Domaine La Linquiere St Chinian AOC

Just let me know if you're getting bored of this yet! At some stage I'll get around to writing an article on St Chinian - although to be fair Decanter did do an article last year (May perhaps?) which was a useful starting point for wine exploration - although it doesn't look like the writer was that adventurous in hunting down domaines - more like he visited one or two and then went to the local Maison du Vin and asked to taste some wines for decanter and rated what they gave him!

Tradition 2005Sweet raspberry and plum fruit, no oak, no further complexity – tannins a little rough. The wine was, by common consent – including the winemaker – too young. Drinkable but not much more. 78

Tradition 2004Riper, fuller and more open. Medium bodied with more development and greater depth of flavour and smoothness. Still the same red fruit flavours and very reasonable for less than 6 Euros. 80

Chants des Cigales 200412 months in oak with Syrah dominating. Sweet red fruit, great finesse and charm with freshness and structure backing up the generous forest fruit flavours. 82

Chants des Cigales 2003Oakier and more animal than the younger vintage, more developed, a bigger fuller wine and all the better for it. Still has plenty of structure, and despite the year still has some refreshing acidity whilst being medium/full bodied. Will keep for 3-7 years however 2003’s are drinking better than other recent vintages right now in lots of cases and this is true here – 2002 was a bit of a dud and 2003 is maturing fast. Drink these now and the 2001’s for the next 5 years at least. 84

Still a few more Domaines to cover.

Chateau Cazal Viel / Dmne Laurent Miquel

In case anyone is not yet getting bored with St. Chinian tasting notes ad nauseam from me - this is another of the Domaines I visited - again actually two domaines in one - Chateau Cazal-Viel run by the Miquel family for donkey's years and Laurent Miquel - the new proprietor who makes wines other than those that daddy made - and without his continued "interest"Syrah dominates and they obviously are trying to pretend they are in the Northern Rhone , including a 95% Syrah with 5% Viognier blend.

Larent Miquel Syrah 2004Well extracted, good colour and spice and blackcurrent aromas with a touch of raspberry. A little green on the palate.82

Laurent Miquel Cabernet Syrah 2005Fruity nose typical of the varieties, mint, eucalyptus and black fruit. Fresh on the palate, simple - but perhaps a bit too new world in style for me. 85

Laurent Miquel Syrah Nord Sud 2004Warm cloves and cinnamon, a very open style of wine, smooth in style but the palate was not as approachable as the nose suggested. Blackcurrent and raspberry fruit - again a little new world in style but needs 2-3 years. 82

Laurent Miquel Bardou 2003 100% Syrah, 1 year in new oak.Vanilla, forest fruits, cassis, cinnamon and nutmeg - wonderfully complex - a nice wine indeed, but once more it needs 2-5 more years to be at it's best when it'll hit the high 80's. For now 81

Laurent Miquel Larmes des Fees 2001100% Syrah, 2 years in new oak.Blackcurrant, cinnamon and a touch of peppery spice, a lovely smoothness and gentleness without being flabby. A delicate wine of great finesse, rather than a blow your socks off type wine. Far more French that the others! 89

Cazal Viel Vielle Vignes 2004A blend of Syrah, Mourvedre, Carignan and Cinsault. Cherry, vanilla and plums with smooth silky styling, cut through with good acidity giving a lovely freshness on the palate. However a little one dimensional in flavour for my liking. 85

Cazal Viel Cuvee des Fees 200195% Syrah, 5% Viognier A Cote Rotie wannabe of a wine.Plummy stone fruit, vanilla and a touch of apricot, I don't like it and instead of Cote Rotie I end up thinking more of Zontes Footstep - avoid this one! I spat this out and didn't bother continuing the tasting as it was last up and didn't want to leave with that taste too strongly in my mouth. 71

Clos Bagatelle AOC St Chinian

The latest of my St Chinian TN's to go up - Clos Bagatelle is two Domaines in one - Clos Bagatelle and another whose name I forget - basically speaking there are two major soil types (as well as a few others) Shiste and Clay/Limestone. Clos Bagatelle make wines which try to reflect the terroir on both soil types under two different domaine names.

Cuvee Tradition 2005 (Syrah/Carignan,Grenache)Simple silky red fruits, plummy hints and a little gentle herbaceous character - a very clean wine. 78

Cuvee Camille et Juliette 2004 Rosemary and thyme with red fruits and liquorice, a more open style, but with plenty of structure although the fruit flavours are distinctly lackinmg on the palate. 76

Cuvee Mathieu et Marie 2003Deep plum and dark fruit flavours, a charming wine with rounded fruit character, slips down a little too easily. A bit of a crowd pleaser that won't hurt anyone. 82

Cuvee Vielle D'Autumn 2002Spends 1 year in oak - Syrah, Mourvedre, Grenache.Mahogany colour, with lovely herbal, vanilla and blackberry fruits, the wine was just opened and was less open than it might be, but would probably have opened up after an amount of time. Fairly complex and smooth with good structure and acidity. A little less finesse than some and less body than others. 86

La Gloire de Mon Pere 2001 - Syrah, Mourvedre, Grenache, Carignan. 14 months in new oak.Fantastic aromas and a slightly porty, full on style. Vanilla, plums and black cherry fruit flavours, a smooth velvety palate - flavours on the spectrum of a good LBV port, but much lighter, totally dry and good balancing acidity and tannin giving balance to the fruit. A very good wine indeed. 93

Le Vin Maghani 1999 Domaine Canet-Valette (25/12/06)

Deep red, with a slightly brick coloured rim and a bouquet of raspberry, spice and a touch animally. The flavours are all there, wonderful "garrigue" herbs, black and red fruits smooth velvety tannins in a big wine that all at the same time managed to be refined and delicate. Decanted 5 hours before drinking, after 2 hours it was still a closed affair - I had imagined the age would mean it would need less time to open up - how wrong I was - open 6 hours before you intend to drink and sit down with some brilliant food and really enjoy. Evocative of summers spent walking, relaxing - pure sunshine in a bottle. There ought to be more wines like this out there for this sort of price!

Les Mouliniers - AOC St Chinian

Having seen the price of this in the local wine merchant, (25 Euros for the top cuvee) I decided to head out and give this a try - it has to be said that I went on my own and whilst the lady on duty was friendly enough I wouldn't go so far as to put this in one of the top experiences of the holiday - though this might have had something to do with me being on my own!
Starting with the 50% Tradition Rouge 2004 - a simple red fruit wine with hints of aniseed with a slightly closed mouth feel and some fresh acidity. The 70% Syrah, Les Sigillaires 2002 had vanilla notes, a touch of spice and some lovely forest fruit aromas - in the mouth it was .... narrow in the mouth - fine acidity and freshness giving way to a slightly one dimensional wine - with just hints of liquorice on the palate. (Some wines are big fat wines some are narrow and clean - this fits the latter category.)
The final wine tasted was Les Terrasses Grille's 2000 - the top cuvee from the estate again made from 70% Syrah with 50% aged in 1 year old oak and 50% in new oak (French of course!) a deep mahogany coloured wine, complex and open with cassis and pepper aromas. However despite being 6 years old it was still tannic (that'll be Syrah for you then!) but had good fresh acidity, liquorice flavours in abundance with black fruit and oak showing well. My issue with this winery was that I was told the red wines ought to be served at 14 degrees, which given it was seriously hot outside one could kind of understand - however what it meant was that the wines were far too closed and didn't allow their undoubted talents and complexity to shine through - I would really love to taste these again at 18 degrees - and maybe I'd be proven wrong and they'd be fat and flabby - but to my mind unless they work out how best to serve their wines they won't make the big impact they're hoping for. The terroir around the domaine is definately good enough and the winemaking is there so it's a shame they've made a decision and are sticking to it rather than perhaps allowing wines to be tasted at both temperatures in order to either make or break the point. Rant over - - stick with nicer wines!

Chants des Cigales 2003 - Domaine La Linquiere

The top wine from Linquieres - a slightly bizarre place in that you go to taste their wines in a small boutique situated away from the actual domaine. The wines in general from this domaine were drinkable, if not all that exciting - by this stage everything was to be judged against Canet-Valette and Maurel Fonsalade who were perhaps the best winemakers we came across. This wine had animal and oak aromas - which initially seemed slightly unpleasan, however the wine itself was fruity and had plenty of structure, red fruit flavours and enough acidity and tannin to suggest that perhaps another few years in the bottle would do this the world of good - either that or the domaine had not let the wine breathe enough before serving it - either way it was good but not that good (E11.90)

Le Vin Maghani 1995 - Dm Canet-Valette

The older brother - and indeed far more expensive brother (1999,2000 & 2001 all 20Euro's the 1995 40!) this had everything the 2001 has - only so much more - fabulous it if wasn't twice the price of the 2001 it would have been coming home with me as it was it is a distant memory to be savoured. The wine unsurprisingly tasted pretty similar to the 2001 - except that the tannins were softer, there were some dried fruit notes and the wine was so much more complex than the later vintage - worth more than 2001 - yes - worth double - no way!

Le Vin Maghani 2001 - Domaine Canet-Valette

Deeply coloured, 45% Syrah, 45% Mourvedre and 10% Grenache, 3yrs in new oak barrells - Marc gives this wine everything - and it certainly pays off - fantastic levels of concentration brought about by the artisinal way the wine is produced where Marc quite literally gets his feet wet and treads the grapes himself the wine it complex and delicious, spicy, vanilla and chocolate aromas give way to forest fruit flavours balanced by a touch of cinnamon - this is a wine of some depth and is the reason why Marc is a legend in the area and has won prestigious awards (Winemaker of the Year 2003 in the French Sommerliers Guide) not just for his wines but also his winemaking. He doesn't spray chemicals - rather he uses plant tisanes and encourages natural predators to keep unwanted pests at bay - if anyone doubts that great wines can come from St. Chinian then this is the place to start proving them wrong - made in a traditional style, but 100% Valette.

Ivresses 2004 - Canet-Valette

Ivresses is a very easy to drink wine made from 90% grenache it's a new wine from Marc Valette (probably the most entertaining wine maker I've ever met - and he speaks far less English that I do French!) this is a new wine from Valette - this is the first vintage and was released just 6 months ago - wonderful red fruits, fresh acidity a certain peppery charachteristic, with just a touch of sweetness perhaps (though it is still very much a dry wine) Very easy to drink - though as Stone, Vine and Sun are selling it at £13 a bottle - I think it is perhaps a little expensive for the wine you get - I'd head for the Une et Mille Nuits over this one every day of the week and sometimes at week-ends too!

Antonyme 2005 - Domaine Canet-Valette

A blend of 50% Cinsault, 50% Mourvedre, a simple wine, without a great deal of complexity, red fruit flavours and fresh acidity. The kind of wine that goes down very easily indeed, no real power - but the best E6,00 wine I've had in a long while!

Une et Mille Nuits 2003 - Domaine Canet-Valette

A really lovely wine that costs just E8,70 this is a blend of Carignan, Cinsault, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre which is aged for 3 years, 1/2 in new oak and 1/2 in tanks. The wine itself is complex and smooth - though do be sure as with many other wines of the region to give it plenty of time to breath, I'd be tempted to decant the morning before you want to start drinking. The aromas are of cassis and plums, with some fantatic herbal "garrigue" and vegetative notes. Une et Mille Nuits is dark and seductive, velvety and smooth - my only real complaint about this wine is that it is a style of wine that Katherine is not so fond of, and so when it came down to deciding what to bring home - this was not near the top of the list for that reason alone. I however loved it - so, it may or may not be to your taste - but definately give it a go - Available in the UK from Stone, Vine and Sun of Winchester.

Domaine Rimbert

We had arrived in Berlou and, by this time had visited Terre de Loup and having been recommended and had a brief taste of Mas au Schiste we were keen for more. We followed the signs and all we could find were a few garages and what looked like someones own small building project - still despite this we were not to be put off and got out of the car to see if we could see anyone, or anything around - and sure enough one of the garages looked like it had some wine vats in it and a short while later a French worker passed and told us to wait where he was he would go and find M. Rimbert.
Time came and time went - we were beginning to wonder whether we had fallen foul of a French practical joke when a scruffy looking, young chap turned up asking whether we wanted to taste the wines or not - "Of course!" we cried, so our new best friend opened a garage door and beckoned us in - and sure enough it was a garage, about the size needed for a good sized car - only this was 1/2 full of wine in cases, and on some of the boxes were laid out a few wine glasses and some opened bottles of wine.
We started with "Cousin Oscar 2005" - at 4 Euros a real bargain, simple and fruity - exactly what you would expect from an inexpensive - but nonetheless well made wine. Whilst tasting this it occurred to me that there was no spitoon anywhere to be seen, and as I was driving I was forced to spit right on their doorstep - much to the amusement of our French friend.
"Les Travers de Marceau 2005" (E6,40) was a finer wine - yet still amazingly under £5 UK price - more complex, more fruit, better balanced it was worth the step up in price. However "Le Mas au Schiste 2004" (E10,00) was altogether a finer example, a lovely bouquet of spicey fruit was followed up on the palate with some liquorice and a touch of the "garrigue" - one of the better wines of the holiday and the reason for our trip out to Berlou that day.
M. Rimbert is a real fan of Carignan and not for him the wimpy style produced from Carbonic Maceration, he produces two 100% Carignan cuvee's one, "Le Chant de la Marjolaine 2004" at E7,00 a wonderful surprise and proof that the Carignan grape can mix it with the best to produce wines of character, style and refinement at a very decent price - the same cannot be said for "El Cariginator II", although the Marjolaine was a powerful and full wine, it wasn't a touch on this, this really was powerful, perhaps too powerful, however it is typical of several top cuvee' styles from the region, one could almost mistake it for being fortified such is the depth, the sweetness of fruit (though the wine is dry) - opinions in our party were mixed - several found it too much to bear, whilst I decided that, whilst matching it to food might be almost impossible, it would be lovely in the height of winter by an open fire- however it is also E18,30 and given the difference in price I'd have 2 bottles of the Marjolaine for less money every single day of the week - that is not to say it is a bad wine - rather that the Marjolaine is really rather good and a bit of a personal favourite of mine!

Domaine Navarre

Domaine Navarre is run and owned by Thierry Navarre on just 13 hectares of land, 100% on the Schiste soils of Roquebrun. He does everything by hand, does not use chemicals, and as far far as possible makes wine in the old fashioned way – what a refreshing change!
His “Vin d'oeillades 2004” is a simple table wine, made for everyday drinking (4 E/btl) and is highlighted by simple red fruit character, and a light refreshing wine – perhaps a red wine drinkers alternative to Rose' wines for a hot Summer BBQ. Laouzil 2004 has a delightful vegetative and fruity nose, showing typical Carignan on Schiste characteristics, with decent structure and acidity – well worth a go at around 6 Euro's if you get the chance. Cuvee' Olivier 2004 is Thierry's top wine, and it shows, this was wonderful, sweet forest fruits, spice and liquorice on the nose, a slightly porty flavour – it's full and powerful, jam packed with fruit, but with acidity and tannin that really hold it all together in a velvety texture – wonderfully made, wonderful to drink – if you see this anywhere – buy it and give it a go – for my money (at 10 Euro) you would be hard pushed to find a better wine – Mas au Schiste excepted!

Domaine des Combes - AOC St Chinian

A small (tiny) producer making wine out of his garage, only one red wine is produced and we tasted 3 different vinages, all of which had their own good points. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of wine offered here, for just about 5 Euros. The 2001 was full and slightly porty in taste, lots of Carignan in the blend, but really well made and delicious, the 2002 was perhaps his best alround wine, managing to balance both fruit and acidity to create a wine of some style and poise at a price that you really can't complain about - I just wish I'd bought more so I could bring some home! The 2003 as the youngest wine, and surprisingly was also the worst wine on offer - I fully expected this to be the biggest, most powerful wine, yet it seemed to me that something somewhere had gone wrong in the harvest the wine was far too green and vegetal - perhaps the grapes were picked too early because of the heat, or perhaps there was a great deal of uneven ripening - the flesh may have become fully ripe - but the pips inside remained green and unripe giving the finished wine some unpleasant aftertastes.
As opposed to the standard St. Chinian branded tasting glasses, the wines here were served in peculiar little glasses, that one could only describe as tiny wine thimbles - perhaps better for a non aromatic spirit rather than a wine tasting - still it just added to the overall feel of a place where a bloke made wine, was good at making wine, but the rest of it he struggled with!

Terre de Loup

Terre de Loup
Terre de Loup was a bit of strange one as far as things go, we headed to Berlou to visit Domaine Rimbert and the Caves Cooperative de Berlou, and the Caves de Rieu Berlou. However on arrival in the village, neither of these was apparent – it was only when asking a local where we could find them that it became obvious that the Coop was operating under 3 different names depending on where you looked or who you spoke to! The shop itself was one of the most boutique coop shops we came across and the wines weren't generally too bad – again it was just a case that they really weren't all that exciting either. We started with the “Collection Blanc Viognier 2005” which was exactly what it said on the bottle – a pretty decent French style, warm climate Viognier which managed to keep enough acidity to remain fresh and tangy. Next up was the Arbousier Rouge 2004, a 4 euro wine, which tasted like a 4 Euro wine. It was vegetal, tannic and very dry and had no refinement whatsoever. We then moved onto the multi-award winning, 7,70 Vignes Royales 2000, an earthy, stoney wine lacking any real fruit development, made by Carbonic Maceration – I think that I would have preferred it if it had traditional vinification, greater fruit expression – it was however very typical of a style of wines made on the Schiste terroir. Finally we moved onto the Chateau des Albie'res Cuvee George Darde' which was a very well made wine indeed, the fruit was clearly top class, and the blend, and aging fabulous – but again as happens so often with coops in the Northern region of the appelation, the extensive use of Carbonic maceration just took the edge off the wine for me, when I compare the wines to those of smaller producers – it's the style rather than the quality of wine that I prefer. It also has to be said that we didn't have time to try every single one of the wines available - the range is vast for one operation and there may have been a hidden gem in there that we missed. Give them a go, particularly if you are a fan of the more widely available Caves de Roquebrun wines which are produced in a similar fashion, from similar Terroir.

The wines of AOC St. Chinian

St. Chinian is perhaps one of the lesser known appellations of Southern France, however as I discovered on a recent trip, if the producers in this sun drenched region continue to create wines of the quality that they currently are then it won’t be too long before bargain hunting Brits look here rather than to a pricier region. What they’ll find are some really excellent wines, produced by true artisans with a love and passion for their vines and their terroir, but there are some hurdles to overcome yet.
The first thing anyone should know about the region is that it’s producers are absolutely terroir mad, and this is largely because within the one appellation there are 2 major soil types, to the North of the region Schiste and to the South, clay/limestone and to further complicate this these two terroirs are separated by a seam of sandstone running the length of the appellation. Winemakers on both terroirs will insist that their soil type is the superior, and for the consumer this can add to the confusion – what it means is that there isn’t a single St. Chinian style.
Add in that many of the grape varieties will be unknown to the average punter who will never have heard of Carignan, Cinsault or possible Mourvedre and it’s hardly surprising why todays wine buyer gives St. Chinian a miss.
We started out tour looking at a number of the wines produced from Schiste vineyards in both Roquebrun and Berlou where generally speaking it is the cooperatives that rule the roost with one or two small producers making some excellent wines.
We met Pierre in passing at the La Baume winery, who with a wink and a nod ran off to find a bottle of wine he had opened the previous evening which we simply “had to taste”!, he came back shortly after with a bottle he promised would knock our socks off from Berlou a short drive from where we were staying, “Mas au Schiste” produced by Domaine Rimpert

The wines of Chateau Maurel Fonsalade

We arrived on a hot afternoon during the harvest, to be met by locked doors and a sign which told us that we needed to ring in advance to book for a tasting, however not to be deterred we rang the bell anyway. A short while later a man, probably in his late fifties came hurrying out of the vineyard nearby looking hot and extremely sweaty.
"Could we have a tasting?"
"Yes of course, please wait here"
At which point he disappeared through a garage door, and we, being the Englishmen we are followed.
After we had been shooed back out of the garage door, he then opened a door right next to the garage door and beckoned us in to a room full of large barrels (500 litre demi-muids which are favoured by many in the region for not adding quite as much to an already dense and tannic wine) with a professional tasting counter at one end.
We had never really planned to be here, we’d set out for Domaine Canet-Valette nearby, drank a great deal of Marc Valette’s wines, got slightly tipsy (except of course Jon our driver for the day) and headed off in search of Borie La Vitarele but found there to be no one home. So here we were, with a man, who told us he used to be a dentist and that we really ought to spit the wine out to be kind to our teeth, tasting wines. Up to this point we’d often stuck to red wines, really as a way to maintain some level of sobriety and keep our taste buds reasonably intact, however M. Fonsalade insisted we try his white "Lyre 2004" and very pleasant it was too, far fresher and crisper than I had feared many whites may be under the baking Med sun. It was a deep yellow colour with floral and honey aromas, balanced out brilliantly with acidity. Next we moved onto his two "Cuvee Tradition" a Rose and a Red, the former a simple salmon coloured little number with raspberry flavours that flirted outrageously on the tongue and a simple red aged in stainless steel vats with red fruits and a touch of wild thyme. So far so good, but nothing to write home about. But this is all about to change – "Now" we are told "For our serious wines!"
"We start with the 8 Euro "Cuvee Frederic" 2003 a wonderful smooth velvety wine with sweet cassis fruit, toasted almonds and just a hint of decadence. "Can we buy your wines in the UK?" We ask at this point as the Renault Clio seems far too small a car at this very moment in time – "Alas no – I cannot compete with wines from Australia – they are all too cheap!" At which point we hear a ten minute monologue on the problems facing French wines in the UK market and St. Chinian wines in particular. M. Fonsalade is a passionate man, and I wanting to empathise with him go into some discussions further on the subject of Australian wines, and terroir and other such complaints that one hears on the subject. It would appear I have found a friend – for we taste his top Cuvee next, simple called "Vielle Vignes" this is a wine at just 12 Euros made from 50 year vines, harvested at around 18hl/h of great depth and complexity – here it is – the Holy Grail of wine – something wonderful, that costs less that £9 a bottle, that frankly will give anything else I’ve ever tasted in that price range a run for it’s money and it’s not available in the UK – if only I was in the wine business! And afterwards M. Fonsalade insists that despite buying just 4 bottles between us we should leave with a bottle of his two cuvees to drink with our meal this evening. We leave, with a firm handshake and knowledge that somehow, somewhere we will return to the region if only to drink the wonderful wines that M. Fonsalade produces!

Prieure St. Andre Rose'

Produced by Michel Claparde, in the most traditional way you can imagine - including small, old fashioned wine presses of the sort more often seen decorated with flowers in many of the villages in the area, this is indeed not bad at all for a Rose, I will confess to not being a particular affionado of such things, but in book Rose wines are meant for easy drinking on a hot day, and this one slips down nicely - it is perhaps a little too bubble-gummy but overall it really isn't too bad at all - although as the first winery we stopped in, if everything had been at this level I would have left the region a sad man - thankfully Michel's top red was very drinkable and other producers were making things even better - we soon beat a hasty retreat and searched out other gems that St. Chinian had to offer.

Les Fiesfs D'Aupenac 2005 Blanc

A lovely white wine from the Roquebrun coop made from the Rousanne grape, the ageing for 9 months in French oak (would they use any other oak?) gives this subtelty and complexity whilst conserving it's fruity edge and balance. Slightly smokey in character, with some toasty and yeasty flavours this was (despite it being a completely different grape variety) somewhat reminiscent of a white Burgundy - my notes simply tell me it was delicious and that it went really well with seafood - E10.20 makes it one of the more expensive whites we tried but still worth every penny.

Seigneur d'Aupenac AOC St. Chinian 2002

One of the top cuvees from the Coop in Roquebrun, this is made from 50% Syrah, 25% Mourvedre and 25% Grenache and is aged for 18 months in new French Oak. This is the first wine we tasted that really excited us and gave us hope for finding some excellent wines during our stay. With bright red fruit, freshness and structure from well integrated tannins this is almost silky rather than velvety but whichever it is delicious, as it's recent silver in the Decanter wine awards goes to show (though as with any awards they ought to be taken with a pinch of salt!) Comparing it with the other offerings from the coop, it is perhaps the best balance, offering far more than the cheaper wines, and yet having greater subtlety than the "Baron" whose notes will follow in due course.
This is a wine that will long be etched in the memory more for it's role in our holiday than for the wine itself - however that in itself is a recommendation and at E14.50 (which works out at about £9-10) it is really very good indeed - however my main bugbear is that the coop insist on using Carbonic Masceration in ALL their wines and for me this wine could quite simply do without it!