Twelve producers from Occitanie

Another tasting in London about Occitanie, the region of France that was created on 1 January 2016 from the fusion of former regions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées. This is an administrative region, it does not change the classification of the wines.

Thank you to Isabelle Kanaan and Sébastien du Boullay of "Maison de la Région Occitanie - Sud de France" in London for organizing this event.

Besides a walk-around of dozens of wines from 12 producers, there were two most interesting masterclasses today, both led by Matthew Stubb MW.

Masterclass: Occitanie outside the box

1. Terroirs d'Occitanie, baron Ermenegaud, AOP Fugères 2020
50% Roussanne, 20% Marsanne, 20% Vermentino, 10% Viognier
Scisty soil, very poor, roots have to go deep to find nutrients.

A fresh wine (from Vermentino) with floral notes. Honey suckle, jasmine, peach. A complex wine with a long finish. Score 88.

2. Les Vignerons Castelas, Vieilles Vignes, AOP Cd Rhone Sinargues 2018

40% Grenache noir, 40% Syrah, 20% Carignan

Red and black fruits, spicy, peppery notes, good substance (matière!). Good balance, smooth finish. Score 89

3. Domaine de la Louvière, La Sèductrice, AOP Malepère 2019

60% merlot, 20% Cab franc, 20% malbec

Super smooth wine, merlot clearly overwhelming, probably more than 60%

Very ripe fruit, green pepper, herbaceous notes.. Score 82.

4. Les Vignerons du Brulhois, le Vin Noir, AOP Brulhois 2017

50% merlot, 30% tannat, 15% cab sauv, 5% malbec

From the northern part of the region, closer to Bordeaux. medium-strong tannins, probably from tannat. A simple simple but pleasant wine. Score 80.

5. Vignobles Vellas, Domaine Valinière "Granmarone", AOP Languedoc St Drézéry 2019

Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre

The name wants to indicate that this is done in "Amarone style", though the grapes are dried on the vine, unlike Amarone. Fermentation for four months, no wood, aged in concrete for one year. An impressive deep color, intense nose and plump, complex and long in the mouth, a touch of sweet at the end. Score 93.

6. Domaine F. Jaubert, Or du Temps, AOP Rivesaltes 2002

70% Grenache gris, 30% grenache blanc

Fortified wine, they added 96%abv to raise wine to 17%abv. Domain started using this technique in the XIII century, before fortification started in Porto, Madeira or Marsala. Dried fruit, caramel, toffel. Aged 17 years in concrete, NO WOOD. About 85g residual sugar. Score 88.

Masterclass: Local grapes and distinctive taste of Occitanie

1. Maison Sinnae, Eléments Luna, AOC Côte du Rhone Villages Laudun 2020

65% grenache blanc, 35% clairette

Citrus and peach follow a floral welcome to the nose. A delicate wine despite 14.5% abv. Waxy notes, no oak, steel only. Score 84

2. Domaine Lalaurie, marselan, IGP Pays d'Oc 2020

100% marselan

This grape is a cross between cabernet sauvignon and grenache. Produced in the early 1960s, it has become popular in Languedoc and more recently in China because of its resistance to mildew and small berries which result in lower yields. Aromatic wine, red and black fruits, licorice, spicy. Medium tannin. Score 84

3. Domaine Gayrard, Braucol, AOP Gaillac 2019

100% fer servadou (braucol)

Smooth, medium body and balanced wine, herbaceous notes. Lacks complexity and length. Biodynamic. Score 82

4. Les Domaines Auriol, Influences naturelles, IGP Pays d'Oc 2020

syrah 100%

Smooth, medium body, crunchy and vibrant fruit. Not a complex or long wine but pleasant nonetheless. Biodynamic. Score 82.

Before the masterclass I had tasted their Chant de l'âme 2019 a blend of syrah, carignan, mourvèdre and cinsault: a complex, round and long wine ready now. Score 92

5. Domaine Guillaman, Gos manseng, IGP Côtes de Gascogne 2020

100% gros manseng

Semi-aromatic wine, smooth and med long, not complex. Sweetness prevails with 35g of residual sugar, only 11%abv. Score 83

6. Domaine Tariquet, Dernières Grives, IGP Côtes de Gascogne 2018

100% petit manseng

beautiful deep golden yellow for this aromatic sweet wine. Yet one can easily pick a vibrant acidity that makes for a well balanced product. Honey, tropical fruits (mango?). It is a late harvest wine but without botrytis. 100g residual sugar. Score 93.

Organic wines of New Zealand

Most interesting event hosted by New Zealand Wines, expertly and safely organized by Sarah Shepherd at 67 Pall Mall in London. 

An informative way to spend a rainy morning, about 75 bottles to be tasted and some amazing surprises.

Overall, the quality of organic wines is increasing, not just in New Zealand but worldwide, as producers master the techniques. Still, a few wines today could not hide their rough edges, this is typical of less stable organic wines, and more work is to be done.

Compared to previous NZ tasting I noticed a marked improvement of their chardonnays. Sauvignon blancs remain the workhorse of NZ production and confirmed their world class quality also among this organic selection. 

Some exceptional gems stood out among the pinot noirs. Not quite the structure of Burgundy but these wines were full of complex and round fruit, they proved to be very long and, alas, relatively expensive, which I consider a sign of success in the market.

Below are my notes from a selection of all the wines tasted today.

chards and sauvignon whites...

BLENDS

1. Kelly Washington semillon/sauvignon blanc, Marlborough, 2018

An easy, fruity, smooth wine, good balance. RRP £24, Score 84.

2. Kelly Washington pinot blanc, Marlborough, 2020

Biodynamic, another easy typical pinot blanc, reminds me of Alsace brothers. RRP £25, Score 86.

SAUVIGNON BLANC

3. Loveblock TEE sauvignon blanc, Awatere Valley, Marlborough, 2020

No sulphites added at all to this round and complex product. RRP £23, Score 88.

4. Osawa Wines Prestige Collection sauvignon blanc, Hawke's Bay, 2019

A typical sauvignon blanc, balanced and moderately complex, long. RRP £25, Score 89.

5. Dog Point Vineyards Selection 94 sauvignon blanc, Southern Valleys, marlborough, 2018

Strong citrus notes give a welcome freshness to this chardonnay, well balanced by vanilla in a long finish. RRP £25, Score 90.

CHARDONNAY

6. Osawa Wines Prestige Collection chardonnay, Hawke's Bay 2019

Another fresh chard with a unique sapid accent, which keeps on going... RRP £28, Score 88

7. Felton Road chardonnay Block 6, Bannockburn, Central Otago 2020

Pineapple, vanilla, an elegant wine, complex and long, perfectly balanced. RRP £32, Score 92

... and reds: world class pinot noir

8. Felton Road pinot noir Cornish Point, Bannockburn, Central Otago 2020
Balanced and complex, needs a few years in the bottle to round a few rough edges. RRP £ 42, Score 88.

9. Black Estate Home pinot noir, Bannockburn, Central Otago, 2020

A great wine, smooth, long, powerful, complex in the extreme. Intense fruit meets elegance and structure and makes one dream of what the evolution in bottle might bring. RRP 46.50, Score 94

10. Felton Road, pinot noir Calvert, Bannockburn, Central Otago 2020

Another amazing wine from Felton Road, reveals immense potential in the nose and captivates the mind with a complex swirl of red fruits and chocolate in the mouth. Very long. RRP 42, Score 95

11. Felton Road, pinot noir Block 3, Bannockburn, Central Otago 2020

Similar to the preceding wine, but perhaps even more complex. RRP £60, Score 95

12. Quartz Reef Bendigo Estate single ferment pinot noir, bendigo, Central Otago 2019

Another top pinot noir, spicy, opulent. RRP £55, Score 93

13. Burn Cottage Vineyard pinot noir, Central Otago, 2018
Similar in many ways to the preceding wine, RRP £ 53, Score 93

What an amazing tasting of pinot noirs! 

These days one is never too far away from a gel sanitizer

Organic production in NZ, image by Biogro

Film review: L'Esprit du vin (2011) by Olympe and Yvon Minvielle **

Synopsys

A film sponsored by Château Lagarette, a biodynamic producer in Bordeaux.

A dozen or so biodynamic wine-growers express their vision of the present and make proposals for the future.

They ask eminently social and even political questions: What food? How could humanity restore the ideal of living together?

I hope this review can help the reader make up his own mind on this subject.


Review

This film is an all-out passionate defense of biodynamic viticulture. I say defense because most of the interviewees talk as if they are under siege, as if the evil forces of modernity are out to extinguish the feeble flame of tradition. No alternative point of view is presented in the film. If you want to hear alternative voices, skeptical or critical of biodynamic wine, you have to look elsewhere.

Clearly, the growers interviewed are very passionate about their wine, but often they get carried away. Just a few pearls from their statements. A basic theme of the film is a high level of hostility toward "technology": there is "technological" wine, which is artificial and then there is biodynamic wine, which is natural. Oddly, little attention is paid to organic wines, although biodynamic certification requires a wine to be organic to begin with.

A couple of speakers identify "technological" wines as the result of American influence and specifically the work of Robert Parker, while, on the contrary, "Europe" is the custodian of genuine winemaking. Well, Parker has nothing against biodynamic wines and actually promotes it. And, of course, there are lots of American biodynamic producers and in fact the USA is the biggest biodynamic farming producer in the world.

One speaker argues that biodynamic vineyards are better equipped to resist the negative radioactive impact of Chernobyl, thus lumping together as if it was a dogmatic truth a whole host of questionable assumptions.

A major problem for me is when, as several speakers repeat in this film, the argument is put forward that what is important in biodynamic wine is NOT the result, but the relationship between man and nature, a new philosophy of daily life. Assuming the latter is somehow better served in biodynamic farming, for me the end result, ie good and healthy wine, IS WHAT MATTERS.

Technology, a word that is often repeated with a grimace by many interviewees, destroys the relationship man and nature, farmer and vineyard. Biodynamic preparations restore the correct energy flows! A corollary of this argument is the open hostility of one speaker to established wine associations such as the Masters of Wine. In his view, these associations have been created to serve technology against the natural traditions of wine.

One speaker is very honest when he says biodynamic farming is like a religion: you can not demonstrate it, you can only believe it. Another one compares it to acupuncture: not scientifically proven, but many believe it anyway. Not surprising that biodynamic farmers also accept homeopathic principles, as they use extremely diluted solutions in some of their preparations.

A quirky claim toward the end of the film is that biodynamic wine is especially appreciated by women! Maybe so, as a woman grower claims to have produced a "concert wine" in her biodynamic vineyard because both wine and music share a spirituality for people to appreciate.

If you already believe in biodynamic farming this film will make you feel really good. If you are trying to understand more, it will give you only half the picture.

For a different view on biodynamic farming, watch this video, (in Italian).

For a wise and cool view of the subject, read Jancis Robinson, one of the world's most respected authorities.

You can watch the film reviewed here on Youtube.