Great wines, attractively priced. Stephen Crosland loves the Languedoc and tells us why you should be stocking up on these staples.
Patchworks of gnarled vines, maritime pines and Romanesque churches sitting against backdrops of rocky hillsides are the archetypal views of the Southern French wine regions. It’s a landscape that has attracted tourists, artists and winemakers alike, the last of which have brought invaluable expertise from the more classic areas of France and even the New World!
When it comes to wines from the South of France, and in particular the Languedoc, there are two quite distinct categories, firstly as a source of well-made varietal wines and then as top-quality estate wines. The latter are often overlooked but they can easily rival wines from classic regions, especially the Rhône as the grape mix and climate are often very similar.
First wine up is a new listing, Domaine Peter Sichel. This is actually a total reworking of the old Domaine du Trillol, belonging to the Sichel family from Bordeaux. Finding that the old recipe of trying to produce a standard Corbières in this spectacular, rocky terroir wasn’t working, they went back to the drawing board and are now producing low-yield, high intensity wines with organic certification, much more suited to the terroir. Alex Sichel is in charge and the appellation changed to Vallée de Cucugnan to give more freedom in the varieties and winemaking techniques used. The results have been spectacular and are an ideal introduction to the wines that can be produced in the foothills of the Pyrenees.
Our second estate is also in the Corbières appellation, where the Fontfroide Hills meet the Aude Valley. Domaine la Cendrillon is owned by the Joyeux family who have been in the area since the 17th century with father, Robert, returning to the estate in 2000 after a career in industry, reinvigorating it by cutting production and bottling their own wine. Son Hubert continues this quality outlook, looking after the day-to-day running and winemaking. They are fully converted to organic viticulture and make a variety of wines – there is even some Albariño in their vineyards, and this forms a part of the first wine we offer here, Nuance. Petit Manseng and Verdejo make up the rest of the blend giving a wine with wonderful fruit and great freshness. The reds are the Syrah-based Essentielle, which is designed to be forward and open, and the more serious Inédite, which is aged in oak for 18 months. This is a wonderful domaine making wines of great character.
The next producer we love is Frédéric Albaret at Domaine Saint Antonin in Faugères, in the foothills of the Black Mountains up beyond Béziers. This is fairly unforgiving country, but Frédéric saw the potential and started the estate from scratch in 1994 with 13 ha which he and his wife have now expanded to 26. They too have become certified organic along the way, something which was seen as a bit odd when they began conversion in 2005 but now over 90% of their neighbours make organic wine. We offer two wines: the deliciously forward and fruity ‘Les Jardins’, mainly Syrah and Grenache made to drink young and the more serious ‘Cazalet’, from older vines and with some oak ageing. Both are classy, well-made wines and the Cazelet especially compares very well with top Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
The Languedoc is also a source of some of our own label varietal wines, and two of the best sellers are the Sauvignon and Merlot. Tanners Sauvignon is made for us by François Lurton, a member of the famous Bordeaux wine- making family. He sources the grapes from vineyards which provide the characteristics he is looking for, with some from parcels nearer the sea which give rich, almost exotic fruit which is balanced by grapes sourced from cooler areas to give great freshness. The result is a classic, balanced Sauvignon. Tanners Merlot is sourced from the Aude Valley. We work with winemaker Marie Julian to ensure that it is soft, fruity and easy drinking while still maintaining weight and depth. Hopefully you will agree that we have succeeded!
Our final estate is Domaine le Galantin, just over the border in Bandol, overlooking the sea east of Marseille. It’s a very chic area and the small harbour is full of expensive yachts and people drinking the rosés from the Provençal hinterland. Galantin was created in 1972 by the Pascal family and is now run by brother and sister Jérôme and Céline who have expanded the domaine and modernised the winery. Mourvèdre is the key variety here and Céline and Jérôme take care to age the wine before release so, although still typically full bodied, it can be approached much earlier than many of its neighbours. It has real depth and succulence. Don’t overlook their rosé which provides much better value than some of the better known and heavily marketed Provence brands.
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