw (note the helicopter as an add-on)......

….. but this was my favourite – quite the most beautiful and elegant boat I have ever seen

Of course, if you have a few million left over after you’ve bought the boat, you might also be able to afford a house on Cap d’Antibes – probably the most exclusive location in the whole of France

We returned to Fabrice and Sandrine’s apartment to enjoy a lovely dinner, including some delicious foie gras de canard, accompanied by sweet Montbazillac and Champagne – truly a match made in heaven.

With Fabrice and Sandrine (and the impish Baptiste – the older and much less mischievous Florent took this photo)

At the end of a lovely evening, we bade our farewells and promised to meet up more often – 7 years since the last time is far too long. On the way back to Agay, we came off the autoroute at Cannes and took a drive along the Corniche de l’Esterel. Although it was dark, it was no less spectacular a sight, with the lights of the towns and villages along the coast making for a beautiful backdrop.

Today was moving day, as we headed to the hills of Faugeres in the Languedoc. We were sorry to leave Agay - it was a lovely area and the house was just perfect. And we will certainly miss that wonderful sea view! We will definitely return there soon – perhaps even next year.

As I type, we have now arrived at our gite for the second week, in the small town of Laurens in the Faugeres region. And – joy of joys – I have a wireless Internet connection, so will be posting often over the next week or so. I’ll tell you more about the place tomorrow, but suffice to say it is fabulous and exceeds our expectations.

On the way, we visited Lucien Creus, father of Robert Creus, the winemaker at Terre Inconnue, and were treated to a tasting of some absolutely wonderful wines. Again, I’ll tell you more in due course, but here’s a tasting note on one of the wines, which we finished off with this evening’s dinner……

Terre Inconnue "Sans Nom" 2005 Vin de Table

All of the wines of Terre Inconnue are labelled as Vin de Table. Robert and Lucien cannot be bothered with the bureaucracy involved in applying for appellation controllée (or even vin de pays) status for their wines. Therefore, all of the wines are labelled as Vin de Table – basically the “lowest” denomination possible for wine produced in France. Indeed, strictly speaking, it is not permitted to even show a vintage on the label, although Robert gets around that problem by including a code (in this instance, L:2005) in small print in the bottom right-hand corner of the label. Simples! It is pure Grenache from vines of around 50 years of age. The nose is one of the most beguiling and distinctive I have ever come across in any Languedoc wine, and which almost defies my descriptive abilities. There are dense, spicy, heady fruits galore, combined with menthol, mint, eucalyptus, lavender, thyme, red meat, tar and polished leather. The palate is rich, tarry, deeply fruity and again full of mint and menthol flavours – almost like cough mixture with lots of nice things thrown-in. It also has a savoury, almost meaty quality, yet manages always to be elegant, with a lovely balance of fruit, savoury, tannin and acidity. To the very last drop, it remained utterly lovely and enormously complex – it is an extraordinary wine, by anyone’s standards. I’ll try and describe some of the other Terre Inconnue wines tomorrow. Meanwhile, it’s been a long day, so I’m off to bed!

A lovely surprise - Terre Inconnue "Les Bruyeres" Vin de Table de France (1999)

I use the brackets because the label of a "mere" Vin de Table is not, strictly speaking, allowed to display a vintage. I promise you that I wouldn't waste my time buying and drinking any old Vin de Table - a denomination normally reserved for France's most lowly (and, generally speaking, vile) wines. But my view is that any quality wine grower serious enough and determined enough (and some may say stupid enough) to eschew not just the local "Appellation d'Origine Controlée" (AOC) but even the local "Vin de Pays" denomination must be making some seriously interesting and quirky wines. And they usually tend to find a way of circumventing the rules by indicating the vintage somewhere on the label - in this case, with the none-too-subtle use of the code L : 1999 in the bottom right corner(!)

My friends Andy Leslie and Bernard Caille picked some of this wine up at a recent auction for an all-in price of £12 per bottle and I think my two bottles represent £24 well spent - especially if the second bottle is anywhere near as good as this one. A little research tells me that Les Bruyeres is the "basic" wine of this cult Languedoc grower, and tends to retail for somewhat less than a tenner (for the current vintage) although it is not currently available in the UK. But I'm happy to have paid a bit of a premium for a wine that has some decent bottle age and seems to me to be at the peak of its drinking window.

It was only after tasting this wine that I did any research, yet I sensed all the hallmarks of a weird and wonderful Carignan. And, indeed, that is exactly what it turns out to be - 100% Carignan, picked fairly late, I would guess, and made in quite a rich, baked style, with what seems like extended maturation before bottling. It is now almost tawny in colour, with a very pale amber/brick, almost onion skin rim - very light in colour. And it has the hallmark plummy, high-toned, almost beetrooty aroma of aged Carignan, with all sorts of other things going on, such as decaying leaves, cranberry, wild strawberry and hints of garrigue herbs and exotic spices - and a noticeable, though very pleasant, dose of volatile acidity (think nail polish remover). All-in-all, a very complex and quirky nose, not a million miles away from Chateau Musar in structure.

The palate is fruity, in a decaying sort of way, but there is still a fresh, sweet, almost fruit pastille quality about it. Add to that a refreshingly acidic backbone, almost fully-resolved tannins, herbs and spices and a long, warming finish and you have one very lovely and very intersting wine. Not one for the purists, perhaps, but hugely interesting. I have a feeling that this is not going to evolve further and perhaps needs drinking fairly soon. And indeed, the last glass, consumed 24 hours after opening, is a bit less voluptuous than last night. But what a lovely wine, while it lasted.

Since none of the wines of Terre Inconnue seem to be available in the UK at present, it may be that I should pay them a visit, next time I am in the region......... ;-)