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LANGUEDOC-ROUSSILLONThe woods and desert cavesWith wild thyme and gadding vine o’er grownJohn Milton – LycidasVINTAGE REPORT & NEW AGENCIESIn Languedoc-Roussillon, the 2010 vintage unitedconcentration, alcoholic content, complexity andfinesse, a blessed relief after a succession ofproblematic summers,. 2011 reds have sweet perfumedfruit, whilst whites are round and appealing, whilst2012 might be classified as a forward vintage. It isdifficult to generalise about such a large region with somany microclimatic variances.At the commercial end some excellent varietals arebeing made without sacrificing terroir unlike their newworld counterparts “distill’d almost to a jelly”, whilst,perversely, the cooler conditions on the margin flatterthe white wines. The quality of fruit is now beingcaptured and enhanced by expert wine-makingtechniques. The modern wines of Stephane Vedeau andGérard Bertrand, for instance, continue to prove thatFrance can compete on the varietal front with any ofthe laboratories of garnishes/fruit factories around theworld, whilst the elegant Chardonnays of the Les Cavesdu Sieur d’Arques are antidotes to the usual lacticcaricatures.Newest additions to the list include a range ofMinervois from Pierre Cros and Jean-Baptiste Sénat,the star of which from the former is a pure Carignanfrom old vines, a meticulous, eighteen-carat, bang-torightsrespect-my-quality red wine. Look also for hiswines made from distinctly unfashionable grapes suchas Piquepoul Noir and Aramon. Sénat makesbeautifully elegant wines. With the recently acquiredfabulous little “schist-hot” Saint-Chinian from ThierryNavarre, the beguiling garrigue-perfumed Corbières ofOllieux-Romanis and Côtes du Roussillons fromOlivier Pithon and Marjorie Gallet, the definition ofpurity and finesse, wonderful wines are emerging at alllevels from the Languedoc-Roussillon appellations.And finally a grower whose wines we have alwaysadmired, the mercurial Didier Barral, whose wonderfulFaugères wines illustrate biodynamics in its purestform. The teeming earth definitely moves in his reds.The Languedoc-Roussillon, described as “the largest vineyard inthe world” by Liz Berry M.W., is a laboratory of innovationwhere the best of the old is being given a healthy technologicalmakeover. The wine culture of centuries (vines were introducedby Greek traders as early as the eighth century BC) has beenrevitalised in the last thirty years, particularly after the significantreduction in the Aramon, a variety bogging down the image ofthe wines from this region. Soils and climate have historicallycombined to create an environment that is exceptionally wellsuited to growing vines; grape varieties are matched to their mostappropriate terroir. When the wines hit top form, you would lookin vain for equivalent value for money in the Rhône or Bordeaux.To highlight this fusion between traditional quirkiness andnewfangled expertise look particularly at our three estates fromMinervois: Domaine Pierre Cros, Jean-Baptist Sénat and Clos del’Azerolle. The wines fully reflect the terroir of the region, yetthey retain their individual identities. The grape varieties (orblends) are different, the use of oak is different and thevinification methods are different – the wines are homogeneousonly in their respective excellence.Mas de Daumas Gassac, invariably described as the first “GrandCru of the Languedoc”, is an estate for which we have a strongaffinity. The wines have charm and subtlety; every glass seems toexpress the history and terroir of this remarkable estate. Becauseof its early notoriety it endured a period of critical reversesnobbery. Those bored with garage-brewed Shiraz soup willenjoy Gassac’s more refined eloquence. The terroir of Aniane hasspawned other bespoke wines, notably Domaine de Montcalmès.And who needs clunking claret after all when you can fill yourmouth with epic taste sensations from southern France at afraction of the cost? It is not only, however, against thetraditional French areas that one should be measuring thephenomenal progress of the Languedoc-Roussillon, rather it iscountries like Spain and even Australia that could do with aquality/price ratio lesson.Someone once wrote: “Far from despising the word ‘peasant’wine, these appellations embrace it with pride and give it duenobility”. Respect due.The Rousse is on the looseRoussillon is where a lot of small growers are makingnatural (low sulphur) wines. Jean-François Nicq,Isabelle Frère, Bruno Duchene and Edouard Laffittemake similar gentle-fruited, characterful reds with softtannins and light extraction.There comes a time in life when one begins to prize young wine. On a Southern shore there is a string of round, wicker-covereddemijohns always kept in store for me. One grape harvest fills them to the brim, then the next grape harvest, finding them empty oncemore, in its turn fills them up again… do not disdain these wines because they give such quick returns: they are clear, dry, various, theyflow easily from the throat to the kidneys and scarcely pause a moment there. Even when it is of a warmer constitution, down there, if theday is a really hot one, we think nothing of drinking down a good pint of this particular wine, for it refreshes you and leaves a doubletaste behind, of muscat and cedarwood.Colette – Earliest Wine Memories- 46 -