Domaine de Saumarez
To see Liz and Robin Williamson for an update of their wines. Waze took me on a wild goose chase down narrow lanes between Murviel-les-Montpellier and St. Georges d’Orques…. with some scenic views. Robin tells me that Saumarez is not French but the Norman or Breton word for salt of the sea.
They have built a smart new tasting room since my last visit, with an expanse of wall space for local artists to exhibit. And we got straight down to tasting
2024 Chardonnay - 8.50€
Lightly leesy nose. Youthful. Mechanically harvested in the cool of the night and pressed. The juice is lightly oxidised, which deals with any potential oxidation further down the line. There is a débourbage and then they add cultured yeast and the fermentation begins at 16º - 18ºC. There is some daily lees stirring, giving the wine a satisfying texture, balanced with youthful fruit and fresh acidity. Good mouthfeel, but still a tad young and adolescent. Needs a bit of bottle age.
2024 was a complicated harvest in that it took seven weeks. A cool September slowed things down and the whites had finished fermenting before they harvested the red grapes.
2024 Languedoc Blanc - 10.50€
A blend of 50% Grenache Blanc, 40% Marsanne and 10% Roussanne, A modest 13º. Handpicked. Each variety separately in the same week. Destemmed and into the press. So the blending takes place at pressing. They loose one third of the sugar, and then put the juice into old barrels, aged between seven and 21 years old. Ageing on the lees for a few months. Light colour. White flowers on the nose. Good acidity balancing some satisfying texture and mouthfeel. Nice nuances. Youthful with development potential.
Robin talked about the subsoil of Murviel. He has an impressive chunk of stone on the cellar tasting counter - I should have tried to take a photograph of it. It is aalenien, 170 million years old Jurassic limestone, with bands of calcite. It looks like quartz but is not. Robin prosaically described it as shiny white stuff. The name comes from Aalen in Germany and it is only found to the east of Murviel-les-Montpellier.
2024 Assyrtiko - 25€
2024 is their very first vintage of this grape variety that is more commonly found in Greece and in particular on the island of Santorini. Light colour. A firm salty tang on both nose and palate. Excellent varietal character, with with volcanic mineral notes and an elegant finish. It is very salty and sappy and absolutely delicious. They made just five and a half hectolitres, or 733 bottles. I was so excited, I promptly asked to have my name put on six of them, once the wine is actually bottled. They have 1000 plants of Assyrtiko, and will graft another 300 this year. And Robin has also planted 3000 plants of Fiano, best known in Campania and is expecting a small crop in 2026. Both came from a vine nursery in the Veneto.
Robin commented on the harvest date - 26th September, as opposed to 15th August for the Chardonnay and the week of 23rd August for the Grenache, Marsanne and Roussanne, showing just how suited Assyrtiko could be to the south of France. My fellow MW Juliet Bruce-Jones has also planted some Assyrtiko in the Minervois, but I have as yet to taste that. And Robin thought that because she produced so little, she had blended it with another variety.
2023 Rosé, Fleur de Liz - 8.50€
Why don’t people understand aged rosé? Robin observed that so many people are so fixated about drinking the youngest vintage of rosé that they fail to appreciate the evolution of the wine, and just insist on the youngest, when in fact the previous vintage is just coming into its own. So he is considering taking the vintage off the label. This is a blend of two thirds Grenache Noir and one third Syrah. 12º. Pink orange colour. Quite rounded ripe fruit. Good balance of weight and acidity. Nicely mouth filling with a fresh finish. It was drinking beautifully.
2022 S de Saumarez Rosé Extra Brut méthode traditionnelle - 12.00€
Two years on the lees. Disgorged at the beginning of December 2024, by their prestateur in Salon de Provence. 3 gms/l dosage. Fresh frothy raspberry fruit. Fresh acidity on the finish. A very enjoyable drink.
2023 S’ Rouge, AOP Languedoc - 8.50€
One third Syrah, two thirds Grenache Noir. Four to five day maceration in a cement vat, before pressing and pumping the juice over the lees to give some supple tannins. 13.5 º. Deep colour. Ripe fruit. Some tapenade and black olive notes on the nose and palate. Rounded supple fruit and tannins. Lovely easy drinking.
Robin talked about their desire for drinkability. For some of their earlier vintages the maceration and extraction times had been too long. Now they favour a lighter extraction with no pigeage and just a little remontage to wet the cap of the skins.
2023 Trinitas, Grès de Montpellier
One third each of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre. The size of the Mourvèdre harvest determines the quantity of wine. All vinified in tank, two stainless steel tanks, to one of which they add some oak staves. Wood is salt and pepper to the wine and the staves make for flexibility.
This is a step up in weight and flavour. Quite a solid rounded nose, with red fruit on the palate and some appealing spice. Some balancing tannins. More serious with more depth and length than S’Rouge.
2023 Sangiovese - 18.00€
Grafted in 2013 and 2014, with a first vintage in 2015. Sangiovese is a late ripener. This was harvested on 22nd September. They have two clones, namely a field selection from the hills of Montalcino, which came from a nursery in the Doubs near Besançon, and the other also comes from Montalcino but from lower vineyards on the valley floor. It is fruitier with bigger bunches, while the hillside clone makes for richer flavours. Handpicked. Into 500 litre vats. Two manual pigeages. 10 days on the skins. And then into their 500 litre vertical press. Lovely varietal character. Robin has captured the sour cherry juicy fruit of Sangiovese and the palate is youthful with a balanced of fruity and acidity with fresh cherry fruit. Medium-weight.
2022 Syrah
From one vineyard planted in 2005. Rounded spicy nose, making for a more northern style of Syrah. Some contact with staves, for the seasoning. Twelve to fifteen months in tank. Quite peppery fruit with a juicy finish. Already drinking well, but also with some ageing potential.
2023 Petit Verdot - 18.00€
Grafted in 2013. Includes a very little Malbec. Again treated with staves
Good deep colour, Sturdy dry cassis fruit. Quite firm tight knit fruit, with a fresh finish and a balance of acidity and tannin. A youthful finish with plenty of ageing potential. A eight day maceration. Robin is insistent that you must not over extract. He talked of having a eureka moment and realising that there was more to life or wine than oak and heavy tannins.
We talked about the appellation of St Georges d’Orques, which Robin could use, but does not. He considers that there are already too many appellations in the Languedoc, and some have an identity and others do not. You can identity with Pic St Loup and the Terrasses du larzac, and Grès de Montpellier refers to the sandstone soil, and benefits from the name Montpellier. He does not see a future for St. Georges d’Orques - the soil is the same as for Grès de Montpellier and there is just one new independent wine grower in the village itself now. The cooperative accounts for 60% of the production of St Georges d’Orques and Robin considers the quality to be good, and unlike most of the Languedoc cooperatives, it has not merged with any others.
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