[wine] S. France double take

A two-fer: September 16, 2009 Wines of The Times The Languedoc Raises Its Game By ERIC ASIMOV YEARS ago, when I was in graduate school in Austin, Tex., I remember buying liter bottles of red wine from southern France, mostly from the Languedoc. I particularly remember those from the appellation Minervois. They weren.t bad wines, at least I didn.t think so at the time, though they were lean and perhaps a bit tart. But they were ideal for anybody on a student budget, and those big bottles were great for dinner parties. My, how things have changed. I don.t see those big bottles anymore, and while the wines from the Languedoc, especially those from Minervois, are still very good values, these days they may stretch a graduate student.s budget a little too far. But what.s really different is how much better these wines are now than they were 25 years ago. For years, I.ve heard talk about the transformation of the Languedoc, a region that for so long was best known for supplying the rest of France with cheap red wine that only occasionally rose to the level of mediocre. As the French began to consume less wine, and the competition for the inexpensive market has grown, Languedoc has had to undergo a painful evolution that is far from complete. Not long ago the only thing you could be sure about in a bottle of wine from the Languedoc was that it would be unpredictable. Styles might range from the most rustic wines imaginable to highly polished bottles of no discernable origin. And the quality of the winemaking was a similar grab bag. In a tasting recently of 20 bottles of red from the Languedoc, the wine panel found them still to be all over the place stylistically. But the level of high quality in the winemaking was unexpectedly consistent. For the tasting, Florence Fabricant and I were joined by Bernard Sun, the beverage director for Jean-Georges Management, and Michael Madrigale, the sommelier at Bar Boulud. The Languedoc, along with Roussillon, the region just to the south with which it is habitually paired, covers a huge territory. The vineyards stretch in a long crescent along the Mediterranean between Provence to the east and the Pyrenees to the south, accounting for perhaps a quarter of all the vines planted in France. For the tasting, we tried to confine ourselves to some of the better hilly regions inland, including Saint-Chinian, Minervois, Corbiès, Fitou and certain sub-regions of the enormous Coteaux du Languedoc, most particularly Pic Saint-Loup. We also looked for bottles $35 or less. In the end, 15 of the bottles in the tasting were $20 or less. Only two cost more than $30. These wines are generally made from a handful of grapes typical of southern France, including mourvèe, grenache, syrah, cinsault and carignan. Carignan is of particular interest. The grape is much derided for its lack of allure, particularly when overcropped, resulting in thin, dark, acidic, tannic wines of . big surprise . little charm. The European Union has encouraged many farmers to pull out their carignan vines. But when old vines are carefully nurtured, and the grapes intelligently blended, the wines can be very good. Many of our top 10 wines have a significant carignan component. It.s easy to find international grapes, too, like merlot, cabernet sauvignon and even pinot noir in some of the branded bottles that are intended to compete on the global market for inexpensive wines. We avoided these sorts of wines as, frankly, I find them of very little interest. The wines we liked best were well made and focused, with clear expressions of regional identity, particularly the earthy, aromatic blend of wild herbs that, if you close your eyes, can.t help making you feel as if you.re smack in the middle of the shrubby, rocky Languedoc. Even so, we had some disagreements. One of the things I liked best about the wines was that they were not dripping with fruit flavors, as so many modern wines are today. Florence, on the other hand, thought that the wines as a whole did not show enough fruit flavors. Bernard, too, was looking for clearer expressions of fruit, while Michael preferred wines that he thought were rough, raw and rustic. As much as the wines have improved, Languedoc is still a forbidding proposition for winemakers, not only because of the rugged, dry terrain but the difficulties in making inroads in an overcrowded marketplace. Is it any wonder that one of my favorite Languedoc producers, Domaine Rimbert in Saint-Chinian, calls its wine Le Mas au Schiste? Aside from referring to the schiste on which the grapes are planted, Le Mas au Schiste is, as the British wine writer Andrew Jefford has pointed out, a pun on the French word for masochist. The 2005 Mas au Schiste, No. 7 on our list, was not at all painful to drink. It had great character in fact, with intriguing flavors of herbs, olives and cranberries. Our favorite bottle was the spicy, balanced 2006 Le Rél du Loup from Le Loup Blanc in Minervois. Made from carignan, grenache and syrah, it offered herbal, savory flavors, and epitomized a wine that spoke of its origins and history. Our No. 2 bottle, the dense, concentrated 2006 Châau de Séme, from Corbiès, was an entirely different sort of wine. Though it offered more obvious fruit, it too spoke of its region with aromas of menthol, licorice and herbs. At $14, it was also our best value. We also very much liked the 2006 CuvéSyrah Conference de Presse from Domaine Faillenc Corbiès, with its combination of fruit and earth flavors that were somewhat rustic. Our No. 4 wine, the 2005 Domaine de l.Hortus from Pic Saint Loup, also had an unpolished quality, yet we enjoyed its meadowlike herbal aromas and its tannic structure. With their raft of unfamiliar appellations and little-known producers, the wines from the Languedoc have over the years often been an adventure. The best bottles have always offered unexpected flavors and pleasing surprises. As the viticulture and winemaking have improved, the good news is that many producers have succeeded in removing the risks while managing to leave the sense of adventure intact. That is quite an achievement. Tasting Report: Navigating the Hilly Terrain Le Loup Blanc Minervois 2006 $19 ... (Three Stars) Le Rél du Loup Great sense of place, fragrant of fruit, herbs, garlic, rocks and dirt roads. (Jenny & Françs Selections, New York) BEST VALUE Châau de Séme 2006 $14 ... (Three Stars) Corbiès Rérve du Châau Big, dense and true, with aromas of menthol, licorice, fruit and herbs. (Allied Beverage Group, Carlstadt, N.J.) Domaine Faillenc Corbiès 2006 $20 ... (Three Stars) CuvéSyrah Conference de Presse A touch rustic with aromas and flavors of smoke, earth, fruit and minerals. (Rosenthal Wine Merchant, New York) Domaine de l.Hortus 2005 $20 .. ½ (Two and a Half Stars) Pic Saint Loup Grande Cuvé Tannic and unpolished yet appealing with true southern French aromas of herbs and flowers. (Eric Solomon Selections/European Cellars, Charlotte, N.C.) Châau Coupe Roses 2006 $18 .. ½ (Two and a Half Stars) Minervois CuvéVignals Distinctive flavors of smoke, herbs, bacon and fruit. (Vintage .59 Imports, Washington, D.C.) Castelmaure Corbiès 2006 $32 .. ½ (Two and a Half Stars) CuvéNo. 3 Big and structured with aromas and flavors of rich fruit, anise and herbs. (Regal Wine Imports, Marlton, N.J.) Domaine Rimbert Saint-Chinian 2005 $20 .. (Two Stars) Le Mas au Schiste Intriguing flavors of black olives, earth, cranberry and herbs. (Jenny & Françs Selections, New York) Ermitage du Pic Saint Loup 2006 $17 .. (Two Stars) Coteaux du Languedoc Balanced but tannic with smoky flavors of bacon and herbs. (Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, Calif.) Châau Massiac Minervois 2006 $14 .. (Two Stars) Earthy, spicy and intense with aromas of clay and bacon. (Rosenthal Wine Merchant, New York) Châau Cazal Viel Saint-Chinian 2007 $14 .. (Two Stars) Cuvédes Fé Polished and juicy with simple flavors of dark fruit and herbs. (Frederick Wildman & Sons, New York) This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: Correction: September 23, 2009 The Wines of The Times column last Wednesday on Languedoc in France referred incorrectly to the origin of one wine. The 2006 Châau de Séme is from Corbiès, not Minervois. Not to be outdone, from the WA Post: French Quality Goes South By Dave McIntyre Wednesday, September 16, 2009 Americans are always looking for something new, the next big thing, the undiscovered star, designer, iPhone app or whatever. So it might seem strange to look to France -- the stodgy, hidebound homeland of fine wine, with its rigid classifications and appellation laws -- as a source of innovation in wine. Yet the southern provinces of Languedoc and Roussillon have shown tremendous improvement in quality over the past decade, and they remain a great source of high-value wine at reasonable prices. Languedoc and Roussillon have a reputation for producing massive quantities of inferior wine. With modern winemaking techniques and capital, these regions still produce boatloads, but the cheap wine is getting better. In part that's because big French wine names from other regions are investing in Languedoc's cheap vineyard land to produce bargain wines that anchor their portfolios. Foreign companies, too, are investing, including Gallo, which markets the Red Bicyclette wines. You may have enjoyed some other Languedoc wines under cute brand names, such as Arrogant Frog, Petit Bistro or Fat Bastard, among others. There has even been a whiff of scandal, which shows how important this sector of the market has become. French and U.S. authorities are investigating whether pinot noir exported from Languedoc to the United States actually was pinot noir. They haven't determined which brands, if any, were sold as fraudulent pinot, but Languedoc is not exactly known for the grape, so suspicions run high. The real excitement lies in the various sub-appellations of Languedoc and Roussillon, such as Corbieres, Faugeres, Fitou, Saint-Chinian, Minervois and Cabardes, and the broader Coteaux du Languedoc. Here, the traditional Rhone Valley grapes of grenache, syrah, mourvedre, carignan and cinsault feature in various combinations, often with a splash of cabernet or merlot for added interest. The French magazine La Revue du Vin de France lavished patronizing praise on Languedoc in its July-August issue. "No other region in France has made as much progress as the wines of Languedoc over the past 10 years," the magazine said. (Presumably no other region had to.) The wonderful 1998 vintage surprised "local vintners" with the potential of their formidable terroirs, and, in the decade since, improvements in blending and aging their wines have enabled a few leading domaines to shake off the inferiority complex that haunts the region. So the magazine says. La RVF, as it calls itself, listed what its tasters considered the best 100 red wines from Languedoc. Bringing the magazine home with me from a visit to France this summer, I decided to explore Languedoc wines available here. I found a few that were on La RVF's list of favorites and a few others from producers that were on the list. Some of the wines I would call "modernized traditional": modernized in that the quality is high, traditional in that alcohol levels stay under 14 percent with little or no noticeable new oak. An example of this style is the delightful Ermitage du Pic St. Loup Cuvee Sainte Agnes 2005 from Coteaux du Languedoc ($23), imported by Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant of Berkeley, Calif. It is fresh and herbaceous, with herbal notes of the "garrigue" -- that heady mix of aromas, especially sage and thyme, that conjures southern France -- and an appealing citrusy note of orange peel. The 2006 of this wine ranked 57th on the RVF list. Other wines I tasted were very modern, almost New World in style, with riper flavors, lower acidity, alcohol pushing 15 percent and sometimes lavish new oak. The Mas Laval 2006 from the Vin de Pays de l'Herault appellation, for example, has a gorgeous perfume of evening, a rich silky texture and new oak that is evident but comfortable in a supporting role. It is imported by Exclusive Wine Imports of Richmond and ranked 20th on the RVF list of 100. It is ambitiously priced at $37, but some of the same magic can be found at $19 with the 2007 "Les Pampres" bottling from the same winery. The problem for consumers is that it can be difficult to know which style you have until you've tasted it, though the alcohol level on the label can be a clue. Unfortunately, I also found several wines that were marred by excessive sulfur, most likely sulfur dioxide (a necessary and natural preservative) added at bottling. The characteristic burnt-match-rotten egg smell will sometimes vanish if you decant the wine and let it breathe. Too often, however, it lingers, and no amount of vigorous swirling will liberate the fruit trapped underneath. On the whole, wines from Languedoc and Roussillon offer a variety of flavors and styles, good value and, increasingly, quality. They offer wine lovers a great opportunity for exploration. Dave McIntyre can be reached through his Web site, www.dmwineline.com, or at food(a)washpost.com. Recommendations Wednesday, September 16, 2009 Mas Laval 2006 *** Vin de Pays de l'Herault, France, $37 Perfumed with evening air, this gorgeous wine offers rich texture that coats the palate like fine silk. New oak is evident but content to play a supporting role. It ranked 20th on La Revue du Vin de France's list of the best 100 reds from Languedoc. The Mas Laval 2007 "Les Pampres" ($19, **, Great Value) is shy next to its more powerful sibling; decant it for an hour or two and let it blossom. Murray-Sykes Selection: distributed by Nice Legs in the District and Maryland, on the list at Rasika. Exclusive Wine Imports in Virginia: available at Arrowine in Arlington, Grape + Bean in Alexandria, Wine Seller in Herndon, Maison du Vin in Great Falls; on the list at Willow in Arlington and Vermilion in Alexandria. Ermitage du Pic St. Loup, Cuvee Sainte Agnes 2005 ** 1/2 Coteaux du Languedoc, France, $23 (Great Value) Herbaceous and fresh, deceptively light in body but long in flavor, with a hint of orange peel and intrigue. The 2006, which is just now reaching area stores, ranked 57th on the RVF list, while another wine from this producer was 34th. Winebow in the District: available at D'Vines, De Vinos, U Street Mini Mart; on the list at Acadiana, Bistrot Lepic, Cactus Cantina, Vinoteca. Castelmaure Grande Cuvee "Vendanges Humaine" 2006 ** Corbieres, France, $23 Deep aromas of thyme, olives and sage speak of the traditional garrigue character of wines from southern France, yet this wine has an impressive richness that should appeal to fans of New World wines. Kysela: available in the District at Whole Foods Market Tenleytown; available in Virginia at Unwined in Alexandria, Wegmans in Fredericksburg, Market Street Wineshop in Charlottesville. Chateau Coupe Roses "Granaxa" 2007 ** Minervois, France, $25 According to importer Roy Cloud, "the important thing about this estate is that the wine is made by a woman, so you can trust it." Okaaaay. But this grenache-based wine is also grown in the highest part of the Minervois appellation, which gives it bright fruit and good acidity for structure and balance. Vintage 59/Country Vintner: available in the District at MacArthur Beverages, Whole Foods Market P Street; on the list at Buck's Fishing and Camping, Indebleu. Chateau de Caladroy, Cuvee Saint Michel 2005 ** Cotes du Roussillon, France, $26 Lavishly oaked in a New World style, this mourvedre-based blend needs a little air to settle down, but when it does reveal its fruit, it shines. Mourvedre is the main grape grown in the Bandol sector of Provence, and this should appeal to fans of the highly touted and hard-to-find wines of Bandol's Domaine Tempier. Vintage 59/Country Vintner: available in the District at D'Vines, De Vinos, MacArthur Beverages. Les Hauts de la Brune 2007 ** Coteaux du Languedoc, France, $15 (Great Value) I love the color of this wine, deep purple but not opaque, as though I'm looking at a jewel and the summer of 2007 is reflected inside. Syrah, with grenache and mourvedre. Kysela: available in the District at Whole Foods Market Tenleytown. Available in Virginia at Arrowine in Arlington, Wegmans in Fairfax; on the list at Cantina D'Italia in Herndon. Chateau Aiguilloux, "Tradition" 2006 * 1/2 Corbieres, France, $11 (Great Value) Minerally, cherry fruit, nice structure and balance. A good example of the traditional style from a producer that also captured the 94th rank in La RVF with another wine. M Touton: available in the District at AB Liquors, Burka's Wine & Liquor, Rodman's, Watergate Wine & Beverage; by the glass at Montmartre. Available in Maryland at Silesia Liquors in Fort Washington, Bethesda Co-Op in Cabin John, Hillandale Beer & Wine in Silver Spring, and Old Farm Liquors and Frederick Wine House in Frederick. Available in Virginia at Arrowine in Arlington, Whole Foods Market in Vienna, Leesburg Vintner. Chateau Jouclary, Cuvee Tradition 2006 * 1/2 Cabardes, France, $10 (Great Value) Musky, herbal garrigue notes, light in body but with refreshing acidity and good fruit unmasked by oak. Wine Traditions: available in the District at D'Vines, De Vinos; on the list at Bistrot Lepic. Available in Maryland at FineWine.com in Gaithersburg. Available in Virginia at Arrowine and Whole Foods Market in Arlington. -- ------------------------------ * Dr. James Ellingson, jellings(a)me.umn.edu * * University of Minnesota, mobile : 651/645-0753 * * Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 *