Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Vendanges 2009 : After our first year of the wines being available. Further Harvest 2009 photos on
Flickr
Seeing off some tough competition, (Daumas Gassac, Grange de Peres, Mas
Jullien, Peyre Rose, Château de la Négly) the La Peira 2006 was judged best
red for both the Terrasses du Larzac and Coteaux du Languedoc
appellations in both Neal Martin’s (Wine Advocate) and The Wine Gang’s
notes from the tasting.
While The Wine Gang (Tim Atkin, Anthony Rose, Joanna Simon, Olly Smith
and Tom Cannavan) seemed to be more positive overall in their
assessments (in comparison to Neal Martin), the tasting provided a rare
opportunity for UK tasters to try a wide variety of domaines from the
region, and in some cases the chance to sample some (not so easy to
find!) older vintages.
The Wine Gang’s full tasting notes (amongst many others) are on The Wine
Gang website.
This has a rather diffuse, leathery, earthy nose that is just a little loose-knit
for my liking, but the palate is gutsy and stout, dry tannic structure, irony,
very good weight on the finish. An uncompromising rustic Languedoc that
is full of character, but yearns to be accompanied by some hearty cuisine.
Drink now-2010. Tasted September 2009. Copyright © 2001-2009 – The
Wine Advocate, Inc.
Dry Reds
A very fine red. This powerfully built spicy red from Rob Dougan, Karine
Ahton and Jérémie Depierre is dark in colour, big, rich and smoky in its
aromas, and packed with powerful concentrated blackberry and plum
fruitiness; the backbone is firm and serious, the oak polished, the
chewiness of the tannins indicating that food definitely needs to be on the
agenda here. The Wine Gang – www.thewinegang.com
Prieuré St Jean de Bébian has long been one of the great names of the
Languedoc and under the stewardship of former wine writer Chantal
Lecouty and Jean Claude Le Brun, it reached new heights of quality before it
was sold this year to the Russian tycoon with a porn star name, Dmitriy
Pumpyanski. It is unquestionably a sexy wine, with its aromatic notes of
fennel and anis, a fine, intensely flavoured and concentrated blend of black
fruit flavours and garrigue herb, its silky tannins finely balanced by fresh
acidity. The Wine Gang – www.thewinegang.com
While Domaine Peyre Rose’s more farmyardy, younger 1998 Clos Syrah
Leone showed less well at this tasting, this red from former estate agent
Marlène Soria is remarkable for its age. With its smoky, evolved, slightly
earthy undertones, the fruit is sweet and cherryish, the tannins silky
smooth and although it’s slightly drying now, there’s enough complexity of
evolved flavour here to make this a really intriguing red. The Wine Gang –
www.thewinegang.com
Frédéric Portalié, who worked at Les Granges des Pères, and it shows, is a
winemaker who strives above all for elegance and this wine is a classic
example, almost a Pinot Noir in the Languedoc with its fragrant cherryish
perfume and the voluptuous curves of its supple sweet cherry and
strawberry fruit, finely balanced by fresh acidity, showing the hand of a
truly gifted winemaker. Not for fans of Parker-esque reds. The Wine Gang –
www.thewinegang.com
Domaine St Daumary L’Asphodèle 2007 90/100
Dark in colour, this richly fruited Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre blend
from Julien Chapel, in transition to organic viticulture near Pic Saint Loup, is
made in the modern style, showing nicely polished vanillin oak with dark
mulberry and blackberry fruit richness, powerful alcohol and a firm
backbone of tannins. The Wine Gang – www.thewinegang.com
There’s a strong, pungently oak side to the aromas of this well-made Pic St
Loup red from Christophe Peyrus and Françoise Julien, whose family used to
send the grapes to the local co-op. Biodynamic since 1992, it’s a source of
excellent reds like this blend made in a modern style, with plenty of oaky
maraschino cherry fruit sweetness, power and concentration, if a tad on the
oaky side and chunky on the finish. The Wine Gang –
www.thewinegang.com
Dry Whites
This Languedoc blend from the renowned Aimé Guibert, a man never slow
to blow his own trumpet, is an exceptionally good dry white, a beautiful
ripe, apple and Poire Williams blend in which the apple, peach and pear
fruit is deliciously fresh and zingy but rich too, with juicy tropical citrusy
acidity and barely perceptible, poised oak. The Wine Gang –
www.thewinegang.com