There does not tend to be so much focus on the wines from Pic Saint Loup on this board. So I guess it justifies a couple of notes from this interesting region.
Pic St Loup is a based some 20 km inland from Montpellier in the South of France in the Coteaux du Languedoc. The climate is influenced by the Mediterranean Sea and offers wet winters and dry, warm summers, but the appelation is a bit cooler than the neighbouring appelations, and therefore a fair amount of Syrah can be found in many of the wines. Along with the Syrah, you find Grenache and Mouvedre in the front, and Carignan and Cinsault in the background.
Browsing through my tasting notes on CellarTracker, I realise that I have tended to open the smaller wines from the area, while the bigger ones still sit in the cellar.
2005 Mas Bruguiere Coteaux du Languedoc Pic St. Loup La Grenadière- France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Coteaux du Languedoc Pic St. Loup (10/6/2011)
Intense and complex nose of ripe black fruit. Good structured palate of black fruit and berries, smooth with good freshness. A pleasure. 90-91 (90 pts.)
2004 Mas Morties Coteaux du Languedoc Pic St. Loup Jamais Content- France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Coteaux du Languedoc Pic St. Loup (2/11/2011)
Juicy mouthful. Stylistically not far from Northern RhĂ´ne. Spicy and smoky notes on the palate with good acidity. Showing mature notes. Good complexity and balance. Smooth tannins, medium finish. A pleasure. (90 pts.)
2004 Domaine de lâHortus Coteaux du Languedoc Pic St. Loup Grande CuvĂŠe- France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Coteaux du Languedoc Pic St. Loup (7/10/2009)
Medium garnet. Great nose of cherry, spices, meat, coffee, tobacco and hint of plum. Palate is less developed than nose and offers a juicy mouthful dominated by black fruits, a firm structure and a high level of acidity. Modern style, oak is well integrated at this stage, finish is long and quite dry though, and I think the wine will profit from another year in the cellar. A very good wine. 90+ (90 pts.)
2005 Clos Marie Coteaux du Languedoc Pic St. Loup LâOlivette- France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Coteaux du Languedoc Pic St. Loup (2/14/2009)
Nice and elegant wine. Not very complex but ok standard cuvĂŠe. Open and accessible right now. Will not profit from further cellaring. (88 pts.)
2005 Mas Bruguiere Coteaux du Languedoc Pic St. Loup Lâarbouse- France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Coteaux du Languedoc Pic St. Loup (1/1/2009)
An elegant medium bodied and rustic standard cuvÊe. Not very rich and not very complex, but a nice glass. Nose of garrigue and red/black fruit aromas. A somehow earthy palate backed up by fruit and fine-grained tannins. Short finish. Pleasant, but I had expected a bit more from this producer⌠(84 pts.)
Indeed, some of my favorite Languedoc wines are from Pic St Loup. Iâd echo the sentiment that it is a bit surprising how little love the nobler appellations of both the Languedoc and Roussillon get on the board. There is some silly good value to be had.
Iâm a big fan of Clos Marie; so is the French press and restaurant culture, apparently. Iâve never been too taken by the Olivette, the Simon is a bit of a step up, and then the Metairies and Glorieuses are fantastic. I love their white as well, the Manon. Damn fineâŚ
I have visited the Pic St. Loup many times since 1985. At the earlier times almost all the wines there were âsmallerâ: lots of cooperatives and tons of grenache, and little syrah. Iâd bring bottles back home, but importer friends had no interest. Then things evolved/exploded. But, the region has seemingly fallen back to earth and the interest again seems pretty low, I sense. It is certainly worth checking out, and there is/was a great tasting center near Montpellier where one could taste a whole range of wines and producers and buy them. Hortus has long been, IMO, as good as any producer in the region.
The pic St. Loup is a beautiful siteâŚand the area charming and unaffected by the sprawl from Montpellier.
Domaine LâHortus is one of my goto producers. I personally love the Languedoc and the Pic Saint Loup specifically. Chateau La Roque was probably my intro to the region and Iâve loved most wines Iâve had from that area since. Great wines at incredibly fair prices.
A few restaurants in Portland have carried LâHortus on their lists which is a great go-to with rustic dishes. Weâve never visited the appellation. Perhaps on our next trip to the south of France.
+1. Languedoc sub-AOCs, especially Pic St Loup, are quickly becoming my favorite go to GSM-based wines.
I think its problem is that it is still associated with mediocrity. The terroir is immutable and intrinsic, but if it does not have marketing clout like the traditional regions then simply no one cares. Oh well, as long as the better producers can survive, this will remain a superb value region.
Beautiful place and I love the Syrahs from here. Hereâs part of an article I wrote earlier this year on the Languedoc/Roussillon.
âPic Saint Loup, lying just north of Montpellier and named after the dramatic peak that frames the region, is an exciting subappellation that is putting out beautifully fresh, complex and balanced wines, that in a number of cases have a decidedly northern Rhone like profile. Despite sitting just 14 miles off the coast, the vineyards sit at an elevation of 1500 feet and are surrounded on three sides by the Cevennes Mountains. With peaks topping out upwards of 3,000 feet, this cold, mountainous air flows into the region during the nights and causes temperatures to plummet. The appellation is also notable for its long hang time, with the Syrah harvest not starting until early October (similar to the Northern RhĂ´ne.)â
All of this quality and syrah is a relatively recent addition to the wine world , though. The topography and location have always been stunning. But, the wines languished in mediocrity (or lower) until the mid â90s or so. So, thereâs lots of catching up to do down there, especially with the consumer. Lots of well known Rhone and Burgundy people have dabbled down there, too, which doesnât hurt. But, for France, it is still the vast Midi/Languedoc, with oceans of wine best suited for its local cuisine, except for pockets of development. I hope it is working commerciallyâŚI know it hasnât been easy to convert peoplesâ images/stereotypes. The cinsault/grenache blend is still predominate, even in the Pic St. Loup, I think.
I want to go back! The area is as Jeb described: inspiring, particularly as it is so close to the sea and to Montpellier, and with a very Camargue-like culture in the little towns.
I think part of the âproblemâ here is that most of the discussion is among people ITB. They know/like the Pic (and other Languedoc wines), but not many others are that interested charmedâŚby the subject or the wines. Too bad, butâŚprobably true.
I wouldnât characterize it that wayâŚI mean, whatâs really the difference between ITB and others? Itâs not as though ITB folk share any common background or particular education, and in fact, people come in and out of the biz pretty fluidly from the âotherâ population.
My feeling is that itâs a matter of exposure. Restaurants are the frontlines for introducing people to wine, but the French restaurant in America, which would be the ideal place for Languedoc wines to roost, do not exist in any meaningful way. Generally speaking, both retail and restaurants are pretty conservative when it comes to wines, especially with foreign wines that donât fit into neat, tidy, varietal types. Think about how many places you can go and find PSL, Tautavel, or Rousillon villagesâŚprobably not many, and theyâre almost never featured or highlighted because sellers donât think they can get behind them and sell them because people donât know the wines. A vicious circle, that!
If âothersâ had the chance to taste and be offered the wines more, Iâm confident theyâd be charmed. If they could taste the wines in the context of food and culture like we can with Italian wines, Iâm confident theyâd be interested.
Maybe the core problem is the absence of French culture in America? I think Spain has the same trouble, btw.
Indeed, Chaad.
With the exception of the most educated âupscaleâ restaurateurs, KISS (keep it simple stupid) seems to drive the majority of the market share. I fully agree that if people get an opportunity to taste any of a multitude of fantastic but culturally âforeignâ wines, they would gladly trade out their more commercial plonk for some more interesting and delicious wines at the same price point. Americaâs youth and lack of historical appreciation of the âold worldâ (with some very prestigious places excepted) is indeed an inhibiting factor; Iâd venture further to say that it comes down to a disconnect with agriculture in general, that as a massive consumer culture, we are used to just going to the food âtroughâ without a relationship to the context, culture, and people that bring things to our table. I suppose that that is our job, as ambassadors for the growers and wines at large, to offer meaningful experiences and context; when people get an opportunity to see/taste how food/wine can be better and more meaningful for the same money, the connection is made, and people will often keep on âswimming upstreamâ.
I fully hear Stuartâs point as well, that weâre ITB or are lifelong lovers of wine, and have devoted much of our lives to wine. Not many even care to pay attention to the details. They are comfortable with the âtroughâ. Alas.
Maybe I should have said that itâs a shame that more non-ITB posters on this board havenât posted on this thread. I think what I was really saying is that outside of those in the ITB the interest in Pic St. Loup and other such wines isnât even significant on this board. This is really a shame, but is , I think, pretty much a fact. I did find a Kermit Lynch Pic St. Loup the last time I went to Le Bec Fin in PhiladelphiaâŚand we ordered it and enjoyed it, butâŚnobody recommended it there.
Thanks for all your comments. I agree that there does not seem to be a big interest for these wines outside the ITB segment (although I would then be the exception to the rule), and for me it took some time to fully appreciate the style of the wines from the area. Initially I thought there was too much garrigue in the wines. So maybe the style of Pic St. Loup to some extent is an acquired taste compared to the more round and pleasing wines from the RhĂ´ne appelations?
Anyway, I would probably not have known the appelation, had it not been for a trip to the area.
My personal favourites include:
Clos Marie (of course)
Mas Bruguière
Domaine de lâHortus
Mas Morties
Château la Roque
Ermitage du Pic Saint Loup (very traditional)
Château de Cazeneuve
On the topic of exposure and renown, itâs still going to require a lot of efforts to âadvertiseâ these wines. First of all I wish the Languedoc-Roussillon name was dropped entirely, as the area is WAY too big, and this is only going to get more and more obvious as more and more producers dedicate their efforts to quality. Second, they are well-known regionally (French people outside of Paris tend to have extremely local tastes), and Pic Saint-Loup in particular gained a lot of exposure from its proximity to Montpellier, that other areas at least as deserving did not get (Faugères, Saint-Chinian, Terrasses du Larzac among others).
I tried a few PSL in the past (before I settled down in Languedoc) and more often than not found them too modern for my tastes. The prices of new producers also seemed to be a bit high to me (and therefore not really competitive), at least in France.
So few comments on this AOC on WB, but Iâve been enjoying the 2017 Ch. Lavabre âLa Closerieâ [Pic Saint-Loup] over the last couple of days. Itâs excellent! It carries itâs monster 15% abv with aplomb, without heat/flab. This is 70% syrah with the balance grenache, with a bouquet at age 7 of cloves and crushed raspberries. This is the new name for the Puech Haut estate, which, to comply with INAO rules, has to bottle within the AOC, and thus, had to buy the Lavabre estate. Iâve had some of their older wines and they keep/develop well, more akin to CNDP/Gigondas than âcountryâ French reds, which is an unfair pejorative the region got tagged with. For my palate, that whole swath between Provence and Coulioure is ripe for interesting wines, at great prices, perhaps like the NoRhone might have been circa 1978. Tannins on this 2017 are mostly softened, acidity is brighter than the volume might imply, and the finish is lengthy. Heavy, deeply punted bottle with a conventional cork. On my ledger, an easy A- perhaps notching up to a solid A during the Fall/Winter with hearty fare.
I wish this region was easier to find stateside but I really have not had a bad example over the decades. I suppose the importers are keeping standards very high. Information is better in our modern internet era, but I can still recommend Rosemary Georgeâs older book on the broader area.
BC, before Covid, I would spend a month a bit west outside of Montpellier. About 2 miles from Saint Georgeâs Dâourques. An aoc that lovers of languedoc wines should try. It was a 30 minute drive up to Pic St Loup.
Hortus hosts a music festival annually with most of their wines open and lots of food trucks. Heard a great American Brass funk band and drank exceptionally well. The only downside was that the French national police had roadblocks set up to test for DUI that slowed our departure by an hour.
Saint-Georges DâOrques hosts a great summer event call Dance et Sens. You have to reserve but you get a glass and walk through the village stopping at planned stops with performances by dancers and musicians along with a quick bite and a tasting from a specific winery. After the tour, you sit in a large field and have an amazing dinner with more local wines and high quality dance performances.
