My current everyday red - Domaine Pierre Fil

Living as we do smack bang in the middle of the Minervois, there is no shortage of good value wines to supply us with wines for everyday drinking. We don't have to go far for our current favourite. Domaine Pierre Fil's cave is at the other side of the village (a full 500m away) and he has an excellent range of reds for any occasion.

Pierre is a delightful chap and has winemaking in his blood. His family have been vignerons for 7 generations and he owns vineyards around the Minervois village of Mailhac. He has an unusually high percentage of Mourvèdre which ripens well here on the plateau overlooking the plains and La Clape in the distance. Mourvèdre grown just the other side of the hill in Olonzac struggles to ripen, as the microclimate is fractionally cooler. Unusually for the languedoc, most of the grapes are harvested by hand, important as they undergo carbonic maceration which requires that the berries remain intact.

His top-of-the-range wine is Dolium, which is delicious but needs several years in bottle to unfurl. Orebus is a stylish, barrel matured red which is rated by the Guide Hachette. I am a big fan of the 2006 Cuvée Heledus which is made of roughly equal proportions of Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre and Carignan and aged in older French oak for 12 months. It has a vibrant nose of blackcurrants and licquorice and oodles of black, herby fruit on the palate, again with a smack of licquorice. Lots of character and definitely Minervois, this is a super little wine for 6 euros a bottle.

His bag in box red is not half bad either.

Marselan and Chateau Complazens

Marselan is a relatively recent crossing of Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache which was authorised for Vin de Pays in 1990. It was developed specifically for the Languedoc and copes well with both wet and dry conditions and is resistant to fungal diseases. It also produces good colour which is sometimes lacking in Grenache.

There are smatterings of Marselan throughout the Languedoc and I have tasted maybe 10 examples. Most of those have been unimpressive (and a couple downright horrid!) and the best by far is from Chateau de Complazens in La Clape. Susan and Peter Close have 5 hectares of Marselan and are so convinced by the quality of the grape that they are lobbying to have it authorised for the production of AOC Coteaux du Languedoc La Clape. It is currently a Vin de Pays d'Oc and the 2007 vintage was deep coloured with attractive black fruit with a spicy (slightly hard) edge and ripe, supple tannins. A pleasant everyday drinking wine.

Yes it was a very good example of Marselan but it's not my favourite of the Complazens wines. I prefer their Syrah (again vin de pays) which is full of intense, creamy black fruit balanced by grippy but ripe tannins. A classy wine. They also do a simply fruity Grenache which has oodles of simple cherry fruit and soft tannins. Up a notch in quality and price is the Complazens premium 2006 which is blend of 75% Syrah with Grenache. It has excellent concentration of dark plum and blackcurrant fruit with well balanced oak. Ripe smooth tannins and a long finish. Still very young - ideally keep for another year.

I've been browsing through Graham's blog on Languedoc wines (see the list of blogs I follow) and enjoying his post on dry whites. It's 30°C out there which doesn't do red wine many favours, particularly if the alcohol is on the hefty side. So I am drinking much more white and rosé wine at the moment. I've particularly enjoyed the following white wines.

In a previous post I mentioned the delicously fragrant Viognier from Domaine Murettes in La Livinière. The 2008 is at least as good as the 2007 and well worth €6,50. There isn't much made of this wine and I've only ever seen it at the domaine itself. Another excellent Viognier is from Domaine Coudoulet in Cesseras. A flowery, peachy, elegant brew for under €6 a bottle. Berry Brothers sell it in the UK for a curious £6.74/bottle.

Chateau de la Negly in La Clape make a stylish Coteaux du Languedoc called La Brise Marine. Made from Bourboulenc with Roussanne and some Marsanne, this is rich without being showy with stylish flavours of lemon and peach kernel with a minerally edge . And all for 8 euros a bottle.

A terrific Minervois Blanc comes from Chateau Canet in Rustiques. Again, Bourboulenc and Roussane are the grape varieties here, vinified cool but then given the slightest touch of oak to add richness but not oaky flavours. €8,95/bottle

Bottle talk: La Clape v St Chinian and a gorgeous Viognier

One of the joys of having a few good bottles in the cellar is being able to share them with friends. Barrie (quite the perfect guest and a serious wine nut) has been visiting from the UK for a few days, bearing fabulous vinous gifts which include classic Bordeaux in the shape of Cissac 1982, top notch Rhone Beaucastel 1994 and a stonking Barossa Shiraz from master winemaker Dave Powell (ex Torbreck).  These have  been carefully put away for another day but we did open some rather nice bottles of local hooch as Barrie was eager to expand his knowledge of Languedoc wine.

We had great fun comparing two Languedoc heavyweights. Firstly, La Centaurée 2002, the top wine from Pech Redon which is my favourite estate in La Clape and a very special place to visit. 2002 is often written off as a poor year but this wine proved how misleading such generalisations can be.  After a couple of hours in the decanter it smelt of sweet berried fruit, with a heady whiff of the garrigue (wild herbs - rosemary/thyme), tar and a hint of coffee. Excellent concentration of dark blackberry and plum fruit with lots of other flavours in there too: licquorice, smoked meat, hint of rosemary. Very rich mid palate which balances the firm yet round tannins. Good long finish. Decant in advance and drink now to 2018. 

18.5/20. Approx €15

Drunk alongside this was the 2004 Vin Maghani from top St Chinian producer Canet-Valette.  I have enjoyed the 2001 vintage of this wine and the 2004 is very good but still young. It needs time to come together as the acidity and tannins stand apart and are not yet harmonised with the fruit. Nonetheless, there is much to admire in the meaty, smoky nose and spicy black fruit flavours with notes of olive, herbs and game. Lovely long finish. Drink 2011-18.

16/20. €22

A local white wine which blew us all away was a textbook example of the Viognier grape from Domaine Les Murettes in La Livinière. At €7 a bottle this is great value and a real charmer with a 'come hither' nose of ripe peaches and honeysuckle and oodles of exotic fruit on the palate. As it is a mere table wine, the vintage could not printed on the label but presumably it is the 2007. I'm tasting there next Tuesday so will report back.