Quality Wines Minus The Prestige Means Great Value

The value of a wine is, to some extent, decided by provide and demand. However provide could be plentiful, and the costs nonetheless soar. I don’t have an issue with costly wines. They’re straightforward to keep away from. The problem for a wine lover lies to find distinctive wines at an affordable price, wines the place status performs a minor function and it’s all about nice flavour and character. There are lots of of those wines round. However they’re more durable to seek out than the super-expensive ones.

On the in depth wine honest Wine Paris in February, we met 4 of our favourites from the Languedoc area in southern France. These 4 producers are distinctive worth for cash.

• Domaine du Nouveau Monde, Languedoc
• Domaine L’Arbuselle, Faugères
• Domaine Rouanet Montcelebre, Minervois
• Domaine des Terres Georges, Minervois

(All costs talked about within the textual content are for purchases on the estates.)

Domaine le Nouveau Monde

Domaine le Nouveau Monde is positioned in Vendres, southwest of Bézier. The Gauch household has been making wine right here for a number of generations. A superb good friend of the household within the early twentieth century, a author, thought the environment reminded him of South America, the place he had spent a whole lot of time. He was the one who prompt the title Le Nouveau Monde, “The New World”. As we speak, Anne-Laure Gauch, an oenologist, and her husband, Sébastien Borras, deal with the 50-acres wine property.

Sansourire Blanc 2021, Domaine Le Nouveau Monde, IGP Hérault blanc, is without doubt one of the few white wines within the vary. It’s a mix of chardonnay and rolle (synonym for vermentino), a nice on a regular basis wine with good acidity and citrus and white flowers within the aromas. (6 euro/6.50 USD)

Fandango Rosé, Domaine Le Nouveau Monde, IGP Pays d’Oc is a really pale rosé made with grenache. “The color is necessary for rosé wines,” says Anne-Laure, “it’s all about getting it proper.” Fandango feels a bit like a white wine with solely a tiny be aware of purple berries. On the palate, it’s lengthy and refreshing.

Les Petits Mondes, Vin de France, is a 100% mourvèdre made in a lightweight and refreshing model (an uncommon model for mourvèdre) with aromas of candy and bitter raspberries. The alcohol degree is 13% which is low for Languedoc. Anne-Laure harvests early and he or she offers the should solely a brief pores and skin contact of 8-10 days. She ferments at a low temperature, 21-23 levels C. It offers the wine a mushy construction however nonetheless with some tannins. You may drink it as an aperitif or with meals, Anne-Laure factors out. (6.50 euro/6.90 USD),

Monde Carabènes Rouge 2021, Domaine Le Nouveau, IGP Coteaux de Béziers is 100% syrah, a “syrah de plaisir” (uncomplicated syrah), with plenty of fruit and the standard black pepper aroma of the grape. (8 euro/8.50 USD)

L’Estanquier Rouge 2018, Domaine Le Nouveau Monde is a wealthy, intense wine with black fruit and tannin, a contact of liquorice on the palate. The grapes are syrah and mourvèdre. (16.50 euro/17.40 USD)

Domaine de l’Arbussele, Faugères

In 2014, Sébastien Louge made his first classic at Domaine de l’Arbussele. It was his dream to create one thing of his personal, to have the ability to do every thing from starting to finish. He studied and educated in Bordeaux and labored in numerous wine areas – together with Virginia in the US – earlier than deciding to cool down in Faugères. He likes the marginally wild and desolate panorama right here. “My vineyards are at an altitude of 300 meters; it offers a very good acidity even in very popular and dry years,” he says. He desires to keep away from making over-extracted or heavy wines in any respect prices.

We first met Sébastien about 5 years in the past after we labored on our guide in regards to the wines of Languedoc-Roussillon. He has since added a white wine to the vary, Angéline Blanc 2021, IGP Pays d’Hérault, from half a hectare of white grapes, 80% roussanne and 20% viognier. It’s a nice wine, full-bodied, with freshness, almonds and honey. There’s a touch of bitterness on the finish that I like very a lot. (~ 10 euro/10.50 USD)

Envol 2021, Domaine de l’Arbussele, Faugères is his most necessary wine by quantity. It’s an easy-going wine, comparatively gentle in model however with some tannin. A nostril of recent fruit, purple berries and spiciness. A wine with character. Syrah dominates with 70% and is mixed with grenache and carignan. (~ 9 euro/9.50 USD)

Revelation 2017, Domaine de l’Arbussele is 60% grenache and the remainder carignan, syrah and mourvèdre. The wine has been aged for a 12 months. It has a dense construction and a whole lot of tannins. Aromas of purple berries and recent herbs. (~ 16 euro/16.90 USD)

After we first met Sébastien, he advised us he had plans for a 100% mourvèdre, in all probability oak-aged. He mentioned the mysteries of oak ageing along with his cooper in Narbonne. One of many outcomes of those discussions is Alexis 2018, Domaine de l’Arbussele with 80% mourvèdre and 18 months in new barrels, a wine stuffed with character with a dense and concentrated model however nonetheless with an impressive steadiness.

Domaine Rouanet Montcélèbre, Minervois

Domaine Rouanet Montcélèbre is just not that removed from the small city of Minerve, although the highway there’s winding, says Audrey Rouanet. She began working on the household’s winery in 2012, with a level in oenology in her pocket and work expertise from overseas. The property’s ambition went up a number of notches when Audrey got here dwelling. They began changing to natural farming, and in 2015 the household left the cooperative. Audrey now makes wine from the household’s complete acreage of 20 hectares.

The white Se Canta 2020, Domaine Rouanet Montcélèbre, IGP Pays d’Oc Blanc is 100% colombard that provides an expressive wine with ripe yellow fruits. (~7.50 euro/7.90 USD)

Se Canta Cinsault, Domaine Rouanet Montcélèbre, IGP Pays d’Oc Rouge is 100% cinsault and a lightweight, elegant wine with crunchy fruit. Cinsault is Audrey’s favorite grape, although it may be tough. You need to watch out in order that the wine doesn’t really feel “diluted”, she says. Together with her outdated cinsault vines, it’s by no means an issue. (~9 euro/9.50 USD).

The white Alvéoline, Domaine Rouanet Montcélèbre, AOP Minervois is made with 60% grenache blanc, rolle and roussanne. The white grapes thrive within the limestone within the winery, which has a north-eastern publicity. The wine has complexity and aromas of melon and ripe apricots; it’s full-bodied and utterly dry.

Avéoline 2018, Domaine Rouanet Montcélèbre, AOP Minervois with 70% syrah has a ravishing aroma of black currants and a dense construction however on the similar time a refreshing fruit. Aged in concrete tank. (~ 11 euro/11.60 USD)

Boréalis 2018, Domaine Rouanet Montcélèbre, Minervois La Livinière with syrah and grenache from one of the best places additionally has a dense but clean construction with unique spices (cinnamon) and an extended, pleasing style. (~ 20 euro/21.10 USD)

Domaine Terres Georges, Minervois

Roland and Anne-Marie Coustal made their first classic in 2001. They export 50% of the quantity to round ten nations. The purple wines dominate, however the vary has lately been expanded with a superb white wine from grapes planted six years in the past.

Lulu 2021, Domaine Terres Georges, Vin de France is made with vermentino, roussanne and muscat d’alexandrie. The wine stays for 2 months in a metal tank on its lees with common batonnage (stirring of the lees). A scrumptious wine with nice character, freshness and floral aromas. (~ 10 euro/11 USD)

Roland and Anne-Marie have thought rather a lot in regards to the model of purple wines they need to make. “Now we all know what profile we would like for our wines”, says Roland, “freshness, finesse and class. Individuals need easy-drinking wines with fruit and never a lot oak, wines with good drinkability.”

Etcetera 2020, Domaine Terres Georges, AOP Minervois has a crunchy and refreshing fruit, very nice. The grapes are carignan, grenache and syrah. (7.50 euro/8 USD)

Racine 2020, Domaine Terres Georges, Vin de France with 100% carignan, considered one of Roland’s favorite grapes, offers class and finesse and a beautiful fragrant end to this wine. (13.50 euro/14.25 USD)

Caméléon, Domaine Terres Georges, IGP Pays d’Oc is 70% merlot and 30% syrah. Right here Roland desires to have extra energy. The wine will get 35 days of pores and skin contact and a bit extra extraction. A beautiful wine with a whole lot of fruit and a few spicy notes from the syrah grape within the end. (10 euro/10.50 USD)

Quintessence 2019, Domaine Terres Georges is 80% syrah and 20% grenache, partially fermented in small oak barrels, which provides energy, flavours and focus to the wine. However the steadiness is there too. (15 euro/15.90 USD)

Wine shoppers more and more realise that they will discover high quality wines within the Languedoc. However there’s nonetheless a whole lot of scepticism, says Anne-Laure Gauch at Domaine Le Nouveau Monde. I’m positive this scepticism will quickly be gone totally.

—Britt Karlsson