Domaine la Sarabande: Great value Languedoc drinking

A recent addition to the Sarabande vineyards

Sarabande is a relatively new addition to the up and coming Languedoc wine region within a region of Faugères.

It's run by two knowledgeable and friendly folk, Paul and Isla Gordon.

Their wines, produced from small parcels around Faugères, are superb drinking.

I was lucky enough to visit their house in the village during August and taste a few of their recent vintages.

They make several reds and a rose, and promote their work and wine via this enjoyable blog.

As you'd expect for the region, the grapes are mostly Carignan, Mourvèdre, Syrah and Grenache.

Despite breaking one of the bottles of their wine in my suitcase flying home from Toulouse, I've managed to enjoy several bottles of their rose, mid range and signature reds since August.

Those I have sampled are pictured below (pinched from their blog but I hope they won't object). Their wines range from 7-8 Euros for the Rose, to 12.50 for the AOP Faugères and 25 Euros for the excellent "Les Espinasses".

Here's where to go to consider buying the wines. For cutting-edge boutique wine (if that's not too silly a term, which it may well be) from an emerging region lots of wine fans are excited about, it's well worth trying a few.

 Les Espinasses, left, is powerful stuff. At 15% it needs food to accompany it, but drinks beautifully.

I'm finding I am enjoying the good newer wines from the Languedoc more than my traditional Côtes du Rhône at the moment. They seem less predictable. Perhaps because they are new to my palate.

For value drinking, the bottle just below, AOP Faugères is pretty unbeatable at below £10 a bottle (pre UK tax).

I'll be buying a case of this as as soon as my 2011 Clos d’Alzan Côtes du Rhône Villages Signargues 2011 is exhausted. That arrives next week from those excellent folk at Fromvineyardsdirect.com.

(I bought it En primeur at a total cost with tax of about £7.50 per bottle, based on the excellent 2010. I'm not expecting it to be quite as good as 2010, but at that price I am sure it will still be worth it)

The Sarabande rose is also below. It's keenly priced, although I found it a little acidic. But that's probably me more than the wine. For some reason I find a lot of rose too acidic to have more than a glass of. For rose fans, I'd say try it, it beats buying from supermarkets any day.

If interested in buying the wines, contact pauldouglasgordon@gmail.com

Gerard Bertrand La Forge 2000 - A hidden Languedoc gem

Not cheap, but a rare gem

I first discovered La Forge in a wine shop in Shanghai.

An odd way perhaps, but it was via a friend who spends his summers in Languedoc-Roussillon, so perhaps not that much of a surprise.

The region is by far the best value place in the world for what are now wines of rapidly increasing quality.

Places such as Corbieres and Fitou have a reputation for bulk wines, mass production and less than average, fruity quality.

Not any more. Those wines of course still exist, but more and more boutique wineries, and much larger ones, are springing up to take advantage of the soil and weather.

In the past the Gironde river served as a connecting artery between Languedoc-Roussillon and Bordeaux. Wine used to be shipped down the river to bulk up clarets of the past. Whether this still happens I am not sure.

This wine, Gerard Bertrand La Forge 2000, is truly a hidden Languedoc gem. I also tried the 2001 and the 2002, plus a few others. The 2000 is a stand out. It is not cheap at around 50 Euros a bottle, but for a rare treat, if you can get it, it's highly recommended.

In the glass it's the colour of 20 year old left bank claret, with the complexity and smoothness to match.

It's a blend of Syrah and Carignan, the latter being a grape you see less often compared to better known equivalents in Languedoc, such as Mourvèdre, Grenache, Syrah and sometimes Cinsault.

Given the grape variety, La Forge 2000 lacks the tannins of Bordeaux, but has survived 13 years in vat, barrel and bottle to create a wine of supple richness, smoothness, complexity and a touch of sweetness.

This is without doubt the best non-Bordeaux aged red wine I've ever had. There are only a couple of hundred bottles of it left, according to our charming guide who took us around the winery. I imagine it does not have long until it is past it's best. The 2002 that we tried had gone over the edge, but the 2001 appears to have some ageing potential left until it reaches the heights of 2000, if that's possible given 2000 is a stand-out vintage in the region.

Given that wines from the far south of France lack the Bordeaux tannic structure ability to age for 10+ years this was a real find for me.

I visited the winery, Château l’Hospitalet, in mid/late August this year and a few more photos are below.

It's part of an impressive empire built up by Gerard Bertrand, a former rugby player for the French national side, over the last twenty years.

In the distance from the top of the hill you can see the sparkling of the mediterranean sea.

Mini-vertical tasting of La Forge 2000, '01,'02,'30. A difficult day.

Hidden gem year: 1996 left bank Bordeaux

Bargain vintage drinking

As an amateur enthusiast and small collector of some vintage bottles of red, I've come across a few years which I think represent very good value given the quality and price on offer.

One of these is 1996 Bordeaux, on the left bank.

I've never had a bad bottle from the year, and there is incredible variation as the wines age.

For example Potensac 1996 is a bit of a gem. It tastes to me like a 2000, smooth, elegant and with a long long way to go.

Meanwhile Cos Labory 1996 is a completely different beast. It's claret that Jancis Robinson and others suggest drinking now. It's on the way out they say. I'd agree, which is what makes it such a bargain at just £30 a bottle with tax and duty.

I found a couple of cases on BBX, the Berry Brothers exchange where you can buy from individuals online within the Berry's system.

Other great 1996 wines worth a look from the left bank are Calon Segur and Sociando Mallet. Both cracking, if a little more costly at around £75 and £50 each.

For value aged claret drinking, there's a lot of mileage left in the vintage.

Making this blog more interesting..

After a while blogging on individual bottles of wine that style has run its course.

I thought about deleting the blog altogether. Writing about something such as wine, where a few years learning counts for little by comparison to others, is a humbling experience.

Rather than doing that though, I'll make it more about places, areas, vintages and experiences. That should provide a little more variation.

Let's see how that goes.

Lafon Rochet 1982

Worth waiting 31 years for.

Would you trust wine served like this? The BA lounge in Stockholm

Hmm, Red, White, or er, Gin and Tonic? Tricky one

Meyney 2003 - supreme value mid-range drinking

I just picked up half a case of this, best scores for the Chateau ever by Jancis. 

I've had it once and it was very very good. The 2010 is also staggeringly good already. But is already £45 a bottle here in UK.

Seems like quite a bit left around, at around £30 a bottle. 

I swapped it for a 15 minute speaking gig ten mins from home. Seemed like a better deal than the cash.

Here's what Jancis has to say: 

Ch Meyney 2003 St-Estèphe

13 Oct 2010 by JR

Date tasted	01 Oct 2010
Producer	Ch Meyney
Appellation	St-Estèphe
Vintage	2003
Region	Bordeaux
Country	France
Score	17
Colour	Red
Alcohol
When to drink	2010 to 2020
Published	13 Oct 2010
Reviewer	JR

Dark crimson. Translucent and appetising and so delicate and ethereal! Quite exceptional. So lifted. Very well done, lots of fruit there. Even if not that much density. (Average group score: 16.8)

Good short summary of how the Cru Bourgeois system works

This from a Forbes food and wine writer, Katie Bell:

"The short history goes something like this: in 1932, the Bordeaux wine brokers designated 444 wines as Crus Bourgeois.

In 2003, the first official classification of the Crus Bourgeois du Médoc was established and included 247 châteaus out of 490 candidates. 

Several châteaus (excluded from the classification) deemed this as unfair. The classification was annulled in 2007 and then, lo and behold everyone came to some agreement on things and in 2009 a Crus Bourgeois du Médoc Official Selection process was implemented.

Now, in order to be designated as Cru Bourgeois a wine must be evaluated each year by a select panel. Some wines don’t make the cut, but they are welcome to try for the following year."

The full article is here.

Chateau De Pez 1959: Yes really, and yes still drinking well

If like me, you sometimes like wines that are past their fruit best, you might like this.

It's Chateau De Pez 1959. You couldn't tell from the label.

It's on 'tap' at the Sampler in London, for about £18 a glass.

Quite pricey, you might say. But when else would you have the chance to taste a 1959 Saint Estephe?

They have a Calon Segur of the same year there, which I am quite tempted by. But it's £180, which is a little steep. One day perhaps.

What was the Chateau De Pez 1959 like?

Well, I had a tiny glass of the 1985 Hermitage La Chapelle 1985 just before it (what a way to prepare the palate) and the Pez had more structure, and at least the same fruit.

But it had the Bordeaux backbone, the structure, the Cabernet Sauvignon spine that Rhone wines at age can't quite compete with, given my limited knowledge.

The expert chap in the shop tells me 1959 was a fabulous year, perhaps that's why it's still very drinkable.

It's the oldest red I've yet had, by about 11 years. Over the hill for some I'm sure, but I thought it was fabulous.

Bargain 2005 St Emilion: Croque Michotte, an organic gem

Good honest right bank quaffing

Sometimes you just want a hearty well-drinking rich Bordeaux.

I had this a couple of months back, when the weather was much colder. It went wonderfully with a rich beef and bean stew.

Perhaps not so much a summer red, given its power but the ripe fruit and low acidity (OK that's from the Wine Society blurb, my notes are not that good) might mean you could drink it before winter.

This wine is about £16 a bottle from the non-profit UK Wine Society. Decent value at that price, I'd say.

The 2005's are just starting to come into their own for me. Just beginning to drink well. 

What a year it will turn out to be. They say 2010 is going to be the best year in history for Bordeaux (better than 1870, 1945, 1961 or 1982). While we wait, the 2005's will do very nicely.