Roussillon Wines and Producers

WINE TALK
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This isn’t a plug. It’s an attempt to answer some questions in another thread and also to start a discussion about a region that is making a vast amount of progress to shed its shady past by independent vignerons, often from from elsewhere, who are pioneering its renaissance.

First, a bit of history. The Roussillon was the birthplace of fortified wines. They were “invented” here in 1650 and the process spread to Jerez, Oporto and Madeira, among others. Until the 1930’s that is pretty much all it made other than wine for local consumption. It also pioneered flavoured fortifieds like Dubonnet and Byrrh. Alas, fashion didn’t follow the trend and after WW2 it was left with almost no market so it chose to make cheap, full-bodied wines for the working classes of Northern France, which was lucrative enough until the 1980s, when people started drinking less and demanding more refined (or famous) wines.

Domaine Gauby and a handful of others started the renaissance of quality dry wines around 1990. The stony terroir, low rainfall, interesting grape varieties and old vine stock (from the fortified era) provided the raw materials for a challenge to nearby Priorat’s success. However, until the arrival of Hervé Bizoul and the creation of his Clos des Fées, it had no herald to sing its praises.

Since then it has attracted talented winemakers from more expensive regions, companies like Chapoutier, outsiders like me and also courageous young locals to build their estates.

However, the Cooperatives are still mainly stuck in the past, trying desperately to sell the wine they make on minimal resources from grape growers who have little love or experience of great wine. This is the millstone of the region and still accounts for something like 80% of the wine produced. Even the crappiest Roussillon wine is still drinkable and concentrated every year so it will always have a market - at the right price.

So what’s on offer form the better producers? I think there are several camps. The Terroirists, the Naturalistas, the Classicists and the Blockbusters - and everything in between.

Terroir-driven wines are earthy, precise, deep, complex and age well. Notable producers are Gardies, La Rectorie, Danjou-Banessy, Puig-Parahy, Singla, Madaloc, Cazenove and Treloar.

Naturalistas range from sublime to the ridiculous and can vary massively with vintage (as usual). Many are biodynamic. The best are Gauby, Matassa, Olivier Pithon, Clos du Rouge Gorge. Most are in Calce and learnt from Gauby.

Classicists are the ones making oak-aged, well-balanced, refined wines, often from single vineyards. I would suggest Mudigliza, Clos des Fées, Bila-Haut (Chapoutier), Mas Janeil (Lurton), Thunevin-Calvet and Gilles Troullier,

Blockbusters are the wines most approaching the big Priorat syle. Lots of concentration, sweet, very ripe fruit and oak but often displaying a lot of complex wild-herb characters. Notable producers are Dave Phinney’s D66, Domain Rancy, Mas Becha, Domaine Modat, Agly Brothers.

There are some more mainstream versions of these wines that I have seen in the USA. Domain Lafage, Chateau Planeres, Domain Cazes and the top wines of some coops like Chateau des Pins and Les Pierres Plattes.

Unfortunately America also imports a lot of negociant wines made for the US palate such as Red Bicyclette, Le Grand Noir, Gerard Bertrand and La Difference.

There are also a number of American importers that have own-label wines made for them that we don’t see here, like Dan Kravitz for example.

I taste very regularly and try to keep abreast of what’s happening. No idea whether these producers will ever find a US market but Domain Toupie, Domaine Serralongue, Domaine des Soulanes and Domaine Padié are all producers that I have bought for my own cellar.

Sorry if I have missed any producers of note but it was my own selection from my notes.

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I just had the 2011 Domaine Réveille – Côtes du Roussillon “Climax” and it was delicious, albeit a tad higher in alcohol than I’d prefer… Light and bright with great purity though. Aside from the alc, reminded me of some of the delicious wines from Dirty & Rowdy. Great bargain at $15.

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Jon, what is your opinion on the Maury Sec and Collioure AOPs? I’ve started to see more Maury wines recently and rarely Collioure. I think one of my issues is that the wines that often make it over to the US speak more of the style of the producer than the property itself.

4

In the last few months I’ve enjoyed the 2012 Château Saint-Roch Kerbuccio Maury Sec and the 2011 Château La Roque Pic St. Loup Cuvée Les Vieilles Vignes, and they’ve made me want to understand more about the region – so thank you. And excuse my ignorance here, but would a location “between Termenès and Quéribus” describe Roussillon? Because Chateau Trillol blew my socks off.

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^ Pic Saint Loup is not considered part of Roussillon, rather Languedoc. If we want to extend discussion to Languedoc wines, here are a few producers that I highly recommend, that make very “fresh” wines:
Grange des Pères - best Languedoc/Roussillon wine for me
Mas Jullien
Terrasse d’Elise - try their 100% cinsault “Le Pradel”
Mas de la Séranne
Domaine Montcalmès
Domaine Peyre Rose
Ermitage du Pic St Loup

There is a bunch of others but these are my favorite ones, showing regularity across vintages.

Alain

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I think the name of the producer is of more importance than the specific AOC. Most of the AOCs were created in the 1960s and 1970s before the renaissance and seem to be a way of rewarding the better cooperatives. Personally I pay no attention to the AOC on the label. Some of the best wines are made as IGP Cotes Catalanes because it allows us more freedom with grape varieites and blending. Some even label as Vin de France as a bit of a finger to the authorities.

However, there are distinct viticultural zones who’s terroir impacts the flavour and style of the wines. Those are Collioure, Les Aspres, Alberes, Fenouilledes, Maury, Lower Agly and the coastal area between Perpignan and Canet.

Collioure is a newer AOC, pioneered by Domaine du Mas Blanc. Certainly some of my favourite producers are making wine there (e.g. Pic Joan, Madeloc, Coume del Mas, Rectorie and Tour Vielle) but bog-standard Collioure is just overpriced plonk. AOC Maury Sec was only introduced last year. It’s confusing that they chose the same name as the sweet fortified AOC. The wines tend to be more concentrated and powerful than elsewhere in the Roussillon. Most of them falling into my Blockbuster category, but some have more finesse. Kerbuccio is more classic.

Pic St Loup is way up in the Languedoc by Montpellier. Similar grape variities but different terroir.
Queribus lies on the boundary of the Roussillon and the Languedoc. Ch Trillol is outside the Roussillon in the Corbieres and to be honest I’d never heard of it but it appears to be owned by the Bordeaux company Sichel. As is so often the case, the Roussillon wines available widely in the US are those owned by big companies with portfolios covering the more famous wine regions. Eg. Chapoutier, Lurton, Thunevin, etc.

Domaine Reveille is a small producer. A Belgian lady. Pretty nice wines with nice acidity and minerality. Nice surprise that they are in the US.

I forgot to mention that the dry white wines, made from Grenache gris and blanc, Macabeu and sometimes Roussanne and Viognier, are great too. People think they would be hot and flabby but they aren’t. Here’s an accurate quote from Tim Atkin MW

"Imagine something with the richness and texture of Châteauneuf-du-Pape (albeit at lower alcohol levels), the minerality and freshness of Puligny-Montrachet and the perfume and staying power of Hermitage. At their best, Roussillon’s whites combine elements of all three, with a hint of Mediterranean herbs for good measure."

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^ In Collioure you may also know the Domaine de la Casa Blanca, nice guys and good wines!

Alain

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How many White Houses are there in Collioure? [shock.gif]

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We stayed in a white house there; I suppose there are a few others.
I’ll add my vote for Gauby and Dom. de la Rectorie. Plus Pierre is a great guy.
We also had a lovely visit at Puig-Parahy.

I’ll also give a big plug to the whites. I think quality is growing quickly.

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Thunevin-Calvet was pretty opulent / hedonistic the last time I tasted it…

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Thanks for the info Jon. I visited Roussillon maybe 10 years ago and was very impressed by the hospitality, Catalan influenced cuisine and the beauty of the place (from the beaches to nearby snow capped mountains). The April - May “off season” was uncrowded and the weather was terrific.

The sweet wines of Banyuls, Rivesaltes and Maury were the stars but I also tasted plenty of non-fortified.

I caught Herve Bizeul on a holiday. He was in a sour mood after not sleeping due to a screaming baby. His wines were very well made but most were simply too big (or $$ pretentious) to be appealing. I enjoyed the welcoming demeanor and tasting at his neighbors: “Domaine de L’Edre”. For the trip as a whole, the number of dry red and whites that were too ripe, big and hot (IMHO) was problematic. No shortage of pink “bubblegum” at the beaches.

For lovers of full bodied wines, the Roussillon is a gold mine of value. I’m sure there are lighter more subtle options but as a US consumer, the searching isn’t easy…and it doesn’t seem to be the Region’s strong suit.

RT

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I’m a fan of Roussillon wines especially those grown on schist. I lean towards cool climate wines and while clearly not cool climate, I don’t find the ones I like to be ‘bombshells’ as suggested in other threads.

I tend to think of them as being somewhat more balanced than many other southern Rhone or Languedoc wines (Or California!). The flavour profile may have something to do with it, but I get an extra layer of character (or terroir) than from many other hot regions.
Favourites include Gardies, Lafage, Bila-Haut & Boucabeille. Had & subsequently purchased a great value Puig Parahy a year ago.

Jon, if ever given the opportunity, would like to try your wines. Doubt they make it to Ontario CAN at the moment though.

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Jon, this is a great thread, thanks for starting it, and hope you’ll continue to inform us. Ironically, it was Ray who did exactly this kind of thing about each of the Burgundy communes, which was very informative and a lot of fun. Until it wasn’t. But I digress…

I’m a big fan of Roussillon wines (and Languedoc), though maybe not every day. Some I’ve been collecting for a while are Clos des Fees, Clot de L’Oum Saint Bart, Roc des Anges. But they do need time…

14

Thanks for a great post.

I was a big fan of La Rectorie through the 90s vintages, including a fantastic white. Became harder for me to find and I just had some very recently while in Paris. Oh… I didn’t know cliffs in Roussillon were that big. What a drop in quality in dry reds. Didn’t sample any Banyuls.

Also had a wine from Domaine YoYo. (Akoibon). Wow! What a beautiful wine. We quaffed a whole bottle for lunch at Comptoir.

Jolly-Ferriol and Clos L’Origine were also new finds and quite good.


A.

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They are nice wines though. The bigger ones like the Vielles Vignes need time to settle down, and patience will be rewarded, gthey do settle down and give good expression of terroir. My last visit four years ago, I picked up two new wines, a Cabernet Franc and a Tempranillo which was made from vines he had originally got from Domaine Pingus in Ribera Del Duero. These definitely weren’t big and were better priced. His single white wine, a 100% Grenache Blanc is my favourite wine though, and the best white in the Roussillon IMHO.

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La Rectorie make a fabulous white “l’Argile” and a very good rosé but I must admit I was not overly impressed by their red wines at the last tasting. The owner/winemaker is a great, down-to-Earth guy with a lot of thoughtful views.

YoYo, Jolly-Ferriol and Clos d’Origine are completely in the Naturalista camp. TBH I don’t like any of their wines. They just taste like bonkers Natural wines from everywhere else and therefore don’t really display much character of Roussillon.

Clot de l’Oum used to be one of my favourite producers back in 2005-2009 but recently they have decided that picking early and making lower-alcohol, very high acid wines is what gets them listings at Michelin starred restaurants. IMO a sad direction as the wines have lost their complexity, richness and character.

But these are all interesting characters in the rich tapestry of the region.

I tasted Casa Blanca at the Banyuls wine festival. Very good, interesting wines showing none of the normal faults I associate with too much focus on biodynamics or Naturalness. I bought them.

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Jon, that’s really interesting to learn. I’m still working my way through a case of the 2005 St. Bart, which, though it has some noticeable brett, is a brilliant wine for my tastes. More recently I picked up a bottle of the 2010, and found it under-fruited, a bit austere, and just not very interesting. That’s very consistent with your description, and kind of too bad. It’s not like the 2005 is a bit fruit bomb, it’s still plenty restrained and relatively low alcohol. Really sorry to hear this, I was hoping to try a more recent vintage and see if that 2010 was an outlier.

In point of fact, it doesn’t really matter, as these wines just don’t show up here in the U.S. very often.

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Winex has a couple of their 2009 blends (syrah dominant) on closeout. Anyone with experience of these; Carrement rouge & Villages L’Edre?

Jon, Thanks for the very informative thread. I enjoyed learning about the different camps. I’ve had the Gardies from 2007 and the St. Barts Clot de L"Oum 2005 and although I enjoyed them I felt they needed considerably more time in bottle.

Jon, what is your label called and is it available in the US?

Mahalos! [cheers.gif]

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OK, figured it out: Domaine Treloar, a small wine-producing estate in the Roussillon

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I didn’t think my wine was available in the US anymore but someone says they found an old vintage of Tahi online. We are on the verge of launching again in NY but Roussillon, and Languedoc are not easy to sell in the US. Retailers and distributors need a really strong reason to handle the wines. Those reasons are usually being a corporate part of a bigger, more prestigious portfolio, having an American involved in the production or having another niche selling point like Natural or Biodynamic.