Domaine La Tasque
Meeting with my fellow Master of Wine, Juliet Bruce-Jones, who is one of a handful of wine growers pioneering Assyrtiko in the Languedoc. Juliet and her husband Simon run a small wine estate in the village of Mailhac on the western edge of the Minervois. Their very first vintage was 2014.
They planted Assyrtiko in 2020, in two vineyards outside the village, totalling just 60 ares. The vines are planted with trellising and look quite unlike the vines of Santorini. They also have Bourboulenc, Carignan Blanc, Grenache Blanc, Cinsault, and unusually Tempranillo, as well as Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache Gris and some old Carignan.
2026 has been a good vintage for them, with their bigger quantity ever of Assyrtiko, and very healthy grapes. We went to look at the vineyards, taking a winding windy track out of the village. The vines came from a nursery in Nemea in the Peloponnese in southern Greece. French bureaucracy was surprisingly helpful, with the awareness of the significance of looking at alternative varieties in the light of climate change. As yet there is very little choice in clones of Assyrtiko, and for rootstock Juliet went for Richter 110 which is drought resistance and the vines are planted on poor dry soil. They have also planted Bourboulenc, which was much slower to get going - Assyrtiko is proving easier to grow. The vines are irrigated. A water diviner found them water at 25 metres and a well was dug.
And back at the cellar, we tasted.
2025 Aprilia - 14€
A blend of Assyrtiko 58%, Bourboulenc 25%, Grenache Gris and just a drop of Carignan Blanc. Fermented in stainless steel. They made no pure Assyrtiko in 2025 as the yields were too low. The wine is aged in eggs, with no actual bâtonnage as such, but a gentle movement with the fine lees caused by the shape of the eggs. The wine starts out slightly austere and becomes more rounded. There is some firm minimality and fruit, with a fresh finish of acidity and a slightly austere note which will soften with age.
As the name Aprilia, Simon is an aficionado of vintage cars, Lancias in particular.
2024 Assyrtiko - 25.00€
81% Assyrtiko with the balance Bourboulenc. Aged aged in an egg. Very firm and stony, very mineral. Very tight and focussed. Delicious!
2023
Their first crop of Assyrtiko, and a blend of 75% Assyrtiko with Bourboulenc, and a crop totalling just 312 bottles. There was not enough for a pure Assyrtiko. And generously Juliet opened one for us. It was more oxidative and more evolved, with more weight ant texture in the mouth. And a more rounded finish. The harvest was 27th August, whereas subsequent years have been later. Again it was kept in an egg, vetrified stone ware. Juliet commented on the difference between eggs and amphora for their old vine Carignan. The eggs make for a much more elegant wine.
And then we tried the 2026 Assyrtiko from an egg. It was still fermenting with a little sugar remaining, with some rounded fruit and a mineral touch.
2024 Appia - another Lancia name. IGP Pays Cathare - 10.00€
An easy drinking red, About 50% Syrah with some Grenache and Carignan. Aged in vat. Blended in the new year and bottled in the spring. Lovely rounded spice on both nose and palate. Rip spice. Very approachable with a supple streak of tannin. Medium weight at 13%. Achieving what they had set out to achieve - immediate pleasure in the glass.
I have not knowingly come across the IGP Pays Cathare before. It is quite a large area, covering all the department of the Aude, and extending into the adjoining Ariège. It must be a blend and it can also be white and rosé.
2024 Carignan Vieilles Vignes, IGP Aude
From 72 year old wines, all aged in an egg. No oak at all. Handpicked and destemmed. A classic vinification. They have tried carbonic maceration and they are now tending towards a lighter style of red wine. Very deep colour. Ripe spice on nose and palate, with a fresh finish. Youthful and juicy.
2023 Carignan - 18.00€
Aged in vat with a small proportion in an egg. Good colour. Rounded red fruit. Lovely spice on the palate. A note of freshness but a fuller finish than the 2024.
2018 Carignan - 18.00€
A fascinating comparison. This was much more extracted with regular pigeage and some oak ageing. A more leathery savoury nose. Rich and intense; sweeter, riper. A hint of vanilla and a firm tannic streak. Some evolution, but still quite dense. I much preferred the 2023.
2018 Syrah, IGP Aude - 18.00€
Blended with a little Carignan. Rounded and spicy with a firm streak of tannin. Quite an elegant finish.
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