Wine Travels with Dagny: 10.2013

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):