Sud de France (Languedoc) - Family Holiday

Early this year we were tossing around ideas about a summer holiday.  With two kids (one an infant) we really wanted something simple and easy to get to.  We could have stayed in Spain but my mind was set on a summer holiday in the south of France.  Kara found a great house on the property of a small wine maker, Domaine de Cazaban (http://www.domainedecazaban.com/), in the village of Villegailhenc near Carcassonne.  Pool, bbq grill, vineyards, and in the heart of the Languedoc.  Not sure what else we really needed.  Turns out, nothing!

So let's review the Languedoc.  There are 18 appellations (to date) in this region which produces the second greatest volume of wine in the world (second to the whole country of France).  Yes, more than the United States, Italy, Spain, Australia, and so forth...  The region is vast - stretching from the border of Spain near Perpignan, west past Carcassonne, and northeast to Nimes.  Something like 700,000 acres of vineyards planted.  Varietals - too many to list!  The predominant reds are Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, Carignan, and Cinsault.  Whites vary from Grenache blanc/gris and Viognier to Chardonnay.  And toss in some local varieties like Mauzac, Picpoul, Maccabeo, and Fer Servadou for fun.  Oh yeah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petite Verdot are appellation designates as well.

We spent two weeks in the region and managed to cover 4 appellations, 9 winery visits, and about a dozen producers.  This excludes the great Romanian wines we discovered thanks to our friends Diana (a native of Romania living in Barcelona) and Andreas.

Appellations discovered:

• Cabardes - The western most appellation in the Languedoc.  This is the only one to encompass Atlantic and Mediterranean varietals.
• Limoux - Best known for the Blanquette de Limoux (sparkling made of Mauzac) and believed to have been producing sparkling since the 1500's well ahead of Champagne.  The Chardonnay and Chenin Blancs from the region are excellent values as well.
• Minervios - Second largest appellation in the Languedoc.  Though Carignan is noted as a prominent varietal, we found more Syrah dominated blends in our visits.
• Corbieres - Largest appellation in the Languedoc.  Over 90% of production is for red wines with Carignan as the primary varietal.

Wineries visited:

• Domaine de Cazaban (http://www.domainedecazaban.com/) - Clement produces a handful of reds with the traditional designate varietals of Syrah and Merlot.  Estate fruit makes up a the core of the red blends and a white blend.  The Rose and the entry red blend are non-estate fruit.  The winery property is multi-functional (wine production/cellaring, personal home, rental units).  They have a small estate with 15 or so hectares with about 30k bottles of annual production.  The focus is organic (which is very common but understated in the region).  We enjoyed all the wines but found our favorites to be the white blend and the top end Domain de Cabazan red. 
• Chateau de Brau (http://chateaudebrau.over-blog.com/) - Kept seeing signs for this winery off of the main road to Carcassonne from Villegailhec.  After more than a week and confirming they were on our list we decided to drop in.  Very wide range of wines plus wine making ideas.  They have a Pure line which I found interesting for the concept of 100% non AOP varietals.  Plus some funky varietals like Fer Servadou.  Anyway, the whites (Chardonnay and Chardonnay/Roussanne) and the Rose were our favorites.  I did grab a Pure Pinot Noir and Petite Verdot.  PN not good.  PV still in wine fridge.
• Chateau du Donjon (http://www.chateau-du-donjon.leminervois.com/?la=en) - Great photo opportunity missed here.  We rang the bell to the winery and from 3 doors down came this elderly woman with knee high nylons and wig, plus dog in tow...  The winery is in a sleepy little pass through village.  We had their Rose on our list but were pleasantly surprised with all their wines which had a high QPR.  One fun wine which we have not tried yet is their "man" Rose (Sur la Terrasse).  A special guest will get this at some point :)
• Chateau Saint Jacques d'Albas (http://www.chateaustjacques.com/en/Cultural_mailing.html) - Primarly Syrah at this house.  The whites were very acidic but not in a good way.  The Syrah (blend) comes in three bottlings (Domaine, Chateau, and La Chapelle).  The tasting room and winery is very nice and worth a visit.  They were generous with their pours and opened older vintages for us.  We took home the 2006 La Chappelle which for 16euro gets a high QPR.
• Domaine O'Vineyards (http://ovineyards.com/english/) - Do not comment on trip advisor!  A little inside joke.  Ok, I will share....  They do a lunch with wines (lots and lots of wine) for 50euro a head which is a real premium if you know the region (we did not as this was our first visit).  The wines are good but again a little on the more expensive side so not in-line with QPR.  They got a less than glowing trip advisor review which ended up being a focal point at lunch.  Anyway, real nice couple and it was fun but I would pass on the lunch.  The wines I would taste and perhaps walk away with their 100% Merlot (Stranger Stranger).  Out of all the juice I tasted, in barrel, tank, bottle (current and older), this one stood out.  They also had a white indigenous varietal Chasan which I thought was interesting and for 10euro worth a drink.
• Chateau Grand Moulin (http://www.chateaugrandmoulin.com/) - Follow the signs. Yes, this was our only random stop on the trip.  After our great lunch in Lezignan we just followed the signs to this winery in town.  This was more of a check the box so that we visited a winery in Corbieres.  They are a large producer (over 500k bottles a year) but on the high end, the Cru Boutenac (Mourvedre and Carignan) has a small production of only 5k bottles.  
• Chateau Sainte Eulalie (http://www.chateausainteeulalie.com/laliviniere.html) - Mental note to travelers in the Languedoc, get GPS...  It took us over an hour to get here which should have been about half the time.  Not necessarily a bad drive but the tasting was bland.  We did enjoy the Rose and Syrah blend (La Cantilene) but I would not drive out of my way (but if in Rome, then do as the Romans)!
• Chateau Rives-Blanques (http://www.rives-blanques.com/) - We were not the party of 8 they were expecting (they showed up about 10 minutes into our tasting).  So a bit of a zoo but the owners were really accommodating.  Expats (Dutch and English) who produce some wonderful white wines from Blanquette to Chardonnay and in between Mauzac, Chenin Blanc, and Sauvignon Blanc.  Also, a very nice sparkling Rose.  They should be your first visit (and possibly only) in the region but call ahead to make an appointment!
• Les Clos Perdus (http://www.lesclosperdus.com/) - Wow.  Picturesque village on the coast.  Great great wines.  Flat out a must.  Our next blog post will be on this visit and their wines.

Restaurants:

• La Tantina (Limoux) - This is the bistro sister restaurant of Tantine et Tonton which was recommended to us by the proprietors at Rives-Blanques.  Situated in the town square with a good set menu but I opted for a cheeseburger.  Plus, a lovely fountain in the square that Dagny and 2 other girls decided to turn into a wading pool.  We would go back...
• L'Artichaut (Carcassonne) - Hidden little restaurant in the busy Place Carnot square which is frequented by local winemakers.  Nice selection of wines by the glass and a very good list.  Bistro menu with plenty to choose from.  I had a burger and fries (yum) and washed it down with creme brulee (yum, yum).  My mom was less pleased with her vegetarian lasagna.  Dagny had no complaints with her homemade chicken nuggets and fries (go figure).  Service was as would be expected (marginal but the staff was polite).   I would go back for the wine list...
• La Balade Gourmande (Lezignan) - Kara always reads about and tracks down the best spots.  This pulled on many heart strings for us.  Locals' spot, on the side of the road away from the center of the village, and great country food.  The cassoulet was out of this world.  Actually, the cassoulet I make is still the best but this was damn good.  Outrageous amount of food for two people (see pic).  Here we also discovered a high QPR Corbieres wine, Chateau Etang des Colombes Bicentenaire 2008 for 18 euro on the list (figure 10 euro or so at the store).  This is a classic GSMC wine from the region which seemed to be hitting its stride.  A must for lunch...

Our Guide(s):

Purple Pages by Jancis Robinson (http://www.jancisrobinson.com) was our main guide to the region.  We looked at Clive Coats books (yes, not virtual) and got some tips (thanks Christophe for recommending we visit Limoux) but in the end the Purple Pages were a really good source for us.  Jancis has had a home in the region for some time so we took that as a good indicator.  There was a section on her site about Great Values in the Languedoc which we used to help map out visits.  In all fairness, this was a great way to do things in such a vast region that is not widely recognized for its high-end wines.  Perhaps it may never be but we really found some incredible values and, at least, one producer who I hope to build out a small section in our cellar for in the years to come.

What's Next:

Les Clos Perdus - They warrant their own post...  Stay Tuned!

Last but not least (Pictures):

Vineyards at Domaine de Cazaban

White Blend

Vineyard Manager at O'Vineyards

2006 was nice.  2004 was cooked.

An American in France

Tasting Room at St Jacques

Tanks at O'Vineyards

label couldn't describe this any better :)

Very Nice!!!!

The Rose.
Sorry no pic of the elderly woman
in knee highs and wig :(

Before

After

Big Production House

Choose Wisely!!!

Small Production House
YUM YUM YUM!

PYRENEES BORDER PATROL
Sir, I noticed 4.5 cases of French wine
in your trunk.  Have you paid import duties?

Madrid 36C at 7:12pm

I think the title says it all.  Actually, missing one key bit...  Enjoying a glass of Doniene 2011 Txakolina.  You ask, what is that?  I answer, traditional white wine from the Basque region.  Yes, the same folks who brought you the separatist movement of ETA and more importantly the gastronomic capital of Spain (think Arzak).  Anyway, I have already digressed!

I writing today for a couple of reasons.  First and foremost, because I owe you about two plus years of blogs so figured I would catch-up.  Secondly, because we have been living in Madrid for over a year now so it's about time we started telling you a little about this part of the world (through wine, beer, and food goggles of course).  Oh yeah, today I had earmarked as a non-drinking day.  Then I went for a nice long swim and a very hot/dry walk back home.  So I drink.  Oh well, will try another day to go alcohol free (but not likely until September).  And yet again I have digressed...

Let's keep it very local for now.  Madrid is the capital city of Spain.  Right in smack in the center of the country where I think you can get to Lisbon, Portugal faster by car than you can Barcelona.  It is a great town.  I would highly recommend a visit.  Good food scene, plenty of juice, artisanal brew, vibrant nightlife, and strong in the arts.  An added bonus if you have kids is that this is a very kid friendly city.

So today's blog will be brief as I just want to point out some good wine & beer shops, restaurants, and a few snapshots of wines for reference.  We will come back to you with blogs from actual wineries.  In fact, we tried to visit one south of Madrid but during the summer they are only open M-F from 10am-3pm (the heat)...

Wine and Beer Shops

If in Madrid and in a pinch for wines (plus wanting to taste a few while shopping), then these are our top 3 wine shops:

http://www.lavinia.es/es

This is a trendy wine shop with a huge selection of wines from all over Spain and the world.  It is located in the high-end shopping area of town but prices are reasonable.  They usually have 4 or 5 wine stewards working the floors who are very knowledgable.  Also, they have a bar, dining room (would recommend for lunch), and pay by the pour fountains to sample all sorts of good stuff.

http://www.lacartadevinos.com/

These guys are more exclusive to Spanish wines but have a handful of others to offer.  In fact, I picked up a really nice white burgundy (Francois Antoine Jobard Bourgogne Blanc Burgundy) from the Mersault region for about 20 euros a couple of weeks ago  Also, you can pay by the pour.  Both of these guys deliver to the house for a small fee (unless you buy in quantity) and they are located in easy to get to areas.

http://www.reservaycata.com/

This was a new discovery thanks to our friend Alirio.  A mom and pop shop which is what we love.  An ecclectic collection of wines.  A simple bar to taste wines.  Ezequiel was a great host as he poured all sorts of good juice.  In fact, we were treated to pre-release wines with no labels to speak of.  That was really cool.  He makes wine as well.  Current project is a Bobal (Bobal Icon - http://www.reservaycata.com/bobal-icon-2011.html)  from 80-year old vines.  An easy drinking second bottle of wine and for the price I would say the QPR is high.  Kara may disagree but we are talking 6.50 euro.  Trust me, if you come to visit, I may pour a nice bottle to start but you will have the Icon to finish :)  Anyway, very excited about this new find and will probably lean on Ezequiel as I build the local cellar.

Now let's talk beer.  Two must do's if you are a beer fanatic and if you are not then do it anyway.  It is a good cultural experience.

http://fabricamaravillas.com/

A must go to!  I said that...  Great beer made in Madrid.  Fun atmosphere.  Fun neighborhood.  A Frenchman runs this joint.  Who would have known?  Nuff Said!

https://www.facebook.com/quebuenapinta

Need beer?  I mean need good damn beer from Spain, Scotland, US, Denmark, Belgium, etc...  Want to have a pint while thinking it over in a cool little local neighborhood market a stones throw from the action?  Nuff said!  Ok, have to say more.  I shop here every two weeks or so.  One of my favorite world wide IPAs (from Spain) only found here (picture below).

Dagny loved the label (other side - sorry no pic)
I bought one just to see...
Who would have known...
My kid is a savant...

Restaurants

Now we come to food part of this blog...  A handful of restaurants that you must add to the list.  A good wine list was the starting point (oops... tequila as well)!

http://www.ponceletcheesebar.es/ - Need I say more?  Ok, they also have a cheese shop which we frequent.

http://www.garciadelanavarra.com/ - Two things to point out.  First, recommended by our French friends.  Second, awesome wines and great prices.  Think about it!

http://www.lagabinoteca.es/ - Fushion meets tapas with a fun atmosphere.  Oh yeah, the mojitos.  Nuff said!

http://www.puntomx.es/ - Need a margarita?  Need damn good mexican?  Need to overpay?  :(  Well the food was awesome.  And the margaritas...  They will give Rio Grande's in Colorado three margarita rule a runs for its money...

http://www.99sushibar.com/ - Not the Michelin star sushi joint in Madrid but who cares.  Best sushi to date.  Prices good.  Great wine list.

http://restaurantearce.com/ - Would you like land, sea, or air?  Stop here.  Do not past go!  The best wine list yet at retail prices (from release not current).

There are others but these stand out to us right now.

Pictures of Spanish Wines

Just a few morsels for now.

Priorat.
Yum Yum.
Thank You Arce for 1999 prices!

Is Peter Sisseck
the next Michele Roland
or Paul Hobbs?

We will get to visit the winery!

Mencia.  Yummy.

Moscatel from Malaga.
Really Yummy. 

Protos in Ribera del Duero
Amazing architecture not just in Rioja
Wines...  Not so yummy :(

What's Next?

We head to Carcassone for two weeks of holiday.  Stay tuned but Limoux here we come!!!

Btw - If you are wondering about the Txakolina.  Empty!!!

The Loki Experiment - Circa 2008 to Present Day

And we are back!  Added Ryker to the family on May 7th 2013 but Dagny has insisted that the blog not be renamed :)

Now let's chat about the Loki Experiment now in its 6th year...

This is LOKI

The first 4 releases (in order: Syrah, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Chardonnay)

The Background:

Back in early 2008 our close friend Charlie discovered this nifty little outfit called Crushpad (CPAD - RIP circa June 2012).  As it sounds, CPAD was a custom crush business which catered to wine lovers and winemakers.  At the time, CPAD was operating out of a huge warehouse space in the Dogpatch neighborhood of San Francisco.  The lure of making urban wine drew a tremendous amount of locals (us included).  The reality was a little bit different.  They had a great vision but execution and the timing of the financial crisis got in the way.  The idea is not new and has sticking power.

What/Who is Loki?

Loki is the Norse god of mischief.  But our lore is that once upon a time Charlie wanted to name a dog Loki but then he saw a dog on Letterman named Loki doing stupid animal tricks and decided he just couldn't do it.  Turns out he has yet to get a dog.  So really who cares...  Actually, it is a fitting description of what this experiment has been about to date.  Plain old fun!  Yes, some sweat and possibly a few tears too!  There are great stories to tell about our adventures to date but for now I prefer to just tell you a little bit about what/who we are...

The Concept:

In brief, you purchase a barrel(s) of wine from a catalog that covers some of the prime vineyards and varietals from California.  Once you pony up your thousands for a barrel the next step is to build a wine plan, follow the growing season and harvest, sort and pick your fruit, press your juice, rack your wine, transfer your wine to various barrels, design your wine label, play a mad scientist as you blend your wine, bottle your wine, and eventually drink the damn stuff.  During this time (typically 12-18 months) you go through many emotions.  Excitement at the thought of producing the next Parker 100 point 'garage' cult wine, frustration because CPAD talked a good game but then missed some basic steps on your wine plan, curiosity and concern that perhaps you spent way too much money after your first barrel sampling (i.e. your wine is on fire: www.ktvu.com/news/news/lingering-affect-of-2008-wildfires-impacting-mendo/nKhpp/), jubilation though tempered (see Zac) when you actually tasted the finished product 6 months after you bottled it, and tranquility because you may just re-up again even after all of this.  Turns out not only did we re-up, we went to Napa, then Sonoma, then back to San Francisco, we moved to Dogpatch Wine Works (www.dogpatchwineworks.com), we added partners, updated the label, sourced some fruit ourselves to double down, and added some whites to the mix.



Pictures for Dummies:  (oops for Beginners)

The Innoculation

The Fermentation

The Cold Soak

The Pump Over

The Press

The Free Run

The Foreman

Our wines:

2008 Alder Springs Syrah (Mendocino County)

Blend - 94% 08 Alder, 5% 09 Alder, 1% 09 Catie's Corner Viognier (Russian River Valley)

Alcohol - 14.5%
Bottled - December 2009 (San Francisco)
Notes - En fuego!  Yes, the fires resulted in some residual smoke taint.  As for our juice, thicker grape skins saved us to some extent along with 09 juice and a splash of Viognier.  

2009 Amber Ridge Pinot Noir (Sonoma County)

Blend - 97% 667 Clone, 3% Brousseau Field Blend (Monterey County)

Alcohol - 15% (we think a hair higher)
Bottled - October 2010 (Napa)
Notes - Adam Smith consulted and introduced the Brousseau which was a great call as it rounded the wine with some earthiness.  Blind tasted this with 2008 Kosta Browne Amber Ridge and 2007 Siduri Amber Ridge.  9 tasters resulted in a tie all around.  Not the same vintages, I know, but big names producing out of the same vineyard.  Pretty impressive!

2010 Grist Vineyard Zinfandel (Dry Creek Valley AVA)

Blend - 94% Grist Zin, 3% White Hawk Syrah, 3% Eaglepoint Ranch Petite Sirah
Alcohol - 15.5% (probably a hair higher)
Bottled - February 2012 (Sonoma @ Sebastiani winery)
Notes - Last barrel with CPAD.  Adam Smith consulted on this too.  Alcohol readings at 15.85% pre-blend.

2011 Red Wine (Goodkin Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley AVA)

Blend - 43.5% Goodkin Merlot, 43.5% Goodkin Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% 2012 Coplan (Carneros, Napa) Merlot, 5% 2012 Tourmaline (Coombsville, Napa) Petite Verdot

Alcohol - est. 13.5% or less (yes, these are from California)
Bottled - 3 December 2013 (San Francisco)
Notes - Picked too early resulting in an austere wine which required The Mad Scientist (Dave Gifford) to help us create an easy to drink "second bottle of the night" red table wine.  After 3 hours of trying 8 different recipes we found a nice combination.  This easily qualifies as a nice red table wine.

2011 La Cruz Vineyard Chardonnay (Sonoma Coast)
Blend - 100% single vineyard fruit comprised of Clone 4 and Wente Clone 17
Alcohol - 14.0%
Bottled - June 2012 (San Francisco)
Notes - 100% Neutral french oak, barrel fermented.  We tasted three barrels of this juice, 100% new oak, stainless steel, and neutral.  We choose wisely.  Actually, this was excellent in the barrel to start and has not disappointed since.  What a great way to recover from the red table wine hurdle. Thanks to Dave and Kevin for the super ridiculous offer to adopt this barrel!

2012 Day Ranch Pinot Noir (Anderson Valley AVA)
Blend - 100% single vineyard fruit comprised of Clones 667 and 115.
Alcohol - est. 14.0%
Bottled - 4 November 2013 (San Francisco)
Notes - 80% 667 in neutral barrel, 10% 667 in new oak, and 10% 115 in new oak.  Mike had a great comment that our "667 was like the sun coming out, adding the oak was like the clouds rolling in, and the 115 allowed the sun to peek back through the clouds."  The man is a poet!

2013 Day Ranch Pinot Noir (Anderson Valley AVA) 
Bottled - est. November 2014

2013 Gianquinta Sauvignon Blanc (Russian River Valley)
Bottled - 23 April 2014 (San Francisco)

The Partners: (the glue... the syndicate... the foolish...)

Paco and Charlie - Co-Founders
Zac - #3 2009 (though played with the 2008 more than I did)
James - #4 2010
Mike - #5 2010

NOTE: Wives, significant others, and children are assumed (trying to stay out of trouble here)

Paco plying his trade (this is NOT a Loki wine!)

The Friends of Loki: (let's call it what is it...  seed funding of a sort)

The Spachman's
The Palmer's
Russ
Ryder
The Sventy's (NOTE: syndicate members for the 2010 and 2011 vintages before they moved to Michigan)
Bree
Handful of others along the way...

And What About The Loki Experiment Story?

Well, it has just begun.  I suppose for now, the real question is what are we planning to do with The Loki Experiment?  Stay Tuned!  But for certain share some of our wines with us when you have a chance.  We are cooking up some great juice and having fun doing it!