Cal Demoura - an update
Norwegian friends came to stay for a couple of days, wanting to visit producers in the Terrasses du Larzac. They needed a change from the Gaillac that is produced around their French home, but they did arrive with bottles of unusual grape varieties, Prunelart, Braucol and Duras, from the best Gaillac estate, Domaine Plageoles. So our first appointment was with Isabelle Goumard at Cal Demoura.
It was the end of September so naturally we talked about the harvest. They still had one plot left to pick and were generally very happy. There has been more rain than usual in the Languedoc this year, which makes a change from the usual drought. The water tables have risen and the grapes are healthy. However the summer was pretty dry which has had an impact on volume, with the crop about 30 - 40% less than they would have predicted at the end of July. Some rain in August helped, and there has been some rain during the harvest, which has lasted longer than usual. They began picking about 20th August, and have been taking their time. Generally they are pleased with the quality, which Isabelle describe as très très joli. The rain has meant that the alcohol levels are lower; she compared it with vintages at the end of the last century. Some people apparently were complaining that the grapes were not ripening properly, but she attributed that to too many grapes. You mustn’t exhaust the plants. And she talked about their oldest plot of Grenache which they were picking the following day. It is 70 years old and takes its time to ripen. Normally it reaches 15%, but this year it is only at 14%, but none the less, it is ripe.
The answer to my usual question: what’s new, was Counoise. They had planted an experimental plot of 500 plants, considering it would be a useful addition to the vineyard as a late ripening variety. The cépages precoces or early ripening varieties such as Syrah are becoming increasingly difficult with the hot summers and lack of rain. Their cuttings came from Château Beaucastel in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Isabelle explained that a new variety is like adopting a child, you need to get to know it and adapt it. It doesn’t necessarily work in the same way as your other grape varieties. On s’apprivoise mutuellement - we are taming each other. They are very pleased with the results of the grafted vineyard so they planted 50 ares more in 2024.
They now have 17 hectares and have just grafted some Carignan Gris on a recently purchased plot of Caladoc. Their vineyards already surrounded this plot which the owner had stubbornly refused to sell them, and had perversely replanted only five years earlier with Caladoc, and then he retired and the plot became available. They acquired the cuttings from Domaine du Pas de l’Escalette. And they are also planning to plant more Chenin Blanc.
They continue to work biodynamically, which they began in 2018, and are now part of Biodyvin. It is a lot of work, and yields are not better, but there is a better balance in the grapes, with more acidity. And the employees working in the vineyards must also believe in biodynamic viticulture, or else they will have a negative effect. Isabelle cited an example of spraying the vines with a tisane déstressante, a de-stressing herbal spray of camomile and achillea millefeuille during the heatwave of 2022, and consequently the vines showed no signs of suffering from the heat.
I like the tasting room at Cal Demoura, as they have a window on to the cellar, so that you can admire their barrels as you taste. Their first vintage was 2004 and they used barriques for élevage, as did most people at the time, but since then there has been a shift towards larger barrels, first 500 litres and now 600 litres. They do not want to add any oak flavours, or boiser their wines, but simply let them breathe. Syrah needs to breathe, as does Mourvèdre, and Carignan less so, with Grenache and Cinsault not at all. Every plot is picked and aged separately, and then blended 12 months after the harvest. But there is no fixed recipe; the assemblage depends on tasting and the profile of the harvest. the grapes do not play the same role every year.
And then it was time for some tasting.
2023 L’Etincelle, St Guilhem-le-Désert - 25€
A blend of 50% Chenin Blanc, with Grenache Blanc, Carignan Blanc and a little Carignan Gris, Roussanne and Petit Manseng, which gives acidity. Part of the wine is kept in vat, part in a concrete egg and part in demi-muids. And then it all goes into vat for a while before bottling. I love this wine for the nuances of the various grape varieties. There is dry honey from the Chenin Blanc, and a certain salinity and minerality. It is multi-faceted with good acidity and will age beautifully.
They are out of stock of their second white wine, Parole de Pierre, which spends 12 months longer in barrel.
So we moved onto the range of red wines, all of which are Terraces du Larzac
2022 Terres de Jonquières - 26€
2022 was a heatwave year. Isabelle explained that the vineyards are enherbé, so that the grass is retained, which gives the soil more structure so that it is not compacted by the tractors, and the grass also insulates the soil, so that it stays cooler and lessens the effect of the heatwave. The wine includes grapes from each of their plots, hence the name recalling their village. And you simply would not think that this wine was born in a heatwave. It was redolent of elegant red fruit and spice, on both nose and palate. It is 14% but the alcohol is very well absorbed into the body of the wine, and there is acidity and tannin and a very fresh finish. it was all very harmonious with a youthful finish. There are six grape varieties in the blend, in descending order of importance, Syrah, Grenache, Carignan, Mourvèdre, Cinsault and finally a drop of Counoise.
2022 les Combariolles - 37€
The name means little combes, or valleys and the soil is very stony. with no clay, which makes the flavours more mineral. Syrah and Mourvèdre are the main varieties, with some Carignan for freshness, and a little Cinsaut and Grenache. And the alcohol is a more modest 13.5%. The wine is more structured on the nose, with more depth and richness. It is smoother, though with firm tannins giving it backbone, and there is more depth and length. Or to quote Isabelle, it is plus plein, plus soyeux, avec de la mineralité au nez. Fuller, more silky with minerality on the nose.
Next come what she called the micro-parcellaires, each with a principle variety, while the supporting varieties can vary each year.
2022 Feu Sacré - 55€
Grenache is the main variety and in 2022 it was blended with Carignan and Mourvèdre. Cinsault and Syrah could have been the other options, and for the Terrasses du Larzac you do need three varieties. 14.5%
Quite ripe and rounded on the nose, with notes of cherry liqueur from the Grenache. A fresh finish, but a rich palate with a streak of tannin. Elegant and rich at the same time. There was no new wood. Isabelle commented that the wines of Jonquières, their village, need time. They buy two or three new demi-muids each year and keep them for about ten years, so they never have a lot of new wood.
2022 Le Bois Paulhau - 55€
Paulhau is a diminutive of Paul. And a blend of 70% Syrah, from 50 year old vines grown on very stony soil, with some Mourvèdre and Cinsault to fill out the blend, making the wine more rounded. A deep young colour. You certainly detect peppery Syrah on the nose with a fresh black fruit on the palate, and a long peppery finish. It is quite tight and elegant, and youthful. And a delicious finale to the tasting.
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