Tasting Maison Lorgeril
My good friend Frank Flugge, who is the export director for Maison Lorgeril, asked me if l would conduct a webinar and tasting for their American sales team. This meant that rather a lot of bottles arrived at home in London, as Frank had planned quite an extensive tasting with wines from all their various Languedoc estates.
The family home is the Château de Pennautier in Cabardès. I first visited this property at the end of the 1980s and met Françoise de Lorgeril. At the time it seemed to me like a sleeping beauty, an elegant château with a long history, and badly in need of some TLC. Things changed when Nicolas and his wife Miren took over. I have not met Nicolas, but Miren is irrepressibly energetic. When l was researching The Wines of the Languedoc, l asked so many people what had changed in the previous decade or so. Miren’s reply exuded enthusiasm. "We are rediscovering that we have fantastic terroir. People now realise that we do not have to follow the fashion of Bordeaux or Burgundy. We are the Languedoc and we should be proud of it". And that she certainly is.
For me the tasting was an opportunity to enthuse about the Languedoc. If I am ever asked that thorny question: if you were condemned to drink the wine of just one region, which would it be? My answer is the Languedoc. It has everything from sparkling wine and dessert wine, with reds, whites and rosés with a variety of styles and mix of grape varieties. I would however have to include Roussillon in my answer for the delicious vins doux naturels.
Asked how to define the Lorgeril house styles, the answer is freshness and elegance, drinkability and less oak. They began using barriques at Château Pennautier for their best wines in 1992 but in recent years there has been a marked drop in the percentage of wine aged in barrel in the various estates.
So our tasting began with white wines:
2023 Mademoiselle de Pennautier, Pays d’Oc
A blend of 66% Chardonnay, 19% Sauvignon and 15% Viognier, grown in the cooler part of the Languedoc around Cabardès, where the influence of the Atlantic meets the Mediterranean. The wine had the pithiness of the Sauvignon and a touch of peachy Viognier, with the Chardonnay bringing it all together with a crisp finish.
2022 Marquis de Pennautier, Pays d’Oc
A pure Chardonnay grown near Cabardès. Fermented in barrel, with some lees stirring for three months. Light and fresh and buttery. A hint of oak. No great character, but rounded and harmonious.
2022 Maset de Montagne, Côtes du Roussillon Blanc
A blend of Grenache Blanc, Grenache Gris and Macabeu. Ten months ageing in barrel for the Macabeu. It always astonishes me that such a hot, dry region, with drought problems, can produce white wines with such firm acidity. This had a stony nose. The oak was well-integrated on the palate, with a firm backbone and a lively freshness and satisfying texture.
2023 Ô de Rose, AOP Languedoc
A blend of 60% Grenache, 30% Syrah and 10% Viognier. A little colour, but still very delicate. And a delicate nose with a hint of peachiness. The palate is firm and crisp with some dry raspberry fruit, and a satisfyingly rounded finish.
Frank wanted to compare this with their immediate rival in the USA, namely Côte des Roses from Gérard Bertrand. This was also crisp and fresh with a hint of raspberry fruit, but l also found it slightly stalky on the finish as though it had been pressed too hard…..
2021 Domaine de la Borie Blanche, Terroirs d’Altitude, Minervois la Livinière
La Liviniere is one of the crus of Minervois, just 350 hectares in the village of La Livinière and the neighbouring villages. It includes some of the highest parts of the Minervois.
A blend of 55% Grenache Noir and 45% Syrah. A small percentage of the wine aged in 500 litres demi-muids. Good colour. Medium depth. Cherry liqueur on the nose with some spice. Notes of tapenade. Very rounded succulent fruit, with a fresh lift on the finish.
2021 Grand Vin de la Borie Blanche, Minervois La Livinière
45% Syrah,40% Grenache Noir, 10% Mourvèdre and 5%% Carignan. Some of the highest vines in the appellation at 350 metres. Quite a deep young colour. More intense nose than the previous wine. Well integrated oak and spice. More structured youthful tannins. Ageing potential.
2020 Château de Ciffre, Terroir d’Altitude St Chinian.
Half and half Syrah Grenache Noir. Some ageing in demi muids
Good colour. Black fruit and spice on the nose. Quite a rich palate with spice and a streak of tannin. Richer and more rounded than the Faugères that followed.
I will write more about Chateau de Ciffre in my next post, but the estate is unique in having vineyards in the adjoining appellations of St. Chinian and Faugeres. You can see the fault line in the vineyards.
2020 Château de Ciffre Grand Vin, Faugères
A blend of 50% Syrah, 40% Grenache and 10% Mourvèdre.
A slightly lighter colour than the St. Chinian. Comparisons are inevitable. However this is their top Faugères, as opposed to the more accessible St. Chinian. Fresh black fruit and spice on the nose, with more red fruit on the palate. Fresher, lighter and more elegant than the St Chinian with a streak of tannin on the finish.
2019 Château de Pennautier, Terroir d’Altitude, Cabardès
Cabardès is one of the two appellations that allows for a blend of Mediterranean and Atlantic grape varieties, so the blend is a blend of 30% Grenache, 25% Syrah, 15% Malbec, 10% Cinsault, 10% Cabernet and 5% Merlot. Young colour. Some ripe cassis fruit, with supple tannins and a fresh finish.
2020 Esprit de Pennautier, Cabardès
A blend of 25% each Syrah and Grenache, with 20% each Cabernet Franc and Malbec and 10% Merlot, so half Mediterranean and half Atlantic grape varieties. But a co-fermentation of Syrah with Cabernet Franc, and of Grenache with Malbec. Deep young colour. Firm structured nose and palate. More tannic than the previous wine, but balanced with Mediterranean spice and well integrated oak. It is a selection of the best wines of the vintage. Considerable ageing potential.
And if you are wondering whether the wine show more Mediterranean or Atlantic characteristics, another Cabardès wine grower suggested that you find the flavours that you prefer, so if you favour the Languedoc, that is what you will taste, and if the Atlantic is your preference, you will detect the flavours of Bordeaux. So for me this wine was more Mediterranean in style, and quite delicious. It is very satisfying to see just how well this estate has evolved since my very first visit sometime towards the end of the last century.
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