Domaine de l'Arjolle
One of my
favourite local estates is Domaine de l’Arjolle, and it had been a while since
I had tasted with Louis-Marie Teisserenc. This omission was remedied last Monday. The suggestion was to meet at the cellar and
then go onto our local restaurant in Vailhan for some older vintages over
dinner – an invitation that I could not possibly refuse. The wines are all either Côtes de Thongue, or Pays d’Oc, or
maybe Vin de France.
2011
Sauvignon - 7.30€
Includes
25% Sauvignon Gris, which they had first planted in 2002. Louis-Marie has always enthused about
Sauvignon, influenced by a friend who used to work for Ladoucette in the Loire
Valley. He talked about the experiments
that are being conducted to determine the right moment to pick Sauvignon so
that you obtained minerality and avoid over ripeness. Colour is all important. And this Sauvignon was beautifully mineral
with a firm stony finish and good acidity – and quite unlike most Sauvignon
from the Midi.
2011 Equilibre–
7.30€
A blend of
Sauvignon 60% and 40% Viognier. He
planted Viognier later than Sauvignon, in about 1980. I don’t think I’ve ever come across a
Sauvignon / Viognier blend before – has anyone else? This combined the best of both grape
varieties, with some ripe peachy fruit, balanced by quite fresh pithy
acidity. Very intriguing.
2010
Chardonnay, Delphine de Margon – 7.30€
Light
nose. Quite a leesy, oaky nose. 30% fermented in wood, including a little
American oak, to give slightly toasted character. Fresh acidity. Good balance. Louis-Marie observed that he was making
more white wine these days, with 40 hectares out of 100 devoted to white
varieties.
2011 Muscat
à petits grains – 8.60€
The Muscat
grapiness leaps out of the glass. And
very grapey pithy fruit on the palate.
Firm acidity with the dry finish typical of Muscat.
2010
Equinoxe – 11.50€
40% Viognier
and Sauvignon, with 20% Muscat. 60%
fermented in barrel. Some malo; some without malo. Some French oak and some American oak. Light
golden. Quite leesy oak. Intriguing.
Layers of flavour on the palate.
A touch of oak and potential to age.
Nicely mouth filling.
2009 Dernière Cueillette. Chardonnay. – 12.00€
They begin
the Chardonnay harvest in the middle of August – two thirds of the crop goes
for a sparkling wine. Most of the rest
is destined for Delphine de Margon, and some is left until late October. That is picked and left in a barrel, outside,
until the following September, so that it becomes a bit rancio and oxidised,
and then it is blended with some more conventionally barrel-aged
Chardonnay. The result is a bit like a
vin jaune from the Jura. Golden colour. Dry nutty notes, like vin jaune, but not
quite so powerful. Very intriguing. Notes of walnut and hazelnut and some dry
toffee. Long with a lift on the finish.
15˚
2011 Allégria –
5.50€
Muscat, with a touch of CO2 and some residual
sugar. Soft with a touch of honey and
some pithy grapey Muscat notes. Good
acidity on the finish and very lightly fizzy.
This is intended for popular appeal, for the new younger drinker. 10˚
2010 Méridienne –
11.50€
40% Syrah and Cabernet
Franc with 20% Grenache. An élevage en
fut, so that it is quite a substantial rosé,
‘a rosé de repas, for people who don’t really like rosé’. Lightly nutty notes on both nose and
palate. Nicely toasted. Good acidity and quite nicely mouth filling.
2011 Delphine de
Margon – 7.30€
40% Syrah and Cabernet
Sauvignon and 20% Carignan. Grown on argilo-calcaire
in Margon. Good colour. Ripe fruit. Some peppery notes and some fresh
tannins. Nice fruit and slightly rustic
note, in the best sense of the word.
2010 Cabernet- Merlot 45% / 55% - 7.30€
Louis-Marie has sold
this cuvée to the Wine Society for over 20 years. 12 months in wood. Quite a firm nose. I preferred the palate, which was fresh with
some cassis notes. It was more Cabernet
Franc than Cabernet Sauvignon.
K – 100% Carménère, Vin de France – 12.00€
They have just 1.12
hectares of Carménère and are planning to plant some more. I am not aware of any other producers of Carmen in the Midi. Good colour.
Quite peppery with a ‘green ‘note that was reminiscent of Cabernet Franc. Riper palate than nose suggests. Good balance with a fresh finish.
2008 Z - Zinfandel de
l’Arjolle, Vin de France - 12.00€
Deep colour. A raisiny nose, ripe and rich. Quite tannic and gutsy. Rounded ripe palate balanced with some firm
tannins. Quite characterful. Again no one else grows Zinfandel, to my knowledge.
2010 Synthèse, Merlot
– 11.50€
12 months barrel ageing – 40% new. Good colour; quite rounded smoky nose. Ripe fruit. Picked about 12 days later than the Merlot for other cuvées. Long and ripe, with balancing tannins.
12 months barrel ageing – 40% new. Good colour; quite rounded smoky nose. Ripe fruit. Picked about 12 days later than the Merlot for other cuvées. Long and ripe, with balancing tannins.
2009 Cabernet –
11.50€
30% Cabernet Franc to
70% Cabernet Sauvignon. 12 months in
oak. Quite rounded and youthful with
cassis and oak on nose and palate. Quite
firm tannins and still very youthful, but with good balance and body. They do a careful tri at the harvest to
remove any unripe berries so that they avoid any green notes
A lovely selection of
wines. And then we adjourned to Le Presbytère
in Vailhan, which changed hands earlier this year. The view is that the food is even
better, and Madame has a winning smile.
Louis-Marie had prepared an icebox - in consideration of the summer temperatures
- of older bottles:
2005 Equinoxe - Quite a deep golden colour, with a mature
nose and lovely ripe nutty fruit, balanced with good acidity. Rich mouth feel and texture.
2000 – Equinoxe - Amber
colour; intriguingly mature but not
maderised. Honeyed with acidity on the
finish. Rounded body and weight, with balancing acidity
2003 Cabernet
Deep colour. Smoky cedary fruit. Lovely balance. Still very young and fresh, especially for a
2003. A lovely surprise. It had aged beautifully, and was delicious
with the boeuf de l’Aubrac that was our main course.
2000 Cabernet. This was even better, with some lovely cedary
notes on nose and palate. A certain
freshness, and very elegant.
2002 Paradoxe
40% Syrah, 20% each
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Grenache. Spicy fruit. Tannins fondu. Still very youthful, with acidity behind the
fruit. Fresh with some furry
tannins. Good depth. And some rounded spice.
2002 Lyre Vendanges
tardives de Muscats à petits grains. Passerillé
grapes. In oak for 10 months. Acidity,
apricots and marmalade. And quite
delicious.
2008 Merlot muté sur
grains. Fruit and freshness. Balanced sugar and acidity. Lovely red fruit with a tannic note. Very intriguing
and original and delicious with our rich, dark chocolate dessert.
Louis-Marie has been
making wine for over thirty years and you sense that his curiosity is boundless
– he will never stop trying something new, and he succeeds and manages a wide
range of wines extraordinarily well. A
talented winemaker, with a great sense
of humour.
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