Domaine de Roquemale
Valerie Tabariès at Domaine de Roquemale is a welcoming hostess
in her tasting caveau right in the centre of the village Villeveyrac. She talked about the early beginnings of the
estate, which they started in 2001. She
and her husband, Dominique Ibanez, are both children of viticulteurs for their
parents belonged to the nearby coop of Poussan.
They began with 7 hectares and
now have 12, and left the cooperative in 2005 and converted to organic
viticulture. They found a maison de
vigneron in the village, with quite a sizeable cellar. Their first vintage at Villeveyrac was 2006.
Like all good vignerons, they attach enormous importance to
their work in the vineyard, keeping plots separate and making as many as ten different
wines. They find Mourvèdre difficult; it
is only good one year in four. And for
white wine, they are shifting from Marsanne and Roussanne to Picpoul and
Clairette. And they also have a lot of Alicante Bouschet. Their vineyards are in an isolated valley outside
the village. You go under the railway line that was used for transporting bauxite,
which was mined nearby. And Roquemale
means mauvaises roches, in other words, a very stony place, and the lieu-dit of
the vineyard.
Our tasting began with:
2015 Roc Blanc, Languedoc – 11.00€
An intriguing blend of Marsanne, Roussanne, Grenache Blanc
and Gris, Vermentino and Viognier, all in the same plot and all picked over
three days. 20% of the blend is fermented
in oak and then spends a further four months in oak. They buy just two new barrels a year. I found
the nose in the young wine quite oaky, but it was very intriguing with other
nuances and Valerie explained that it had ageing potential. She wants a balance of weight and freshness,
and is considering fresher, more acidic grape varieties.
2015 Méli-Melo, Pays de Hérault – 7.00€
An unusual blend of 80% Alicante Bouschet with a little
Cinsaut and Syrah. The Alicante Bouschet
is macerated on its skins for just one day as they do not want it to be too
hard or rustic. It is less than 12°
so quite light in the mouth. It is
fermented and kept in vat until bottling in June and was pleasantly perfumed
with some easy fruit and a streak of tannin.
And an original note on the finish.
2015 Les Terrasses, Languedoc – 8.00€
A blend of Syrah, Cinsaut and Mourvèdre, with an emphasis on
the fruit, making an easy to drink wine with some rounded dry spice. Medium weight.
2014 Les Grès (de Montpellier) – 11.00€
Villeveyrac is within the area of Grès de Montpellier and
this is the traditional cuvée that really represents the estate and what they
are doing. The blend is 90% Syrah to 10%
of Grenache Noir, and the soil is based on bauxite. There is plenty of appealing spice, making a
classic Languedoc and for easy drinking.
2014 Lema, Grès de Montpellier – 14.00€
This is mainly Grenache, with some Syrah and a little Cinsaut,
from three plots on terraces and including some 50 year old vines. Some of the Syrah is aged in barrel, but not
new, one to six years old. The palate is
structured with some firm ripe fruit, with a sturdy balance of tannin and
fruit. There was a refreshing energy
about the wine.
2013 Mâle, Grès de Montpellier – 20.00€
This comes from a plot of Syrah which they allow to get
really ripe. It is fermented by carbonic
maceration and then spends twelve months in wood. I found the palate quite rich and sweet, balanced
with a firm tannic streak. Valerie
enthused about the 2013 vintage. A very
good vintage, ‘we got what we needed when we needed it, both sun and rain’. The harvest was later than usually, only beginning
on 15th September. She explained
that their valley is very hot, but the nights are cool. And it is much dryer there
than in the Terrasses du Larzac.
And then she asked me if I could like to try a vieux Mâle –
the 2010. Could I resist! The wood was more obvious as
it was newer and the nose quite leathery with some rich spicy fruit on the
palate, and some satisfying texture. And
the 2014 Mâle included a little Mourvèdre, with less obvious oak and some ripe
spicy fruit. It was supple and rich, with
a fresh tannic streak and a good note on which to finish our tasting. And then we went to look at the vineyards
where Dominique was hard at work.
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