Domaine Thierry Navarre
Thierry
Navarre is just across the road from Domaine Marquise des Mures. He is a great enthusiast of the old forgotten grape varieties of the
Languedoc, varieties like Ribeyrenc Noir and Blanc, and even Gris, which disappeared after
phylloxera. I came away with a bottle of
Oeillade, one of Ribeyrenc and one of Terret, all of which are wonderfully
original, showing just why the Languedoc should reconsider the potential of
these old varieties and incorporate them
in the appellations. Instead they are humble Vin de France. Thierry feels very strongly that the
diversity of the Languedoc has been seriously reduced and that this has a
serious effect on agriculture and the environment.
2014 Lignières blanc, Vin de France – 8.00€
A blend of Ribeyrenc Blanc,
Clairette, and Grenache Gris, which is very much better than Grenache Blanc,
which tends to be rather flat. He obtained
the plants of Ribeyrenc from the INRA; you
cannot buy them from a nursery. Classic
vinification; temperature controlled and all fermented together. Quite a floral nose with white flowers and
on the palate some mineral notes and some floral notes and fresh acidity on the
finish. ‘I wouldn’t plant Chardonnay’
observed Thierry; he feels that the vignerons ‘are ashamed on their region’ -
that is why they plant international varieties rather than the old indigenous
varieties of the region.
2014 Vin d’Oeillade, Vin de France. 7.00€
Œillade has the
advantage of being ripe at 11.5˚ Some
ripe fruit, but the bottle had been open a couple of days and was possibly a
touch evolved on both nose and palate. Carbonic
maceration for 8 days.
2014 Ribeyrenc Rouge,
Vin de France – 10.00€
Again a low alcohol of
11.5˚. Quite light colour. Bottled three weeks earlier. Fresh cherry fruit. A côté orange. Fresh easy fruit. There are only three vignerons with
Ribeyrenc in the whole of the Languedoc,
namely Patricia Domergue at Clos Centeilles, François Henri in St. Georges
d’Orques and Thierry. Thierry has just
1.75 ha! And two hectares of
Oeillade. He referred to Ribeyrenc as
his baby. Once upon a time the vineyards
of the Languedoc essentially comprised one third Ribeyrenc, one third Oeillade
and one third Picpoul. Carignan and Grenache
Noir arrived from Spain in the 19th century, and were planted after
phylloxera. Ribeyrenc must be grown up in
the hills, never on the plain. The nose
has some light perfume, with a medium weight palate, with some fresh cherry
fruit. Very appealing. He has also planted
some Picpoul Noir – apparently there is a lieu-dit in Roquebrun called Picpoul.
2013 St. Chinian Le
Laouzil – 8.00€
Carignan, Grenache
Noir and Syrah – Laouzil means schist in Occitan. Destalked and given a three week
maceration. 13.5˚. Good spicy fruit on both nose and
palate. A medium weight palate.
Very much an emphasis on fruit. And
then I noticed that all Thierry’s back labels says Tchin tchin, or cheers! He has a nice sense of humour.
2013 Cuvée Olivier, St
Chinian – 12.00€
From his oldest vines,
30 years old Syrah and 80 years old Carignan and Grenache Noir. Initially ac losed nose that develops in the
glass. Ripe supple fruit. Two winters in vat – 13.5˚ Quite concentrated, but not heavy.
And then we deviated for
a bit of history. Thierry’s first
vintage was 1988. His family were never
members of the coop. His grandfather
bottled wine in the 1960s, and sold Muscat and Grenache noir, vin doux, but
with no added alcohol, as did most small vignerons at the time. That was very much the tradition of the
region, and Thierry feels it is a shame that the appellation does not remember
this old tradition for Grenache and
Muscat. The grandfather also produced Vin Rouge, Carignan des Coteaux, which
was initially sold en vrac and then he began to bottle it. He also made white wine from Servant, which can also be a table grape, which ripens very
late. And Thierry is dismissive of the
cru of Roquebrun – that is for competitions, and they concentrate on Syrah,
which is a stupidity – it comes out like encre de chine, or Indian ink. The
challenge is to produce fresh wine in a hot climate.
2012 La Conque, Vin de France - 10.00€
And then we moved onto
Thierry’s other project, a vineyard of just 1.30 hectares with Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, planted
by friends up in the hills at 600 metres, at just about the highest point of
the commune of Roquebrun. La Conque is
the name of the lieu-dit. The vineyard is surrounded by woods, with a three week
delay in ripening, compared to the lower vineyards of Roquebrun. The soil is clay rather than schist. A complete change of key in the taste
spectrum. Elegant dry cassis. Medium weight. Some tannins. Very elegant finish.
They are building a
cellar there now, for élevage, as it is so much cooler. The wine makes itself slowly up there; the
2014 was just finishing its malolactic in September 2015. Thierry uses a drop of s02 and that is
all. The pH is higher, which helps keep the wine. The Cabernet is aged in 500 litres new
wood.
And then we tried 2013
Terret Gris, which is lightly orange in colour
- 8.00€ It is harvested and
pressed; the colour comes from the pulp.
It is not fermented on the skins, like
the orange wines of Georgia. The wine is very original – with some orange fruit, with a hint of honey
and it is solid and rounded, with some citrus notes. Textured and rich on the finish.
And the finale was Vin
de Grenache – 12.00€
17˚. Égrappé in vat, and then forget about it and
let it macerate five or six days, and then press and chill to stop the
fermentation. Spends time in wood. Red fruit, fig, dried fruits, some floral
notes and slightly honeyed on the finish.
Asked about projects
for the future – Thierry has replanted Oeillade and wants to plant more Ribeyrenc Blanc and Terret gris –
and he would love a new cellar……
And then a tractor
arrived, full of ripe healthy Syrah grapes, so we watched them being unloaded
into the égrappoir and then headed to Les Cave St Martin for a spot of lunch,
which for me was some delicious paté, with a really ripe tomato salad and a
glass of Yannick Pelletier’s L'Oiselet.
I was amused to see that the menu for the charcuterie proclaimed
assiette de jambon, cochon heureux!
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