A NATURAL WINE FAIR IN THE LANGUEDOC
Natural wine is one of those terms that seems to have acquired a lot more significance in the last couple of years. This is not the place for a precise definition. As I understand it, wine growers who make natural wine, work as simply as possible. They cultivate their vineyards organically or biodynamically, and in the cellar they favour minimum intervention, so natural yeast, no fining and filtering, and as little SO2 as possible. It goes without saying that cellar hygiene has to be impeccable. And does the wine taste different? Maybe. The flavours might be fresher, purer and more precise, but as there are good and bad ‘conventional’ wine growers, so are there also good and bad natural wine growers. There were two large natural wine fairs in London in May, but instead I got to go to a small fair in the village of Colombières-sur-Orb in the Haute Vallée of the Hérault.
It was a
lovely sunny morning and the event began with a ballade around the vineyards of
Axel Prűfer of Domaine du Temps des Cerises.
We first took a track along what was the old Roman road, past a cluster
of Provence orchids, and past other wild flowers, over a fast flowing
stream. Axel talked about his work in the vineyard; it was
a small vineyard of old Carignan and Grenache, with stubby little vines. He allows the grass to grow, to encourage the
natural cycle. I have never seen such a
carpet of serapia or tongue orchids – they were completely unexpected – and for
further entertainment there were readings, wine related, from Omar Khayyam;
Moliere’s Bourgeois Gentilhomme and from Le Vin Bourru by a local author, Jean-Claude
Carrière.
And at the
end of the vineyard there were a number of upturned barrels, with bottles – and
an opportunity for some interesting encounters.
But as with outdoor wine fairs,
tasting conditions are not ideal; you are with a crowd of people, everyone
jostling for a taste – and no one has thought to bring a list of the wines that
they are showing, so you are scribbling down unfamiliar names from labels. And
I’ve not always noted price or vintage, so apologies for any gaps and
mis-spellings.
Julien Peyras
in Paulhan – his first vintage was 2007 and he has three hectares.
2010 Lo
Terrau – he favours Occitan names - a blend of 50% Grenache and 25% Syrah and
Carignan. 12 – 14 months in wood.
Deep
colour. Quite a dense nose. Quite solid
ripe fruit on nose. As well as fruit,
quite furry tannins and a touch of VA on the palate.
2010 Coste
Fére
60% Syrah,
40% Carignan. 14 months ageing
Deep
colour. Quite solid rounded nose. More soyeux and silky, but also more body,
with ripe berry fruit on the palate.
Le Casot des Mailloles
2011 Le Blanc - Grenache
Gris, Grenache Blanc and Vermentino. Some skin maceration. Light colour.
Orange notes on the nose. Nutty, orange and ginger fruit on the palate. Very stony; salty. Intriguing.
El Nino
Grenache
Gris, Carignan and Syrah, in vat. Very
perfumed fruit.. Orange notes on the nose.
Some acidity; some tannin, some fruit and an elegant balance.
Next was
Bernhard Bellahsen from Domaine
Fontedicto– see an earlier posting for more details. And on the day his wines stood out in the
crowd.
2008
Coulisse
Quite sold
rounded and ripe nose. And on the palate
ripe but supple tannins. Rounded fruit,
with a mineral note.
2005
Promise
Quite firm
nose quite rounded palate. Ripe palate with supple tannins. Lovely balance and drinking beautifully.
Mylène Bru was a new name for me. Her
family come from the Corbières; she is based in Sète, and she has
four and a half hectares of vines at St.
Pargoire. Her first vintage was
2008. She is bright and vivacious.
Lady Chasselas,
Vin de France. Chasselas is not often
used as a wine grape in France – You might find it in Pouilly sur- Loire, and
more commonly in Savoie, where it is
called Fendant, and much more extensively across the border in Switzerland,
This was
delicate and fragrant with a fresh, dry finish.
2010 Far
Ouest – 15.00€
A blend of
Carignan, Syrah, Grenache and Cinsaut, with 8 months élevage in vat.
Light red
colour; rounded nose; quite a stony mineral note on the palate. Very garrigues.
Domaine la Fontude with François Aubry
2011 Jour de Fête, Terret blanc
Fresh
orange note on the nose. Very good
acidity. Very fresh with tight
minerality on the palate. Very
intriguing.
2010 Amarèl
Carignan
with 20% Terret Gris. The Terret gives
suppleness to the Carignan. Quite rounded fruit with fresh supple tannins. Medium weight. Nice balance.
Opi d’Aqui
– a blend of 2010 and 2011 vintage – and the first wine of this estate based in
Vendémian.
Equal parts
of Syrah, Grenache and Cabernet Sauvignon.
No SO2. Quite rounded nose, with
ripe cherry fruit. Attractive spice and
liquorice on the palate. A touch of volatility
but quite a fresh finish. I’ve scribbled
down the wine growers’ names as P. Formentin and H Coumont.
Next were the wines of Axel Prűfer, of Domaine du Temps des Cerises, in whose vineyards the fete was taking place. He favours imaginative wine names.
La Peur du
Rouge is a Chardonnay. Rounded and ripe
with soft fruit and acidity and a stony, tannic streak on the finish. The vineyard is on the high plateau, or
causse above Bédarieux.
2011 Avanti
Popolo. The Carignan from the vineyard here, with a little Grenache. Light red colour. Ripe fruit on the
nose. Very gouleyant and drinkable on
the palate with a touch of acidity. Very
elegant.
2011 Fou du
Roi, from the adjoining vineyard One third each of Carignan, Cinsaut and
Grenache. Quite firm nose. A fresh palate with tannin and acidity, and a
touch of volatility on the finish.
Un pas de côté – comes from vines near Colombières
sur Orb. 40% each Merlot and Grenache, with Carignan,
Aramon and Cinsaut. Quite a rounded
dense nose. Quite ripe and rounded on
the palate with fresh fruit. Very
elegant, and with more depth than the previous two reds.
2011 Les Lendemains
qui chantent
Ripe
rounded with fresh cherry fruit.
Beautifully balanced palate, rounded and ripe. Very elegant. Delicious. Grenache Noir on granite.
Hautes
Terres de Comberousse, an estate which specialises in white wines, with vineyards
outside the village of Cournonterral.
Cupidone, Vin
de France Quite fresh, with good acidity;
lemony honeyed palate with some texture.
Mainly Chasan, with some Chardonnay
2011
Sauvagine, Coteaux du Languedoc. Quite
leesy with what I call fermentation
aromas, which I find slightly off putting.
Some fruit underneath. A blend of
Grenache and Rolle.
2009
Rocaillat, Coteaux du Languedoc.
Roussanne, Rolle
and Grenache. A touch of oak. Quite rounded and ripe with a hint of
honey. Some leesy notes. Quite intriguing.
Clos
Fantine in Faugères
2011 Terret
blanc, from 80 year old vines. Quite
fresh orange notes on the nose. Quite
perfumed –and at that moment the neighbouring stand proffered a piece of
Catalan ham. A good combination.
2011
Lanterne Rouge, a blend of Cinsaut and Aramon
Cherry
fruit on the nose. Medium weight palate,
Elegant fruit with a tannic steak. Quite
intriguing.
Medium
colour. Quite a rounded nose. Quite a sturdy palate; quite firm and tannic
with a touch of volatility.
Yannick
Pelletier at St. Nazaire-de-Ladarez in St. Chinian.
2009 L’R de Rien, Terret blanc
Very orange in colour.
I assume I mean the colour
rather than nose, as my handwriting is beginning to deteriorate at this point. Quite rounded ripe palate, with good body and mouth
feel and a tannic steak.
2010
L’Oiselet
Grenache
and Cinsaut and a little Carignan. Quite
spicy nose. Ripe rounded spicy orange
fruit on the palate. Supple
tannins. Medium weight.
2009
L’Engoulevent
A blend of Grenache,
Carignan and Syrah in vat. I found this
rather curious. There was more volatility than I am comfortable with, and quite
firm tannins, with a dry finish.
2010
Coccigrues – Yannick explained that a coccigrue is like a chimera, an imaginary
animal. Old vines of Grenache, Carignan
and Mourvèdre. The Mourvèdre is kept in
wood, and the Grenache and Carignan in vat. This was quite fresh and spicy on the nose,
but with quite a lot of orange fruit on the palate – too much for my taste.
And then we
spotted Ivo Ferreira from Domaine de l’Escarpolette in Montpeyroux. See my earlier post on the caves ouvertes in Montpeyroux. A quick taste of three wines that were
showing deliciously, and I have a cellar visit arranged for next week, so more
on Ivo and l’Escarpolette in due course.
Comments
Perhaps the 2010 is too young or not so good?
It's sad that some growers (or the occasional wine) give the movement a bad name. I was told by a natural wine growing neighbour that you have to factor in 20% loss to VA and the like.
and Graham I think Terret blanc is enjoying something of a revival - like Carignan blanc and favoured as a grape variety with old vines to be found and regenerated- and like Carignan, it does have good acidity.
And as much as 20% - that is a pretty high.