Browse Tag

languedoc

Throaty

Pelletier 2008 Saint Chinian “l’engoulevent” (Languedoc) – The lightest Saint Chinian I’ve ever tasted, which is more or less suggested by the name, and there’s a certain leveling of its grape and site identifiers due to its appeal to easy drinkability. But it’s hard to deny how good it is. Soft, graphite-like structure dissolves in a fine mist of medium-toned fruit skins and apple-toned berries. I really like this. Really, really like this. Does it taste like Saint-Chinian? Well… (8/12)

Language lessons

Magnon “Rozeta” 2009 Corbières (Languedoc) – Ripe strawberry and rose hip with a more insistent, denser fruit than its otherwise bright, fresh-faced appeal might indicate. And it gets darker as it finishes, even adding a touch of wild fierceness to the departure. A very appealing wine. (8/12)

Jougla the handle

Domaine des Jougla 2011 Saint-Chinian Rosé “Initiale” (Languedoc) – Restrained and a bit tremble-y, yet with a sticky pedal tone of strawberry that doesn’t really mesh with the rest. While this lacks the usual southern French rosé balance issues, it’s just kinda…there. Pretty but ultimately insubstantial. Others with trustworthy palates have seen more from this house, so I await a second try for confirmation. (8/12)

Donjonson

Panis “Chateau du Donjon” 2011 Minervois Rosé (Languedoc) – Heavy. Lurid. Tastes neon-magenta, if I can introduce some synæsthesia all up in this joint. (This bit of age-inappropriate verbiage brought to you by having just read Whitney Adams’ blog.) Alas, it’s a chore to drink. (7/12)

There is no Copa clause

Clavel 1999 Coteaux du Languedoc Terroir de la Mejanelle “Copa Santa” (Languedoc) – Smells corked, so I put it aside. The second day, I think it’s still very mildly corked, but there’s a sweet – if quite tired – expressiveness to it that almost overcomes the taint. Which makes me think that an intact bottle could actually be pretty nice, though I definitely wouldn’t hold it any longer. (6/12)

Bird nookie

Pelletier 2008 Saint Chinian “l’Oiselet” (Languedoc) – Light and shade, pressing with an intensity belied by the transparent quality of the fruit. It’s still dark…berries pressed into a a sheet of uniform texture, light soil…but sun shines through it. (5/12)

Iché & scratchy

Iché “Château d’Oupia” 2000 Minervois (Languedoc) – Whether it was impatience, curiosity, or anxiety that got the better of me, I opened my last bottle of this and received iron-rich blood and leather with a muscular structure still fully present. Minervois is always pretty burly, so I hesitate to say that the wine isn’t mature just based on its mass (and the “fruit,” as such, has indeed developed quite a bit), but there’s a persistent nag that this could’ve gone longer. Well, I’ll never know. (4/12)

Gimioson, cub reporter

Lavaysse “Le Petit Domaine de Gimios” Rouge de Causse (Languedoc) – 2009, according to the retailer, but this isn’t information that’s evident from the bottle. Fresh, slightly spiky fruit pushed (or rather, allowed to drift) more into reddish realms than would probably be indicated by the typically Languedoc-ish cépage, rendered lively and a bit volatile by the hands-off-everything philosophy. It’s extremely appealing, says a little bit about where it’s from, not all that much about what it’s made of, and a fair bit about who made it…though in the latter case that “fair bit” consists of a great deal of silence. (2/12)