The Languedoc with les Caves de Pyrène
That excellent wine emporium, Les Caves de Pyrene is always
a good source of wines from the south, and their portfolio tasting a couple of
weeks ago did not disappoint. What
follows is what they were showing, a nicely eclectic range of delicious things.
Mas Montel, Pays d’Oc, 2016 La Petite Syrah - £9.40
Light red colour. Soft peppery fruit on nose and
palate. Easy simple Syrah with a fresh
finish.
Moulin de Gassac
2016 Pinot Noir - £10.70
You could call this the second label of Mas de Daumas
Gassac, from local grapes that they buy, rather than grow. Pinot Noir is particularly tricky in the
south, but this works very nicely, with soft dry, raspberry fruit on the
palate. Medium weight, with no great
depth, but elegant with a fresh finish.
NV Crémant de
Limoux, Les Hautes Terres, Joséphine - £23.65
Quite a rounded leesy nose with some yeast autolysis, and an underlying nuttiness from a few months ageing in barrel. Gilles Azam was a pioneer of barrel-aged Creémant, inspired by the champagne producer, André Salosses. Good depth on the palate with nutty
notes. A Crémant with character from an
up-and-coming producer.
2016 Minervois, Arbalète,
Domaine Jean-Baptiste Senat - £15.60
A blend of Grenache and Syrah. Medium colour.
Quite rounded ripe fruit on the nose, and on the palate, supple with a
streak of tannin. Some ripe cherry fruit from the Grenache Noir.
2016 Clos du
Gravillas, Emmenez-moi au bout de Terret. - £17.70
As you might surmise from the name, the grape variety is
Terret, which is beginning to enjoy something of a revival in the
Languedoc. It has the great advantage of
producing good acidity in hot growing conditions. This wine has a firm stony nose, and on the
palate, there is indeed a lot of acidity, with firm stony mineral notes. Very pure.
2016 Vin d’Oeillades, Thierry Navarre – £13.35
Thierry Navarre is the leading independent wine grower of
the village of Roquebrun, which is one of the crus of St. Chinian. He is particularly enthusiastic about some of
the neglected grape varieties of the Languedoc, such as Oeillade, which is
related to Cinsaut. The colour is light
red, with lovely perfumed, fragrant fruit on the nose and more elegant red
fruit on the palate, with a stylish finish.
2014 Faugères Tradition, Clos Fantine -£17.60
Corinne Andrieu at Clos Fantine is one of the more natural
wine makers of Faugères, and I will say that this wine has a slightly ‘funky’
note. There is a hint of VA, but here is
also some intriguing fruit. I suspect
the bottle probably needed more aeration than it was getting at the tasting.
2015 Pic St Loup, L’Orphée, Mas Foulaquier - £18.15
A youthful Pic St Loup with fragrant elegant fruit on the
nose and a rounded supple palate, with less tannin than some.
2015 Languedoc blanc, Domaine d’Aupilhac - £18.35
Sylvain Fadat is one of the leading growers of the small
village of Montpeyroux and makes his white wine from a blend of Vermentino. Grenache
blanc, Clairette and Ugni blanc. The
colour is quite golden, and the wine is ripe and rounded on the palate with
some intriguing leesy notes on the nose.
A fresh elegant finish.
2016 Côtes du
Roussillon, Domaine des Foulards Rouges, Frida Rouge - £25.45
From equal parts of Grenache and Carignan. Quite a rounded spicy nose, with quite a full-bodied
palate, in an elegant way. A refreshing
note on the palate. Surprisingly juicy. A youthful finish.
In conclusion, a lovely range of wines. it was one of those tastings that I really enjoyed.
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