Chateau d'Angles
This is one of my favourite la Clape estates. Eric Fabre was the technical director of Château Lafite for eight
years and then decided that what he really wanted to do was make Mourvèdre in
the south of France. However, he still
retains his bordelais approach to wine-making.
But firstly a bit of background, for this was one of the old historic estates
of the Languedoc, when it was Château
la Rivière-Haute and owned by Jean Ségura,
who was one of the pioneers of white wine in the Languedoc. I visited him in 1987 and at that time he was
making white wine that was a revelation, with a depth of flavour that was
unique in the region. Sadly his heirs had
neither his interest nor talent and the property went through a difficult few
years, until Eric arrived from Bordeaux, to make his first vintage here in
2002. He has also bought the neighbouring estate of Château la Rivière-Basse and reunited the two
properties under the name of Anglès. A Monsieur Barthélémy
Etienne d’Anglès had
bought the land after the French Revolution.
Eric, and his son Vianney, talked about what makes la Clape so
special. First of all there is the
climate. In spring the temperature warms up earlier,
because of their proximity to the sea, compared to much of the rest of the
Languedoc. Consequently you can plant
later ripening grape varieties, and be sure that they will indeed ripen. This explains why Bourboulenc is so
successful on la Clape, as it ripens even later than Mourvèdre, during the
second half of October. The maritime
influence also moderates the temperature.
When it is 27ºC
on a summer’s day in la Clape, it will be at least 30º – 31ºC
in Narbonne, and they will always have a light sea breeze. And even in summer, they get dew on the vines
– we were standing on the grass outside the château, and I did suddenly realise that my sandaled
feet were damp with morning dew. Eric
was adamant that it was not salty – they once had a storm that brought salt
onto the vines and burnt the leaves.
The name La Clape derives from clapas, which means cailloux
or stones in Occitan, and that is what the soil is. The massif of La Clape is a masse calcaire of
hard limestone, 17 kilometres by 7 kilometres, a compact area of vineyards,
crossed by valleys that were carved out by water. At Anglès they are two kilometres away from the sea. Rain
limits yields, with semi-arid conditions, and an annual average of 350 mm as opposed to 800 mm in Bordeaux.
And with his bordelais background, you might expect Eric to
be interested in Cabernet Sauvignon, but he was adamant; ‘it was Mourvèdre that
brought us here’. Friends from Bandol
had introduced him to the charms of Mourvèdre and so he set out to look for a
good vineyard for Mourvèdre. Cabernet Sauvignon
ripens much too quickly in the Midi. Altogether
they have 36 hectares of wine, in one large block, including one third planted for
white wine, when only about 10% of la Clape is white wine. Other good white wine estates include Mire
l’Etang, Rouquette-sur-Mer and Négly. The
appellation regulations demand a minimum of 40% Bourboulenc, with Grenache Blanc
to make a minimum of 60% and they also have Marsanne and Roussanne. Viognier is allowed up to 10% and other
varieties are tolerated, Grenache Gris, Terret, Picpoul, Carignan Blanc, and
also Rolle. And for reds, they have
Mourvèdre, with Syrah and Grenache, and
you can also have Cinsaut and Carignan, for which the permitted maximum is 30%. Altogether la Clape consists of 1000
hectares of vines, with 38 producers, including two cooperatives that account
for 20 percent of the appellation. There
are about 25 producers who sell their wine seriously, with another ten that are
small family concerns.
La Clape is on the way to becoming an appellation in its own
right, retrospectively for the 2012 vintage, and it will also be a cru of the
Coteaux du Languedoc. An appellation
naturally entails stricter regulations.
The delimitation parcellaire has been done. For the moment La Clape is red and white,
with rosé under
discussion for the appellation. There is
also an issue about the village of Gruissan, which is situated on the edge of
the Massif, and logically part of la Clape, but historically it has been included
within the appellation of Corbières, and Corbières does not want to give up Gruissan. It sounds like an histoire de clocher, as the French call local politics.
Eric still uses the same cellar as Jean Ségura, but he has modernised
it, and only makes the red wines here; the whites are made at Rivière Basse. The vats have drapeaux for temperature
control; there are stainless steel as well as cement vats, and everything works
by gravity.
And then it was time to open some bottles, and we continued talking
as we tasted. In the bordelais way,
Eric makes a Classique for each colour, and a Grand Vin for red and white. Classique accounts for 65% of the production ,
and the Grand Vin 35%, making an annual average of around 180,000 bottles.
2009 Classique Rouge
– 8.90€
40% Syrah, 40%
Grenache, 20% Mourvèdre. Medium
colour. Quite an elegant nose, with a
leathery note and a touch of white pepper.
For Eric white pepper from Syrah accounts for some of the tipicity of La
Clape. It is fresh with elegant tannins,
while the Grenache Noir gives red fruit.
Quite firm and leathery, with peppery
notes on the palate, with a certain freshness on the finish. 2009 was a good vintage, and quite a warm vintage. Eric observed that ‘we were fascinated by
the tannins here; and you can ripen the grapes properly here’ – the inference
being that that is not always so in Bordeaux.
They decide the picking date according to the taste of the grapes.
Vianney studied oenology in Bordeaux and then did business
studies in Champagne. He has worked with
his father, helping make the wine since the 2010 vintage, and looks for
elegance and length in his wines. The
maceration lasts three or four weeks for the younger Classique red, compared to
six or seven weeks for the Grand Vin.
55% Mourvèdre, with 25 – 30% Syrah and 15-20% Grenache. A touch of Carignan – they have one hectare
of it. And the wine spends nine to ten
months in barrels, 20% of which are new.
Apart from the Grenache that sees no oak. Deep colour.
Quite a ripe oaky nose. Quite black
tapenade fruit. Ripe sweet fruit on the
palate, with good depth. Still young
oaky vanilla flavours. Rounded silky
tannins. You need the tannin structure
to enable the wine to age. The Mourvèdre
adds depth to the wine. They have
grafted some onto older 30 or 40 year old wines. It likes to see the sea, and the vines must
be old.
2011 Rosé
Classique – 8.90€
80% Mourvèdre, with Syrah and Grenache. Pressed grapes, a delicate orange pink. Delicate nose. Very elegant, but with concentration. The picking time is critical; for rosé they pick the Mourvèdre
at the beginning of October, as opposed to the end of the month for the
red. Elegant dry rosé, with raspberry fruit.
2010 Classique Blanc
One year of élevage in vat.
50% Bourboulenc, 30% Grenache
blanc with 10% Marsanne and Roussanne. They
are interested to see what the Viognier will produce; the wines would be five
years old for the 2012 vintage, which is minimum age for vines for la Clape.
Light colour; salty mineral nose. Eric equates Bourboulenc to a Mourvèdre
blanc. The acidity is low with salty
mineral fruit, fresh stony notes and good depth. Grown on calcaire coteaux, with galets roulées. No skin contact; the grapes are quickly pressed and the juice
cooled to keep its aroma. Bourboulenc is
almost tannic, with a certain structure from the thickness of the skins, which
enable it to resist the sun and also the humidity from the sea. It is ripe when the skin is becomes more
fragile. The Marsanne and Roussanne are
picked at the beginning of September.
2008 Grand Vin
40% Bourboulenc, with 20% each of Marsanne, Roussanne and Grenache
blanc. Fermented in wood, mainly 2 year
old barrels, followed by élevage with some bâtonnage. The Grenache, Marsanne and Roussanne go into
wood together, while the Bourboulenc, which is picked a month later, is kept in
vat. There are three hectares of 80
year old Bourboulenc vines; it is a cousin of Malvoisie from Italy. The final assemblage is done at the end of
the élevage. Hints of honey on the nose,
with iodine, garrigues, fennel and
celery. A certain matière, with a hint
of vanilla. Some weight, with an
appealing freshness on the finish.
2003 Grand Vin blanc
Light golden, rich and iodé. Very good
matière with a hints of fennel and a fresh finish. Very intriguing. And showing just how well the white wines of La Clape age.
2009 Grand Vin Rouge– ex barrel vat – no filtering or fining. Quite firm and structured plate, with very
good tannins. A reticent nose. Rounded youthful palate. Similar blend to 2008, though a warmer
vintage.
A great visit, and an estate that is going far.
Comments