THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 24th 2009

ROBERSON WINE PRESENTS:

LEGENDS OFSOUTHERN FRANCE

LEGENDS OFSOUTHERN FRANCE

THE REGION

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Champagne (pp.78–81)

Loire Valley (pp.118–25)

Burgundy (pp.54–77)

Jura and Savoie (pp.150–51)

Rhône (pp.130–39)

Southwest (pp.112–14)

Dordogne (p.115)

Bordeaux (pp.82–111)

Languedoc-Roussillon (pp.140–45)

Provence (pp.146–48)

Alsace (pp.126–29)

Corsica (p.149)

Other traditional vine-growing areas

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WAW Page 53 Map 10 France Regional

7Ajaccio

CORSE

For many years the southern regions of Provence, Languedoc and the Roussillon were home to a great deal of France’s ‘wine lake’, making wine that nobody wanted to drink, let alone par t with their hard earned francs for. The last decade has seen all of that change, and what was once the land of plonk is now one of the most exciting regions in the world of wine, with innovative vignerons producing both ar tisanal limited production cuvées and branded wines of vastly improved quality.The array of styles from this fascinating region of fers wonder ful diversity for the enthusi-ast - from dry and mineral white wines through crisp rosés to deep, structured red wines and on to unctuous sweet and for tif ied wines.

As Mediterrainian France continues to be discovered in terms of where the best terroir is located and which varieties are best suited to the various sub-regions, many areas that were previously considered good only for mass produced wine are being re-discovered.Perhaps the best example of this is an area called Terrases du Larzac which is approx 30 mins drive to the nor th-west of Montpellier. For many years the vines in and around the villages of Jonquieres, Montpeyroux and St Saturnin were cropped very high and sold of f in bulk, but winemakers like Olivier Jullien (not to mention the great Daumas Gassac down the road in Aniane) have been instrumental in taking quality sky high. This prime land is star ting to rise in value and the burgeoning number of top-drawer estates from the area is testament to what Andrew Jef ford calls the “great-est vineyard land in the south of France”. The region now has its own appellation and with producers like La Peira springing up every other vintage, it is def inately a case of ‘watch this space’.

LEGENDS OFSOUTHERN FRANCE

This 18ha estate is run by Eric Monné, who has owned the vari-ous parcels of land (33 in total) since the mid ‘90s although he bottled his f irst vintage under the Clot de l’Oum label in 2001. The delay in getting star ted may have had something to do with the fact that he spends his weeks working at the EU patent of-f ice in the Hague! Never theless, along with his wife Leia, Eric has quickly gained an enviable reputation for the spectacular wines being pro-duced from vines in the highly rated communes of Caramany and Maury. The Clot de l’Oum estate is planted to Syrah, Grenache (Gris and Noir) and Carignan. Blessed with old vines and wonder ful terroir, the wines are some of the most intense you are likely to f ind, with wonder ful precision and minerality on the palate.

Tonight we will be tasting their top cuvée, ‘Numero Uno’, from the 2006 vintage. It is a blend of 80% Syrah / 20% Carignan aged for around 16 months in new oak, before being bottled unf iltered.

CLOT DE L’OUM DOMAINE GAUBYSince star ting in 1985, Domaine Gauby has expanded from the original 5ha to over 40ha. This, not to mention the acclaim and success that the estate has attracted, is thanks to the drive and ambition of Gerard Gauby.Gerard Gauby is heralded as the ‘King of Roussillon’ and it is hard to argue with the idea that he has been an inspiration to an entire generation of winemakers in this rocky south-west corner of France. Never one to rest on his considerable laurels, in recent years the critics have become even more ef fusive in their praise. Gerard has striven to make his wines more elegant and has lowered alcohol levels across his range.In addition to leading the way in terms of quality wines in the Roussillon, Gauby is also one of the leading practicioners of biodynamics. It is a mammoth task applying these ideals to the 150(!) or so parcels of land that he owns, but the results are some of the most expressive and terroir driven wines in the world.

Tonight we will be tasting Gerard’s f lagship wine ‘Muntada’ from 2003, made predominently from Carignan and Grenache (40/30) with the balance from Mourvedre and Syrah.

ROUSSILLON

THE DOMAINES

LEGENDS OFSOUTHERN FRANCE

THE DOMAINES

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Toulon

Nice

Aix-en-Provence Cannes

Antibes

Meyrargues

les-Pennes-Mirabeau

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Rognac

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Roquebrune-sur-Argens

Hyères

la Crau

LignaneSt-Cannat

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le Rove

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Vinon-sur-Verdon

St-Paul-lès-Durance

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Peyrolles-en-Provence

Rougiers

St-Maximin-la-Ste-Baume

Auriol

Septèmes-les-Vallons

Bouc-Bel-Air

Mimet

Gardanne

Châteauneuf-le-Rouge

Trets

Touvres

le Val

Venelles

St-Julien

la Verdière

la Celle

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AgaySt-Raphaël

le Trayas

Miramar

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la Napoule

Grasse

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Mougins

le Cannet

le Bar-sur-Loup

CourségoulesGréolières

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TriganceAiguines

Mouans-Sartoux

Seillans

Callas

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leLuc

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le Cannet-des-Maures

Villeneuve-Loubet

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les Arcs le Muy

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la Garde

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les Issambres

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sur-Issole

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les AnnellesTavernes

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les MayonsPignans

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Roquefort-la-Bédoule Roquefort

le Castellet

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PuyloubierPourrières

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la Tourd‘Aigues Mirabeau

Mérindol Lauris

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CH DE SELLE

WAW Page 146-7 Map 54 Provence

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DOMAINE DE TREVALLONThe Durrbach family had bought the Trevallon estate back in the ‘60s as a holiday retreat, but it wasn’t until Eloi (the son) planted the f irst vines in 1973 that Domaine de Trevallon was born, with the f irst commercial vintage being released in 1977.Originally, the (nor th-facing) vineyards were planted to Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre but af ter a few years of struggling to ripen his grapes properly, Eloi decided to plant Cabernet Sauvignon. Today it is the blend of Cabernet and Syrah (50/50) that makes the estate’s red wine, with a white wine also being made from Marsanne and Rousanne.Eloi’s father René was a renowned ar tist in his day (and a close friend of Delauney and Picasso among others) and as he grew old Eloi decided to use the Trevallon label as a lasting memorial to his dad. Before René died in 2000, Eloi gave him 50 posters on which heused only crayons and his inspiration to design what have be-come some of the most iconic label images in the world.

Tonight we will be tasting the 2000 Domaine de Trevallon, aged for 2 years in new oak barrels.

TERRE INCONNUE

“My wines have a lot of personality because I have a lot of personality” says Rober t Creus, the owner and winemaker at Terre Inconnue in St Series, which is half way between Montpellier and Marseille.This is truly a boutique, small production winery. So small in fact that his wines are not available anywhere in the UK and almost im-possible to f ind outside of Southern France. That hasn’t stopped the word getting out however, and the growing reputation of the wines that hail from this ‘terre inconnue’ (unknown land) is inspite of the fact they can only be labelled as ‘Vin de Table’.Creus is a chemist by trade, but as his hobby begins to garner in-creasing praise for the distinctive and individual wines that he pro-duces the demand for them will continue to far oitstrip the supply.

His top wine is made from Grenache and called ‘Los Abuelos’. We will be tasting the 2003 this evening.

LEGENDS OFSOUTHERN FRANCE

THE DOMAINES

PEYRE ROSE

PRIEURÉ DE SAINT-JEAN DE BÉBIAN Not many winemaking estates can boast history like that of Prieuré de St-Jean de Bébian. It began life as a monestry back in the early 11th centruy and the monks eventually decided to plant vines and begin making wine there in 1152.During the modern era the estate had fell into serious disre-pair before it was taken over by a chap called Maurice Roux. Maurice replanted the vineyards and begin to improve the win-emaking before it was bought by Chantal Lecouty and Jean-Claude Le Brun (former editors of the Revue de Vin de France) in 1994. Even more recently it has been purchased by a Rus-sian oligarch and investment in the proper ty has continued.

Tonight we will taste the 2001, which is made from equal par ts Syrah and Grenache (40/40) and the rest Mourvedre.

When Marlene Soria bought the vineyards that make up the Peyre Rose domaine back in 1990 she was a self confessed amateur when it came to winemaking.Her f irst vintage, 1991, was met with astonishment and critical acclaim that was made all the more amazing by the fact that she was forced to vinify the wines with almost medievil equipment!Despite the buzz that Soria was creating just out-side Pezenas, she was having great dif f iculty selling her wines. These early sales problems have led to a policy of releasing the wines late - usually 4 years af ter the vintage.The winery was completed in 1996 and the reputa-tion of Peyre Rose has continued to rise (as have the prices) ever since. Three wines are produced: the ‘Clos des Cistes’ (85% Syrah / 15% Grenache) and ‘Clos Syrah Léone’ (90% Syrah / 10% Mourvedre) are the wines that have made the estate famous, but there is also the ‘Cuvée Rafael’ which is designed for earlier consumption.

The 1998s were described in the Wine Advocate as “two of the most complex and distinctive wines ever produced in the Languedoc” and tonight we will be tasting the Clos Syrah Leone.

LANGUEDOC

LEGENDS OFSOUTHERN FRANCE

THE DOMAINES

MAS JULLIENOlivier Jullien comes from a winemaking family. His father had been making wine and selling it to the local cooperative for many years before Olivier decided it was time to break out on his own and demon-strate just how special the terroir around Jonquieres could be.He established his own domaine in 1985, with 15ha of vineyards on two soil types - clay and calcaire. Since then, his mantra of low yields, minimal intervention and commitment to expressing terroir has in-spired a generation of Languedocian winemakers and even his father! Af ter witnessing his son’s success, Jullien Snr decided to stop selling in bulk and so began Mas Cal Demoura, now another highly respected domaine.Jullien’s vines are located around the village of Jonquieres in the hear t of the Terrases du Larzac, a name that was orginally coined by Jullien himself and an area that is seen by many as being the most exciting and relatively unheralded terroir in France.

Tonight we will be tasting the f lagship estate wine from the excellent 2001 vintage. The blend is Syrah, Carignan, and Mourvedre, with a touch of Grenache, and it is aged in 500l demi-muids rather than small barriques. LA PÈIRA EN DAMAISÈLA

When it comes to new kids on the block, it doesn’t get much newer that La Pèira en Damaisèla. The domaine began life in 2004 and is owned by ex-dj/composer Rob Dougan, whose work includes the score to the f ilm the Matrix. He employed young winemaker Jeremie Depierre and enlisted the help of famed consultant Claude Gros - the results thus far have been staggering and there is not a critic in sight that is not clamouring to bestow massive scores on all of the domaine’s wines.Af ter vinifying the f irst couple of vintages in a makeshif t winery on the road to Aniane, the last set of wines were produced in a brand new facility built on the land next to one of their two vineyard plots.The name is occitane, the old language of the Languedoc, and means ‘The stone with its best face forward’. The best face of the domaine is undoubtedly their top cuvée ‘La Pèira’, which is predominently Syrah with a touch of Grenache. The blend is aged for 24 months in new oak barrels and we will be tasting the 2006 tonight.

LANGUEDOC

LANGUEDOC

LEGENDS OFSOUTHERN FRANCE

THE DOMAINES

MAS DE DAUMAS GASSAC DOMAINE DE LA GRANGE DES PERESThis iconic estate is the f lag bearer for the Vins de Pays move-ment, and an inspiration for winemakers in unsung wine regions around the world.Aime Guiber t was a highly successful leather-goods merchant from the town of Millau who was looking for a family estate half way between there and Montpellier, where his wife lectured at the university. In the 1970 they fell in love with (and bought) the Mas de Daumas Gassac.Guiber t was close friends with the legendary Prof. Henri Enjal-ber t, an enologie and soil exper t from Bordeaux. Af ter he came down to visit the estate he was amazed at the quality of the terroir and implored his friend to plant vines there.Guiber t did, focusing on Cabernet Sauvignon (because he loved the wines of Bordeaux) but planting a variety of other grapes there too. The f irst vintage to be released commercially was the 1978 and af ter many years of struggle trying to get the recogni-tion their wine deserved, the Guiber t eventually succeeded in establishing the original icon of southern France.

Tonight we will taste the estate red from the superb ‘95 vintage, and the white from ‘96.

The stretch of land between the towns of Aniane and Gignac is not just home to the Mas de Daumas Gassac. Next door to that world renowned estate is the smaller, yet even more highly rated (by many conoisseurs of the Languedoc) Domaine de la Grange des Peres.Owner Laurent Vaillé is undoubtedly one of France and the world’s star winemakers, who has been craf ting spectacular wines ever since he burst on to the scene with his f irst vintage in 1992. Back then the vines were very young, but Laurent insisted that as long as young vines were pruned hard and yields kept very low (and his yields are tiny), they could produce fantastic fruit. Despite this running counter to the idea of the older the better, the results speak for themselves. God only knows what hights the wines will get to once the vines are of venerable age and the yields begin to control themselves.

There are only two wines made at the estate - the red is made from roughly equal par ts of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Mourvedre (tonight we will taste th ‘99) and the white from Rou-sanne and Chardonnay (we will taste the ‘98).