I’m not a Sauvignon Blanc denier, but I am all too often disappointed with thin, one-dimensional examples.

At its best, however, Sauvignon Blanc can be gorgeously textural and expressive, with weight but no heaviness, and richness balanced by salinity and succulence.

Its aromatic and zingy nature makes it one of the world’s most popular grape varieties, and flavours and aromas vary depending on where and how it's grown – climate, pruning and trellising systems, even the yeast strains used in fermentation.

Expect anything from tropical and exotic to citrusy and zesty, grassy and herby, or stony and mineral.

Organic Sauvignon Blanc – not an easy task

Despite its popularity, Sauvignon Blanc is fairly tricky to grow, and needs careful work in the vineyard to keep it healthy.

‘Sauvignon is relatively complex to work organically or biodynamically,’ says Jonathan Pabiot, a biodynamic winemaker in Pouilly-Fumé. 'It's sensitive to powdery and downy mildew, so in humid years treatments have to be very regular.'

Yet Pabiot says the vine's flower is very sensitive to copper, which is problematic for organic growers because copper-based Bordeaux mixture is one of the only permitted fungicides used to protect against powdery mildew.

For Pabiot, Sauvignon Blanc's very sensitivity to climate and disease stressors is what makes it so responsive to biodynamic farming. ‘Biodynamics helps us overcome these climatic risks, but it isn't magic either,' he says. ‘What it does do is help build living soil.'

Biodynamic winemakers in Languedoc Patricia and Luc Bertoni, of Domaine les Eminades, believe that it is precisely the nearly 20 years of organic farming that has made their Sauvignon particularly resilient to disease – as well as the clement climate of the south.

My Sauvignon Blanc moment

The moment I realised the heights and depths that great Sauvignon could reach was when tasting Andreas Tscheppe’s Blue Dragonfly, from south Styria in Austria, near the border with Slovenia.

Tscheppe and his wife Elisabeth farm their terraced vineyards biodynamically, at 500m altitude. These vineyards, like the wines, are full of life: picture lush vegetation, myriad plants, weeds, flowers, grasses, bugs, beetles, bees, dragonflies and birds.

Fermented with natural yeasts and minimal sulphur, and aged for almost two years in large old barrels, it tastes like wildflowers and wild grasses, sun-warmed orchard fruit, lemon and brine, with an intricate texture like a crispy snowflake.

For me, this is one of the purest, most stripped back and alive versions of Sauvignon Blanc – far removed from the pungent blast of Marlborough.

Of course, not everyone is looking for this hyper textural, nuanced version of the grape. Sauvignon has become something of a celebrity accessory,: Gary Barlow and Graham Norton both have their own brands, though Taylor Swift has, tellingly, traded up to Sancerre.

Has the grape’s cultural moment peaked?

Not if this summer’s internet wine trend is anything to go by – dropping frozen dill pickles into a glass of Sauvignon Blanc suggests it’s found a new, slightly unhinged lease of life.

Either way, here are seven delicious organic bottles to satisfy the Sauvignon-seekers this summer – pickle optional, but not advised.

Seven Sauvignon for summer sipping

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Earlier this year at the Millésime Bio organic wine fair in Montpellier, I tasted with Pierre Caizergues of Pierre & Antonin, a micro-négociant based in Malepère on Languedoc’s western frontier.

I’ll admit it was the wine labels that first caught my eye – frolicking foxes and unapologetically bright colours (I have a soft spot for foxes, especially the urban ones that have adopted my small London garden), but other aspects soon piqued my interest beyond the aesthetic charm: lightweight bottles, organic viticulture, minimal sulphur, indigenous yeasts – and, most strikingly, disease-resistant grape varieties.

Embracing hybrid grapes

Although they’re both from Languedoc, Pierre and his business partner Antonin Bonnet met in New York in 2010 while working in sales. After a decade of fermenting ideas, they returned to France and launched Pierre & Antonin in 2020.

Initially, they worked with a mix of classic varieties and hybrids. Gradually, though, they’ve shifted almost entirely to disease-resistant grapes such as Souvignier Gris, Cabernet Cortis, Artaban and Floréal, making red, white, rosé, orange and pét-nat wines.

They persuaded a small collective of growers to plant small plots, guaranteeing to buy the fruit.

Now their aim is to explore the potential of these hybrid grapes – showing that the wines can be made with minimal intervention, but can also be delicious and, crucially, affordable.

Vibrant, well-priced wines to be opened and shared

How can these factors be achieved? Due to the hybrids’ resistance to downy and powdery mildew, the cost of treatment products and labour are much lower and the lightweight bottles (only 370g) not only reduce carbon emissions during transport, but are also cheaper.

In a region where margins are tight and climate pressure is intensifying, these savings are no small consideration. And the elimination of fungicides means that fermentations start easily, so it’s easy to rely on indigenous yeasts.

The result is wines that are vibrant, unfussy, fruity, low in alcohol and well priced – bottles designed to be opened and shared rather than cellared.

This is arguably the ideal region to plough this furrow – the stakes aren’t as high as they would be in Beaune or Châteauneuf-du-Pape, say, and land is cheaper.

Later, I kept thinking back to how Pierre had referred to the hybrid grapes as ‘resistants’. In my mind this rang out as ‘resistance’.

There’s an undeniable semantic link – resistants/resistance – and the implications are strong. The word ‘resistance’ carries a lot of weight, but what does it mean in this context?

The wine world is at an uneasy juncture, so this is about resistance not only against vine disease, but against shifting tastes, climate chaos and economic volatility.

And then there’s resistance in the form of resilience and adaptation – not accepting that sustainability inevitably makes wine more expensive and less accessible. Opening a wine made from disease-resistant varieties is in itself an act of resistance.

Antonin believes that hybrids will be part of the future of wine – that they’ll be, at least in part, tomorrow’s answer to climate change.

‘There are masters of Syrah,’ he says. ‘There are many masters of Pinot Noir all over the world.’ But who will be the masters of Souvignier Gris, Cabernet Cortis and Floréal? Perhaps we’re about to find out.

Sip to make a difference

Souvignier Gris was Pierre and Antonin’s gateway grape. Alongside the still white Pierre & Antonin, Petit Sauvage Blanc, Languedoc, France 2025 (91pts, £17 Vindependents), they also make a pét-nat and a skin-maceration wine with it.

‘We love Souvignier Gris so much that we made it three ways,’ says Pierre. It’s bright and zesty, with fresh acidity, tropical fruit, some spice and a cool minty note, bringing great refreshment to sun-filled days.

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Look up: we’ve got a revolution on our hands. The old order’s being swept away. No more steady state: for the first time in human history, significant decade-on-decade change is permanent, structural and accelerating.

Climate is now a rocket. Wine-growers (whose plants and products measure its effects with great exactitude) sit in the cockpit, seatbelts fastened. They’ll need them.

Hotter, colder, wetter, drier, windier, spikier, more violent: that’s tomorrow. Growers need to be alert, responsive, flexible – to retreat where necessary, but also to seize new chances and opportunities when they present.

Here’s an example of chance seized. It’s a sparsely populated, barely planted corner of the high Languedoc, way beyond the reach of any existing appellation. It had no wine distinction in the past – yet now it’s producing some of France’s most exciting new whites.

Cédric Guy of Domaine de Bon Augure is prime mover in this story. Faugères born and bred, he worked from 1995 with the Bouchard family at Abbaye Sylva Plana. From 10ha, Sylva Plana (certified organic since 2008) expanded to 54ha, a hotel and a restaurant. But Cédric had a dream: to make white wine, which he felt was ‘impossible’ in the heat of Faugères.

He searched – and found mountain vineyards (450m-600m) 40 minutes north, in the Monts d’Avène sector of the IGP Haute Vallée de l’Orb, planted with Chardonnay – to which he added Petit Manseng, Petite Arvine and other varieties. ‘Initially, I was happy if the must got to 11% or 11.5%. Wines with high levels of acidity weren’t much in demand 20 years ago, so I made sparkling wines.’

The rocket, though, had lifted off. Cédric sold his share of Sylva Plana in 2013 when his mountain- vineyard alcohols moved past 12% towards 13%; he switched to still wines.

‘It’s not politically correct to say it and I don’t want the planet to suffer, but the climate is now extremely favourable to producing great white wines here. We have lots of rain; we can preserve acidity; we have enough juice so the musts aren’t too concentrated.’

It was early April when I visited; Bourgogne had been fighting late-March frosts. ‘When I saw pictures of their vines,’ said Cédric, ‘I could see leaves. We still have sleeping buds. We have time lag that works at both ends of the season.’

I’m not a fan of ‘tight’, high-acid, low-alcohol wines... when they’re the result of early picking, of anxiety and adjustment, of peer-group pressure and media proselytising. The wines of Bon Augure, from vines immaculately tended on often steep, limestone breccia soils just north of the village of Joncels, aren’t like that. Their acidities are astonishing: tingling, zesty, energetic, dancing with flavour in their arms; you know that this acidity will settle, fill, convince and satisfy with time in the bottle.

Nothing is raw or uncovered here: there’s sap, sinew and wealth of flavour behind, together with the quiet aromatic allusions that recall natural landscapes.

Bon Augure produces four principal wines: a pure-Chardonnay ‘en terre étrangère’; the sculpted Chardonnay-Petit Manseng blend ‘Joncs-cella’; a mouthwatering and vivacious, amber-tinted skin-contact wine based on trois gris (Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Gris, Grenache Gris) called ‘Aux innocents les mains pleines’; and the dense, finely crafted DSLS Petite Arvine.

All are world- class. Note the varietal width: another good sign. There’s convincing Pinot and Cornalin, too.

Cédric isn’t alone. A local charity called Les Compagnons du Sens, led by a charismatic retired monk called Frère Marie-Pâques, has been helping younger growers set up in the Haute Vallée de l’Orb. Domaines to look out for include Angel Montgros, Bòria Bissio, Gravezon, Jouvet, Mas des Mesures, Peira Clara and Saint Antonin.

Monts d’Avène will appear on labels of IGP Haute Vallée de l’Orb from vintage 2025 for wines made from limestone-grown, barrel-fermented Chardonnay; it may eventually win an AP. If everything hasn’t changed by then.

In my glass this month

Bon Augure’s 2024 ‘en terre étrangère’ (pure Chardonnay from the domaine’s highest vineyards, part-barrel fermented in old oak, with full malolactic) is inspiring, assured wine.

Its spring- garden freshness suggests both plants and flowers; it’s complete on the tongue. You can’t escape the often-overused descriptors salt and stone here, once the acrobatic acidity has come down off its high trapeze and the applause is subsiding. Taste it and believe. (Via UK importer Saison Wines)

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Natalie Earl, Heather Dougherty and Wieteke Teppema tasted 65 wines, with 3 Outstanding and 31 Highly recommended

Picpoul de Pinet: Panel tasting scores

65 wines tasted

Exceptional 0

Outstanding 3

Highly recommended 31

Recommended 17

Commended 14

Fair 0

Entry criteria: producers and UK agents were invited to submit their white wines from the Picpoul de Pinet AP in Languedoc, of any style, including latest releases, older vintages and Patience cuvées

Patience a virtue?

This positive tasting offered some surprises and good scores, revealing a category on the move, with more diversity than you might expect from the UK’s favourite pub wine.

Picpoul de Pinet’s dependable (albeit rather homogenous) image has helped sales soar, enabling the wines to become a bottle shop and restaurant staple – especially in its largest export market, the UK, which accounted for more than 55% of its total exports of 9.14m bottles in 2025 (source: French customs, via CIVL).

Both Heather Dougherty and Wieteke Teppema were expecting consistency and a certain uniformity of style: fresh, citrussy and saline. But does this still represent Picpoul de Pinet’s calling card?

In 2018, the appellation introduced ‘Patience’: richer wines with more ageing potential.

Later picking leads to riper fruit, often from older vines; wines are aged for at least six months, often on the lees.

There were some impressive examples here, but others weren’t quite fresh enough to counter their exuberance.

No doubt this new style has opened a discussion around what Piquepoul Blanc – the appellation’s sole permitted variety – is capable of, giving producers license and confidence to be more creative.

So much so that Dougherty noted ‘a blurring of the lines, with extended lees ageing and intensity of flavour found in both Patience styles and regular bottlings’.

'Producers are taking vineyard health and healthy grapes seriously'

Most 2025s hadn’t yet been bottled, so there were 43 wines from the 2024 vintage, against 18 from 2025.

Seven of the 2025s scored below 86pts (the cutoff for Commended), and six had a pink tinge, possibly due to sunburnt grapes following two big heatwaves in August 2025.

Other 2025s were bright and zingy, however.

Despite vintage-specific issues, quality keeps improving and Teppema observed: ‘Most were certified Haute Valeur Environnementale or organic. Producers are taking vineyard health and healthy grapes seriously, helping to raise the overall quality of the wines.’

The three top-scoring wines offer different flavour and texture experiences.

Although a move away from a singular style across the appellation risks confusing consumers, most wines still show the trademark marine character, meaning consumers can still buy confidently at accessible price points.

See all notes and scores from the Picpoul de Pinet tasting

The judges

Picpoul de Pinet panel tasting results:

Wines were tasted blind

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Montpeyroux has been approved as the newest Languedoc appellation following 30 years as a complementary geographic denomination under the Languedoc AP.

Confirmed by the French National Institute for Origin and Quality (INAO) in February 2026, Montpeyroux’s rise to ‘cru’ status marks a significant moment in the ongoing development and reshaping of southern France’s wine landscape.

All that remains is for the decree to be formalised in the coming months, including via sign-off at the European Commission, which governs protected designations of origin (PDOs) in the EU.

Previously known as Languedoc-Montpeyroux, the new Montpeyroux cru joins the upper tier of the region’s appellation pyramid as a recognised communal appellation, alongside the likes of Faugères and La Livinière.

For the growers (making up 16 domaines and one cooperative) working across this compact 594ha zone, the decision represents the culmination of decades of collective effort.

‘It’s the recognition of a terroir, but it’s also the recognition of a shared history of this group of vignerons,’ François Boudou, president of the Montpeyroux wine union and of the Castelbarry cooperative, told Decanter.

The appellation, whose name means stony mountain (mont pierreux) in Occitan, is set at the foot of the 848m Mont St-Baudille in the east of Languedoc, around 40km northwest of Montpellier, and encompasses four villages: Montpeyroux, Arboras, Lagamas and St-Jean-de-Fos.

It’s one of the smallest appellations in Languedoc, and sits as an enclave within the larger Terrasses du Larzac, which gained appellation status in 2014.

Only red wines are authorised, and their style is influenced predominantly by limestone soils, relative altitude, cooling winds blowing down off the Larzac plateau, significant diurnal shifts, and the ever-present garrigue.

The new status comes with tighter production rules, reinforcing the area’s qualitative ambitions. Yields are capped at 42hl/ha, blends must include at least three grape varieties, and maturation is extended to at least one year.

Carignan – long overlooked elsewhere – remains central to Montpeyroux’s identity, supported by Grenache, Mourvèdre and Syrah, and with Cinsault, Counoise and Morrastel as secondary varieties.

According to the appellation’s wine union, around 80% of the vineyard area is now farmed under certified sustainable or organic practices, reflecting a broader regional shift but also a strong local commitment to long-term vineyard health.

The 2026 vintage will be the first released under the new designation, with wines expected to reach the market from October 2027.

Mathias Paicheler & Sarah Frissant

Château Coupe-Roses, Languedoc, France

By Natalie Earl

A narrow road winds up to the medieval village of Minerve, tracing the lip of a limestone gorge carved by the Cesse river. The village emerges, perched on a rocky spur at the confluence of the Cesse and the river Brian.

This region bristles with history. Once a Cathar stronghold, Minerve was besieged by Simon de Montfort’s troops during the Albigensian Crusades of the early 13th century.

Further on, around several more bends, the village of La Caunette unfurls below a towering cliff, and above it on the causse – the limestone plateau – lie the vineyards of Château Coupe-Roses.

At 250m-400m elevation, this Minervois micro-terroir is distinct from the plains below, and it’s one that owners Mathias Paicheler and Sarah Frissant hope will one day earn cru status. The siblings took over from their parents Françoise and Pascal Frissant in 2017, becoming the 13th generation to lead the estate.

After studying oenology and working internships, Mathias returned in 2013 with a vision that diverged from his parents’ style. He started small, fermenting small batches with indigenous yeasts and no addition of sulphur dioxide, while also learning their approach.

Françoise may not have liked his early wines, but that was ok – they have different tastes.

Given free rein

Today, the wines are made with little or no SO2, with spontaneous fermentation and less extraction. The challenges have been in retaining the market in light of these changes, and maintaining alcohol balance amid hotter, drier growing seasons.

Biodynamic conversion started in 2019, inspired by a course on bio-indicator plants and soil health. ‘It convinced me that I needed vines on living soils,’ Mathias says.

The groundwork, though, had been laid before: their parents had farmed organically, guided by renowned soil consultants Claude and Lydia Bourguignon. Pascal, once director of the Ribaute cooperative, had pushed every grower towards organics back in the 1980s.

‘We simply pushed things further,’ says Mathias. Sadly, Pascal passed away in August this year, but his vision remains a great inspiration. ‘He taught us that it’s important to have a beautiful vineyard to make good wine,’ says Sarah.

‘It’s about harmony,’ adds Mathias, ‘when the whole system is greater than the sum of its parts.’ By 16, Sarah knew she wanted to make wine with her brother. Like him, she trained in oenology – ‘just in case we didn’t agree’.

She needn’t have worried. They work well en famille. ‘We had open, active, dynamic parents,’ she says, ‘our mother built the brand, and the market for it.’

She observes that other young people in the Minervois aren’t quite so lucky: ‘Their parents are much more conservative, they don’t like change.’

Now they’re planting trees around the vineyards, and co-planting ancient drought-resistant varieties: Grenache, Aramon, Ribeyrenc, Piquepoul Noir, Cinsault.

Their partners, Caroline and David, even quit their jobs to join the business. ‘Not for the money, but for the lifestyle’, says Sarah. ‘It must mean we’re doing something right.’

Reenen Borman

Boschkloof, Stellenbosch, South Africa

By Malu Lambert

His family winery, Boschkloof, sits on the western fringe of Stellenbosch in the Polkadraai Hills, a known sweet spot for Syrah – the estate covers 24ha of which 17ha are planted to vines, about 30% being Syrah.

At less than 400ha, the rolling slopes of the hills are rippled with granite, inviting comparisons to the northern Rhône. A growing number of South Africa’s leading winemakers battle over parcels here, and it’s Boschkloof’s reputation for high quality, chiselled Syrahs that first drew them.

Jacques Borman founded Boschkloof in 1995 after nearly two decades at La Motte and a subsequent tenure at Rupert & Rothschild. From the outset, he envisioned it as a family legacy.

His younger son Reenen joined the estate in 2010. By 2012, aged just 25, he took over winemaking. ‘You can’t have two winemakers,’ reflects Reenen. ‘My father understood early on he had to step aside. In most family businesses it isn’t this easy.’ He concedes there were ‘a few healthy arguments’ in the beginning.

Reenen recalls visiting the La Motte tasting room as a child, and sipping leftover wine. ‘It was probably a sign that winemaking was in my future,’ he laughs.

After studying at Elsenburg Agricultural Training Institute, Reenen gained experience at L’Ormarins in Franschhoek and in 2010 at Domaine des Martinelles in the Rhône valley.

The single-vineyard Syrah Epilogue soon cemented his reputation, with the 2014 vintage becoming the first South African red to be rated at 98 points by an internationally recognised critic. Under other auspices, Reenen also makes the acclaimed Patatsfontein white as well as the cult-like Syrah, Sons of Sugarland.

Natural progression

In Boschkloof’s cellar, the use of new oak has been drastically brought down, with open-top concrete and larger oak vessels favoured for vinifying multiple components separately.

‘My dad’s more of a perfectionist than me,’ admits Reenen. The balance between instinct and precision has become a defining generational difference. Where Jacques embodied structure and polish, Reenen gravitates to wines that are aromatic, textural and fine-boned.

Bordeaux blends, by contrast, he says he approaches with the discipline inherited from his father. ‘My father and grandfather laid the foundation. My contribution is planting healthy vineyards for my boys.’

The next generation seems almost pre-ordained – both of his sons (six-year-old Jacobus and Petrus, three) were born auspiciously during harvests. True to his word, Reenen has already replanted half of the estate with virus-free stock.

With Reenen and his boys at the helm, you get the feeling that long will the Sons of Sugarland rule these granite hills.

Wines from a new generation:

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Rhône Valley

From the five Rhône wines that scored 100 points throughout 2025, two make this list, from either end of the valley and from slightly older vintages: Clape’s 2010 Cornas and Château de Beaucastel’s 2014 white Châteauneuf.

Both are still on the market, so prospective buyers or those lucky enough to have them in their cellar will be richly rewarded. M Chapoutier’s white Hermitage L’Ermite is a fine showing from the tricky and varied 2024 vintage, which you can read about in our extensive en primeur coverage.

While 2024 Hermitage reds are less powerful than you might expect, it’s the whites that reign supreme. Château de Saint Cosme’s Le Claux warranted inclusion here, not just for its score of 97 points but also as a great representation of the heights that Gigondas continues to reach – and Saint Cosme is undoubtedly one of the best in the appellation.

Given that he’s a winemaker who has been cited as inspiration for other winemakers I’ve spoken to more times than I can count, Eric Pfifferling’s wines are still possible to come by, although they do sell out rather quickly.

A wine that is ‘tremulous and beautiful’, Domaine l’Anglore’s Tavel Les Sables simply had to make the cut for this year’s Wines of the Year selection.

Champagne & rest of France

In just a short time, young Adrien Dhondt has become a second generation Champagne paragon: his wines are some of the most sought-after in the region.

Les Nogers Cuis 1er Cru is included here for the impression it made on Champagne correspondent Tom Hewson, who profiled Champagne Dhondt-Grellet on Decanter Premium online in October 2025.

Meanwhile, the rosé Champagne category offers a panoply of styles and colours, but as they’re often priced above their white counterparts, they’re frequently overlooked and misunderstood.

The reality is there are plenty of serious rosé Champagnes that are exemplary wines in their own right, showing great technical finesse, impressive complexity and potential for long ageing.

Laurent-Perrier’s Alexandra rosé is the perfect example of this; an icon of its style. Beyond Champagne, it will come as no surprise to see the Loire’s Sauvignon stronghold Sancerre on this list.

The 2020 Les Ruchons from Henri Bourgeois was one of Beverley Blanning MW’s favourites in her exploration of Sancerre’s revival. Finally, it may seem quite the coup to feature Bandol and Corsica alongside these French stalwarts, yet it’s thoroughly well deserved.

Corsican wines are increasingly turning heads, with more making their way to UK shores. And in our panel tasting featuring Provence whites, Bandol stood out as the most exciting source appellation.

Wines of the year 2025: Rhône, Champagne and regional France:

Wines from the Rhône are listed first, then those from around France

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Scroll down to see the latest Languedoc content

Languedoc and Roussillon in the south of France stretch from the Rhône valley in the east to the Spanish border in the southwest.

Common red varieties include Syrah, Grenache Noir, Carignan and Mourvèdre, and whites include Grenache Blanc, Carignan Blanc, Macabeu, Rolle Piquepoul, Marsanne and Roussanne.

History

Languedoc has been an important winemaking centre for several centuries, with the port of Sète and the link to the Atlantic via the 17th century Canal du Midi providing key trading routes.

Going further back, there is evidence of Roman winemaking in the area. The ruins of a first century AD winery lies near Clermont l’Herault, west of Montpellier.

The Mediterranean climate, variety of soils, and varying topology means the region has long been considered very suitable for the production of wine.

However, Languedoc-Roussillon’s heritage has often been overlooked in the modern era because the region gained a reputation for producing quantity over quality.

Phylloxera

Vast swathes of vineyard were destroyed by the deadly phylloxera bug in the late 1800s, affecting most European regions.

It was actually a botanist from Languedoc, Jules Emile Planchot, who is credited with fighting back against phylloxera after helping to discover that the American rootstock was resistant to the disease.

1907 and the rise of militant winemakers

Languedoc has always been a hotbed of political protest and it is considered the birthplace of French socialism.

In 1907, thousands of winemakers poured into the streets of the region’s major cities to complain at cheap wine imports, mainly from from North Africa, that they deemed illegal – in part because of the added sugar in the wines.

French troops were sent in to control the situation, but shots were fired and six people died. There was another death in 1976 during more winemaker protests in the region.

Languedoc is home to the Comité d’Action Viticole – or more recently, the Comité Régionale d’Action Viticole.

Known as CRAV, bands of member producers have intermittently attacked foreign wine lorries, storage areas and government buildings in the area.

21st century and beyond

Today, the face of Languedoc-Roussillon wine has drastically changed. More commercially viable grape varieties have been planted, and names such as St Chinian, Faugères, Corbières, Pic St Loup and Terrasses du Larzac are increasingly known among sommeliers and wine lovers – and the wines are often tipped as good value bets on restaurant lists.

Tourism has also surged. Long sandy beaches and striking scenery complement the region’s mix of old and new in its cities, such as regional capital Montpellier and also Nimes, Narbonne, Carcassonne and Perpignan.

In Burgundy, broadly speaking, there are two camps of red winemakers – those who destem their grapes, and those who do not.

The former can deliver fine, elegant wines with a very precise red fruit character. Anne Gros is among the most adept in this style.

I have been tasting at Domaine Anne Gros for a number of years. But it was a recent tasting of eight vintages of her Grand Cru Richebourg, organised in New York by wine collector Jim Finkel, that prompted me to look again at this lustrous domaine, because it has proven to be among the top echelon of producers in Vosne-Romanée today.

Scroll down for 15 Domaine Anne Gros wines tasted and rated

The history

The origins of the domaine can be traced back almost 150 years.

According to French historian and writer Jean-François Bazin, the story of the domaine starts with the move of Alphonse Gros (1804-1884) from Chaux in the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits to Vosne-Romanée in 1853, but the true founder of the domaine was his son Louis-Gustave, born in 1831.

It was Louis-Gustave who purchased 2ha of a vineyard called Les Vérroilles in 1882. This vineyard was absorbed into Richebourg in the 1920s.

The domaine was expanded by Louis-Gustave’s son Jules and grandson Louis (1893-1951), to include the monopole of the Echézeaux lieu-dit Les Loächausses, and a parcel of nearly a hectare in the Clos de Vougeot, purchased in 1920.

According to Bazin, at its peak, Domaine Louis Gros included 2ha of Richebourg, 2.5ha of the best parts of the Clos de Vougeot, a half-hectare of Grands Echézeaux, the monopole of the Clos des Réas, and others – a grand total of 17.85ha.

Inheritance divisions begin

Louis Gros had four children: Gustave, Colette, François and Jean, who farmed the vineyard together from the death of their father until 1963, when the vineyards were split among them.

Gustave and Colette never married, and cooperatively formed Gros Frère et Soeur (later run by their nephew Bernard, and now by his son Vincent), while François and Jean struck out on their own.

The holdings of Jean Gros were eventually transmitted to his children Michel, Bernard and Anne-Françoise, while those of François were handed down to his daughter Anne, who is in the process of passing the domaine on to her children Paul, Julie and Marine.

The dust is finally beginning to settle on the Gros estates. As each domaine transitions to the next generation, the vineyards of Colette, which had been leased to Gros Frère et Soeur, have now been redistributed among the family.

The vineyards

These family exchanges bring the holdings of Domaine Anne Gros to 8.42ha in Burgundy. The largest surface is a large single parcel of 1.73ha in the village of Concœur, above Vosne-Romanée. This is classified under the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits appellation, with 0.73ha at the base of the slope planted to Pinot Noir, and the steeper slopes near the top (at 400m elevation) planted to Chardonnay.

The domaine also produces regional-level wines from 1.68ha located in Vosne and Flagey. These used to be classified as Bourgogne rouge and blanc respectively, but some have been reclassified as Coteaux Bourguignons.

The village-level Vosne comes from a superb 0.39ha parcel in Les Barreaux that was planted in 1903. Anne Gros purchased the parcel, located at the mouth of the combe that leads to Concœur, in 1988. The soil is limestone scree (grèzes litées), with a high active calcium content.

Anne’s son Paul says: ‘This is the same elevation as [Vosne premier cru] Petits Monts; it is right where the slope turns to face northeast, but otherwise this has everything needed to be premier cru’.

Anne simply describes it as, ‘my baby Richebourg’.

There are also 0.30ha in the Vosne lieu-dit of Aux Communes that Paul will produce, and a 1.1ha parcel of village-level Chambolle-Musigny in the lieu-dit Combe d’Orveau planted in white marl soils. As Anne says, ‘this [Chambolle] is the last parcel in the combe, next to Mugnier.’

The grands crus

The village and regional-level wines of this estate offer great value, but the pride of the domaine is understandably its four magnificent grand cru wines:

Echézeaux: The domaine owns 0.94ha in Les Loächausses, just south of the Echézeaux du Dessus climat in the historic heart of the appellation. This is complemented by 0.34ha in Les Beaux Monts Bas that is now farmed by Paul.

Grands Echézeaux: Anne and her children also acquired a 0.37ha slice of Grands Echézeaux in the 2022 Gros family reshuffle.

Clos de Vougeot: The domaine’s Clos de Vougeot is a Gros family favourite – the wine is voluptuous and accessible, showing well at an earlier age than the Richebourg, which is somewhat slower to open up. The grapes come from a 0.94ha parcel in a very well-regarded section of the vineyard known as Le Grand Maupertui. Anne’s holding was first planted in 1904. It is maintained by what growers call repiquage, where single vines are replaced as needed, but the vineyard as a whole is never replanted.

Richebourg: The jewel in the crown is the 0.62ha of Richebourg, which produces a wine that is slightly more aloof than the Clos de Vougeot, showing a fruit character that takes some time to shine through, firmer tannins, and more prominent acidity. The parcel lies mostly in Les Vérroilles, but a bit overlaps into Les Richebourgs. Part of the parcel is 75 years old, the balance is 50 years old, and both are planted in brown soil with limestone pebbles.

Winemaking

All of the grapes are destemmed and fermented in stainless steel tanks. The extraction is assured through a combination of gently punching down and pumping over, although Anne says that the Richebourg can support a firmer extraction.

The red wines are generally aged 14 months in barrel, with 20%-40% new oak, depending on the wine.

The whites are destemmed and pressed and the fermentation starts in stainless steel and finishes in barrel, one-quarter new.

Did you know?

The barrels at Domaine Anne Gros are normally sourced from three coopers: Damy, François Frères and Berthomieu/Ermitage (who steam the wood first before toasting it).

The southern French chapter

The family also has a property in the Minervois, Languedoc, where it farms 20ha in the high-altitude, limestone-rich terroirs of the appellation.

There are four accessible, easy-drinking varietal reds bottled under the IGP Côtes du Brian and a white labelled Vin de France, a blend of Vermentino and Roussanne.

In addition to the IGP wines, there is a Minervois from slightly younger vines called Les Fontanilles, and three old-vine cuvées from the Cazelles terroir of the Minervois appellation that reflect specific sites and differing proportions of old-vine Carignan, some of which come from 120-year-old vines.

As Paul and Julie take over more responsibility from their mother, nothing is standing still at Domaine Anne Gros.

Paul has recently launched his own domaine, Domaine Paul Tollot-Gros, vinifying some of the Bourgogne Rouge, village-level Vosne-Romanée and Echézeaux, experimenting with later picking and using some whole clusters.

The Domaine Anne Gros wines, however, remain true to their traditional style.

One can be certain that from the glorious summits of the Richebourg to the juicy, fruit-laden everyday wines from the Minervois, the range of wines at Domaine Anne Gros offers something for every taste and budget.

Domaine Anne Gros wines tasted and rated

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If I could tell you just one thing about wine harvest, I’d tell you this: It’s the antidote to ennui. It’s the salve for jadedness, and a recipe for the restoration of faith – not just in wine.

There’s no better way to explain les vendanges than adult summer camp – though with copious drinking, and even more manual labour.

For the uninitiated, it’s the month-long period during which any winemaker’s grapes are ready. There’s a sense of urgency: the fruit must be picked and processed before it’s overripe. Volunteers flock, arriving at various domains in droves to sleep in dorms, spare bedrooms and tents and wake up before the sun to pick, press and stomp grapes.

Should you choose to submit to this brand of blissful masochism, you will work 12-hour days. You will make friends quickly, deeply, hungrily, while you work.

You will drink beautiful things, bleed from your fingers, and wake up with earwigs crawling on your clothes.

Where things come from has always been an elusive, watery question for me.

Growing up in New York, per the narrow parameters of my city kid education, it seemed that produce came from grocery stores, flowers from florists, and water from plastic bottles. Of course, I knew these things had their far-off sources, but they seemed distant and irrelevant in the grand scheme of my metropolitan life.

Wine harvest, however, is a masterclass in origin stories – this wildly voyeuristic glimpse into the root of things. It’s a messy, endless lesson in what goes into a bottle.

Of course, I’d always known intellectually that wine was made from grapes – this is not niche information. But harvest allowed me to carry the truth of that fact in a deeper and more intuitive part of my brain. It gave dimension to my grasp on wine as a narrative arc.

I worked my first harvest in 2022 in Chablis, where the grapes grew so close to the ground, we had to pick on our knees. I learned to de-stem with my hands and measure sugar densities.

I made friends I still see yearly.

My second harvest took place in Alsace, where the grapes lived at a comfortable standing height. My French grew smoother, and I learned how to clean a press.

My third harvest transpired in Burgenland, Austria, where we picked through the middle of the night by the shaky beams of headlamps, so as to avoid the glaring heat. And the fourth, just this past August, took place in Roussillon, where a late summer heat wave broke in favour of ceaseless rain.

If you were to ask me why I continue to subject myself to weeks of 5am wake-up calls and heels stained red from stomping Carignan in barrels I’d tell you that it’s like some proverbial reset button. Yes, it’s antithetical to the laptop-tethered work of a writer, and a welcome break from New York, but more so, I go because it reminds me why I wanted to work in wine in the first place.

Stripped of restaurant politics, mark-ups, allocation-bids and scores, it’s just the thing itself.

The industry is fatiguing, no matter your angle of approach. There’s the gatekeeping and the snobbery. The lofty, inaccessible prices. The righteous sommeliers, the showboat-y auctions, the patrons poised to judge you for ordering the second-cheapest bottle. At a certain point, wine becomes a consumer good, not an art form. And as a writer covering the topic, it can start to feel like reporting on NFTs or cryptocurrency – lofty, intellectualised fodder buoyed by money.

At harvest, however, it’s not subject matter. It’s wine.

‘My first harvest actually changed my life, to be completely honest,’ says Audrey Aubertin, who works as a server and sommelier at Montreal wine bar, Gia. ‘That was in 2022 – and afterwards, I quit my corporate job to work in wine full-time. Every year now, I still look forward to harvest. You meet people you’d never meet otherwise, and you get close to them in a way you wouldn’t in other contexts. It sounds silly, but it kind of reminds me of what it feels like to be alive. You smell and touch and feel and interact… and isn’t that what living is?’

It’s not untrue – this deprioritising of email, of social media, of interaction with the outside world. It feels anachronistic – this harkens back to a moment before smartphones and remote jobs. It teaches presence.

‘When I got back from harvest this year, I made a PowerPoint to show my team what I’d been doing,’ says Hannah Harrington, a sommelier at New York’s Smithereens. ‘Everyone was so excited and inquisitive, it felt so energising to bring my harvest experience back into my work.’

As she explains it, harvest feels like a great equaliser. While you work, there’s no hierarchy: No one’s above washing buckets and bins, or crawling around in dirt, clipping fruit. ‘In the wine world, people always wanna be the best, or know the most. But at harvest, everything feels like this big collective effort. I mean, your literal blood, sweat and tears go into this project, and it feels amazing,’ she says. ‘Being there, I could practically feel my cortisol levels dropping.’

It should come as no surprise that the phenomenon is healing. It’s a return to natural rhythms – you rise with the sun, and fall into deep, uncomplicated post-labour sleep early in the night. You spend time outside, and you feel wholly inside your own body. You have candid, wrenching mid-work conversations.

‘I grew up in an intellectual and education-forward household. I did well at school. I went to university and I got a job in the government. But working a harvest challenged my ingrained notions of success – it taught me a new way to conceptualise intellect and hard work, and intuition,’ says Caitlin McInnis, a writer and researcher with whom I shared a bedroom while harvesting in Alsace. ‘To me, harvest is a remedy for disconnection. It’s a portal to direct, daily contact with the rhythms of nature. It’s a delicious, humbling thing that strips you of all your pretences.’

Simply put, it takes wine from a commodity to a living, breathing thing – more poetry than ‘product’. And when all’s said and done, you can taste that nuance in the bottle – the vine rapport, the early mornings, the late nights, the human hands.

What is that if not the cure for apathy?

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As we wade through the sticky, sultry dog days of summer, the allure of cool and refreshing drinks becomes not just more tantalising, but necessary.

And perhaps you’re currently feeling a little jaded by just the one style of wine you’ve been drinking over the past few weeks, too hot and bothered to muster up the brain power to try anything else.

A long, hot summer can be an awfully long time to constantly drink just the one rosé after all.

So if you’re stuck in a summer rut, here are three top tips to find something else to shake up your summer evenings and languid days by the pool.

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1. Wines made by the sea

It sounds obvious or perhaps rather silly, but wines made from coastal regions really do seem to have the juice when it comes to the best styles of wines for summer sipping.

Is it the varieties’ intrinsic nature? Does proximity to the sea really give them a salty tang?

Are winemakers in these areas just more clued-in to the style of wines that work best with your feet in the sand and the roar of the surf in your ears?

Maybe a mix of it all?

Either way, there’s no doubt that if you want a great wine for the summer, think of places beside the sea as a good starting place.

There are loads of wines which just scream summer and beach holidays, accompanied by fresh seafood.

There’s Vinho Verde from northern Portugal, Txakoli from Spain’s Basque country, Muscadet from the Loire.

Heading into the Mediterranean we have the refreshing salty lick of Manzanilla Sherry, the herbal freshness of Xarel-lo in Catalonia, brisk Picpoul de Pinet and pale rosé from the southern French coast, stony Vermentino from Sardinia and Tuscany and the kaleidoscope of varieties from the Greek islands.

2. The faraway Mediterranean

And that’s just Europe we’ve been talking about. But don’t forget that much of the winemaking world operates on the same principals and proximity to the ocean in the warmer climes of the Americas, Africa and Antipodes is often essential to help moderate the temperature.

As such, a great many non-European regions are also seaside wines par excellence.

This is particularly true when many of these Mediterranean-esque regions are also producing wines made from grape varieties you’d expect to find in Europe, such as Albariño – which has seen an increase in worldwide plantings in recent years.

Large chunks of California, the Chilean littoral, the Cape in South Africa, Western and South Australia and the islands of New Zealand are great places for crisp and refreshing whites made from Sauvignon Blanc, Albariño, Semillon and so forth.

3. Beyond Provence

Finally, a word on rosé. Provence set the bar years ago with its brilliantly pale and limpid pinks.

These boosted rosé from being one of the has-been afterthoughts of global viticulture to a runaway hype-train of luxury labels and copycats.

But popularity comes at a price and Provence is now at a premium. However, you don’t have to look far to find wines that are essentially identical.

Both the nearby Languedoc and Roussillon produce extremely delicious rosés in much the same style as Provence and with the same grapes but for a fraction of the price.

Indeed, such has been the impact of pale Provence rosé, that around Europe and the world, you can now find your desire for chillable pink fulfilled by pretty much every country and region mentioned above.

Remember that Liz Gabay MW gives us a rundown each year not only of her pick of the latest Provence rosé releases, but her selection of the best rosés from around the world.

Below is a selection perfect summer white and rosé wines that have been tasted recently by the Decanter team or one of our esteemed experts.

With any luck it’ll give you some extra inspiration for something new to put in the fridge before the summer is through.

Decanter Cellar: 25 white and rosé wines for summer

Wines are listed white then rosé in score order

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The 2022 and 2023 vintages were scorchers across the Languedoc, a wine region that encompasses a large area of southern France.

Despite this, the winemakers managed to make really delicious, drinkable wines. Their freshness and pure fruit flavours will take you right to the shores of the south of France.

I tasted through 700 of them over the course of the past year and discovered five key things to bear in mind.

Which 10 Languedoc wines under £20 should you buy? Scroll down to find out…

Five top tips

1: Delicate whites

If you’re after a white, look for St-Chinian on the label (where the grapes are grown) – and from the 2023 vintage. The wines are so delicate – almost lacy – with beautiful floral scents and flavours.

2: High-quality reds

For those wanting a red, seek out wines from the 2022 vintage and from the growing areas of either Pic St-Loup or Terrasses du Larzac.

The wines won’t give you much change from £20, but when compared to similar quality reds from elsewhere in France, they’re great value.

3: Rosé to rival Provence

If you’re a fan of pale pink Provence rosé you’ll find plenty of wines to like from the Languedoc, often made from a similar blend of grape varieties but a fraction of the price of their Provençal cousins.

Many of the wineries listed below make delightful examples, such as Château Coupe-Roses’ Frémillant Rosé and Château d’Anglès’ Classique Rosé.

4: An old favourite

The nation’s favourite pub wine, Picpoul de Pinet, comes from the Languedoc! But it has much more to offer than just the crisp, lip-smacking, zesty young white we know and love.

Instead of buying the most recent vintage you can find, try one with a little more bottle age or some lees ageing (it might say ‘sur lie’ on the label) to experience a richer, more exotic style.

5 (and this is the important one): Fair for all

While we need to stop stereotyping the Languedoc as a region for cheap quaffers, the concept of ‘value’ really does mean something here – unlike in Burgundy, for example. This doesn’t mean a €2 or €3 from a supermarket by the beach on holiday.

It means that if you choose wisely, you can experience stunningly delicious wines without feeling like you’ve splurged. (Still enjoy them at the beach, though!)

It also means that the vignerons are getting a fair price for their wine to cover their costs, pay their staff and make a living.

What’s remarkable is that I haven’t had to trundle through the lowest-scoring wines of the 700 I tasted to find the best-value ones. In fact, many of the top scorers from my report retail for under £25.

But as there are so many excellent Languedoc wines available to buy for under £20, I’ve done the hard work for you and picked out 10 of my favourites below.

Want to dive deeper? See Natalie’s full report on the Languedoc’s 2022 and 2023 vintage here

Languedoc wines under £20: Star buys to try

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Join globetrotter Lane Nieset as she unveils the ultimate summer wine experiences, from jazz-filled nights in the Languedoc to exclusive dinners in Cognac and chic rooftop soirées in Paris.

Don’t miss our seasonal series collating luxury wine experiences taking place in the most coveted of cellars, vineyards and must-visit destinations across the globe.

At the first hint of balmy weather we’re already reaching for the rosé and discussing summer travel plans: the French Riviera! Sicily! Champagne? Mais, oui!

Now that the solstice has passed, the season is officially in full swing and it’s almost time to close our laptops until September.

Summer is certainly reason enough for celebrating, and this one is gearing up to be a winner thanks to the roster of haute happenings taking place everywhere from the coast of Sicily to river cruises in the Swiss Alps.

From an exclusive private dinner in Cognac to al fresco music festivals at wineries in the Languedoc and Champagne, here are some of the most stylish spots in Europe and beyond to raise a glass and toast to a fabulous summer.

A host of summer wine adventures listed below

Dance under the stars at winemaker Gérard Bertrand’s jazz festival in the Languedoc

One of the top summer jazz festivals in France, biodynamic pioneer Gérard Bertrand’s open-air event at flagship winery Château l’Hospitalet is bringing some of the best names on the scene for five evenings of live music, wine tastings, and grand gala dinners.

More than 20 years in the making, this summer’s edition of Jazz à l’Hospitalet takes place 15-19 July featuring headliners like French-Lebanese trumpet master Ibrahim Maalouf and iconic Scottish pop rock band Texas.

Keeping in the festive spirit, evenings are themed with playful dress codes like ‘Rouge Rock Fever’ and ‘Hippie Flower Chic’.

After an elegant dinner on the château grounds crafted by signature eatery L’Art de Vivre’s Michelin green star-awarded executive chef, Laurent Chabert, settle in for a show in the winery’s intimate courtyard before continuing the party late into the night dancing by the vines.

Soak up Eiffel Tower views at Le Jardin de Cheval Blanc Paris’s playful summer terrace

From the seventh floor terrace of Le Jardin de Cheval Blanc Paris, you’ll have a front row seat to some of the city’s most iconic landmarks – the highlight being the Eiffel Tower, of course.

Intended to be the ultimate garden party, the rooftop oasis is clad in chic cherry and sunflower-coloured furniture reminiscent of what you’d find in Provence, surrounded by blooming roses, geraniums, and hydrangeas.

Play a round of table football or Connect Four before indulging in chef William Béquin’s summer-inspired fare like a tomato tart with basil sorbet and Niçois-style stuffed vegetables.

Or, skip straight to one of pastry chef Maxime Frédéric’s decadent desserts, like his elevated spin on Italian gelato topped with fresh cherries and almonds.

Experience an exclusive cognac-paired dinner at Martell’s Château de Chanteloup

The oldest of the great cognac houses, Martell is opening the doors of the family’s former home, Château de Chanteloup, for the first time to the public with a gastronomic journey in partnership with three Michelin-starred chef Alexandre Mazzia.

Dubbed Signature Martell, the bespoke chef’s table – crafted by Madrid-based Jorge Penadès — seats just six guests and places them in prime view of the expansive kitchen.

Chef Oli Williamson and his team serve up an interactive, 20-course menu inspired by the sea designed to pair with custom Cognacs Martell cellar master Christophe Valtaud crafted exclusively for the dinner – and aren’t available outside of the gastronomic experience.

Think seaweed popcorn-crusted langoustine and red prawn with plankton marinade in tomato water followed by coffee ice cream with cardamom, crystallised tobacco leaf, and cognac milk, paired alongside chilled Martell Epilogue.

Dine Michelin & lounge seaside in Monaco at Elsa & the new Jacquemus Beach Club

After lingering over a rosé-fuelled lunch on the waterfront terrace of Elsa at Monte-Carlo Beach, where Martinique-born chef Marcel Ravin just secured a star, head down to the resort’s recently opened beach club.

Branded with Parisian label Jacquemus’s signature banana yellow, coconut milk white, and black stripes, the new collaboration extends from the pier to the private beach’s sunbeds, parasols, Pool Café, and duo of Jacquemus boutiques, where drawings on the walls are inspired by Renoir and Matisse – a nod to the French designer’s penchant for Provence.

Cruise the Tuscan coast via private yacht & go winery hopping in Maremma with LA ROQQA

Move over Amalfi — this summer, the Tuscan coast is emerging as an under-the-radar sailing hub as buzzy boutique hotel LA ROQQA, in the harbor of Porto Ercole, debuts its exclusive new yacht.

Sail to the nearby islands of Giglio and Giannutri with your own private skipper and chef for a sunset aperitif or on a fishing expedition, or set off on private tours of Maremma’s standout wineries like Monteverro, La Parrina, and Val delle Rose before lounging at the hotel’s 1960s. Dolce Vita-inspired Isolotto Beach Club — one of the sole sandy stretches in the area.

Take a wine-themed river cruise through Rhine castles and the Swiss Alps with AmaWaterways

River cruises have long been popular in winter with the Christmas markets, but this summer, AmaWaterways is capitalising on long, balmy European days that are prime for cycling through the vines on a Basel to Amsterdam trip themed Celebration of Wine.

Part of the Rhine Castles & Swiss Alps route, you’ll discover the wines of the Rheingau and more as you cruise through the UNESCO-dedicated Rhine Gorge, whose banks are flanked by 40 castles.

Along the way, hop off for vineyard visits and cellar tours in winemaking towns like Rüdesheim and gondola rides with wine tastings in between winemaker-led onboard tastings with California-based Aver Family Vineyards.

Savour sunsets in Sicily with curated experiences at Rocco Forte Private Villas

Sicily’s western coast is blanketed in ancient ruins, rose-colored salt marshes, and nearly 2,000 acres of untouched coastline that opens to rolling dunes and wild orchids.

This summer, Rocco Forte’s 20 private villas are offering bespoke itineraries designed around Sicily’s spectacular landscape and sunsets.

Take in views of the golden hue of the Trapani Salt Pans or Valley of the Temples archeological site, sampling Sicilian specialties as the sun sets over the ruins.

Discover the centuries-old salt-making tradition at the Ettore and Infersa Salt Pans before heading to the Fra Giovanni salt pans – now designed for wellness-focused experiences like floating in salt pan tanks – before a sunset aperitivo.

On Sicily’s southwestern coast, at a hillside villa draped over the Mediterranean, join Verdura Resort’s sommelier and leading champagne expert Nando Papa for a private bubbles tasting experience before an astrophysicist-guided evening of stargazing.

Sample Fukuju sake alongside fine Kobe beef at a 270-year-old Japanese brewery

One of the most lauded names in the world of sake, Fukuju is offering an immersive deep dive into the art of sake brewing at its historic brewery, Kobe Shushinkan.

Located in Kobe’s Nada district, the largest sake-producing area in Japan, the four-hour experience starts with a guided tour of the brewery and private tasting of exclusive, premium sake.

The main event, a traditional, multi-course kaiseki meal, unfolds in a historic building once part of an old sake brewery and features seasonally inspired plates designed to pair perfectly alongside the Japanese rice wine.

You’re in Kobe, whose namesake wagyu beef is among the most sought-after on the globe, and you’ll have the chance not only to taste it at the source, but to do the honours of grilling it yourself at the table.

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We walk out on cool mornings into a mist of hauntingly sweet, powdery scents. Our almond tree flowers even earlier, though less prolifically; it has a similar though subtler fragrance. Then there’s the scent of toasted almonds themselves, and honey, too – and perhaps the two compounded… in nougat. Could we add hawthorn? Honeysuckle, maybe, and linden? Welcome to scent heaven. Now: find me a white wine that smells like that.

Guess what? There is one. These are all scents you might hope to chance on in a glass of a fresh young white made from the Clairette grape variety. They were also some of the allusions that I jotted down in March as I blind-tasted through a range of wines from the new Gigondas Blanc appellation, appearing on labels from the 2023 vintage. This can be (and often is) pure Clairette, and must be at least 70% Clairette; balancing varieties include Clairette Rose, Grenache Blanc and Gris, Marsanne and Roussanne, Piquepoul Blanc and Bourboulenc (plus no more than 5% Viognier and Ugni Blanc).

The powder-sweet scents draw you in and they’ll be there on the palate, too, which should be fresh but uninsistent, with softly lapping rather than sharp or angular acidity. Fruits? Quietly citrussy, graceful, supportive.

Depending on blend, soil, exposition and altitude (the Gigondas vineyards rise from 120m to 550m, with all points of the compass covered) a wine from low-lying vineyards will be wealthy and lush, sometimes with a little soft grip; whereas higher-sited vines often surrender something brisker, sappier and more driving. Oxidation and over-emphatic wood notes are risks to avoid.

Southern France has Clairette du Languedoc and Clairette de Bellegarde already, but both are small and rarely seen APs. Clairette de Die appears to be a sparkling incarnation – but Muscat is generally on the front foot in these blends.

It’s white Châteauneuf-du-Pape that is the readiest point of comparison. Clairette can be used on its own or blended with other white varieties on the terraces of Châteauneuf, too, with some of the ‘pure’ versions (from Domaine la Barroche, Raymond Usseglio and Château de Vaudieu among others) being prized. According to Gigondas appellation president Louis Barruol of Château de Saint Cosme, though, Clairette on the slopes of the Dentelles de Montmirail massif is ‘monstrously different’ from its performance on the more open, lower-lying cobbles and sands north of Avignon. He stresses further aromatic notes – ‘fennel and anis’ – as being diagnostic of Gigondas Blanc. ‘The differences,’ he says, ‘are actually much bigger than the differences between our Grenache and Grenache from other zones.’ Barruol’s fellow evangelist of whites Pierre Amadieu adds: ‘It’s the brother of Grenache, maybe even the mirror of Grenache, and the perfect variety for revealing terroir here.’

Winning the new appellation was tough. The INAO regulatory authorities initially rebuffed the suggestion, saying that there weren’t enough white-grape plantings to merit an AP extension; Barruol and Amadieu then produced a series of identically vinified white parcellaires wines over four years between 2011 and 2015 to make their case. Plantings are still modest (17.74ha in spring 2025, of which Amadieu properties have half), but rapid uplift is planned. Demand is encouraging.

All of this, note, marks a significant historical reversal. Clairette was one of the trio of great post-phylloxera vermouth varieties, prized for its oxidative charms but thought doomed in the modern era. So too was Piquepoul (the two form the backbone of Noilly Prat, Languedoc’s great vermouth survivor). Now both are freshly scented and reascendant – in Gigondas and Picpoul de Pinet respectively. Will any appellation now step forward to champion the third, Terret Blanc?

In my glass this month

Picking just one Gigondas Blanc from the AP’s maiden vintage seems almost unfair (I had four top scores) – but here goes. Bravo to the village co-op La Cave de Gigondas for its Domaine de la Souchière, Gigondas Blanc 2023 (priced at €29.90 in France), not only for its clear Clairette character and beguiling floral notes, but also for showing how a little oak (just 25% of the total, for part-fermentation and eight months’ ageing) can tease extra pleasure into the wine without wrecking its purity, balance and finesse.

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At the end of 2023, in an article about the 10 reasons to rediscover Languedoc, I argued that the region has entered a new era.

It’s never been more obvious that the region has turned a page, yet remains in a state of evolution.

Of the past three difficult and extreme vintages, producers have managed to create startlingly balanced, delicious wines.

Scroll down for 30 Languedoc showstoppers from 2022 and 2023

This is a testament to increasingly honed – and in some cases pared back – winemaking techniques, better understanding of vine material and improved viticultural practices.

All this against a backdrop of climate crisis, changing consumption behaviours and global political and social insecurity.

Having tasted more than 700 wines from the Languedoc over the past year, my selection below is a window into wine quality from predominantly the 2022 and 2023 vintages.

Many of these wines represent the positive influence of newcomers and younger generations, and how that interplays with experience and tradition, the renewed appreciation of local varieties and the search for true terroir expression.

See all 300 Languedoc 2022 and 2023 wines reviewed here

Highlights and what to expect

Long periods of drought and soaring heatwaves across Languedoc marked both 2022 and 2023.

In some instances this has led to intensely concentrated wines; in others a green streak where blocked maturity stopped grapes ripening. There are widespread successes, however.

Whites from St-Chinian and La Clape in 2023 are beautiful. Reds from Boutenac and Pic St-Loup in 2022 are profound and detailed.

These vintages tested even the best vignerons. It brought into question the use of cover crops, raised concerns over irrigation and water access, and forced last-minute adaptations.

See reviews of Languedoc 2022 and 2023 wines by appellation:

Faugères | Minervois | Corbières | St-Chinian | Pic St-Loup | Fitou | Terrasses du Larzac | Picpoul de Pinet | La Clape

Heavy bottle alert!

The many very heavy bottles throughout my tastings of Languedoc 2022 and 2023 wines disappointed me, especially from appellations such as Boutenac and La Livinière. Cru status doesn’t warrant increased carbon emissions.

Producers should let the quality of the wine speak for itself, rather than leaning on outdated methods of indicating quality. Readers should not be fooled by this excessive, energy-intensive packaging.

2022: Weather and style

Apart from some spring rain, 2022 was a very dry, hot vintage across the region.

Rain during the preceding winter meant vines had water reserves to draw on, and vignerons were happy that there was little disease pressure. Almost every appellation felt the drought and high temperatures intensely.

After 2021’s devastating frosts and crop losses, vines had stored energy reserves which they put into producing a large crop of grapes in 2022 in some areas.

As a generalisation, there are warm, concentrated red wines, but grapes were healthy at harvest, delivering distinct fruit purity.

Around the appellations

Hear from the vignerons themselves in the crus of Boutenac and La Livinière about their experience of the 2022 vintage:

In Faugères yields were smaller than usual. Adèle Arnaud of Mas Lou says it was her domaine’s smallest-ever production. The lack of water throughout the growing season led to tiny grapes: Brigitte Chevalier of Domaine de Cébène says ‘lots of berries, but 30% less yield’. The wines are concentrated, with fairly low acidity, but a positive bitterness and mid-palate minerality.

Sun baked the Minervois. Wines fall into two camps: overripe and stewed, or gorgeously sumptuous with brilliant aromatics, playful textures and great drinkability. Choose carefully here.

Successful St-Chinian reds are on the charming, drinkable side with sage and thyme coming through beautifully, but many also had tough tannins and overripe fruit. Martin Perolari of Domaine de Cambis says it was a fight to harvest at the right time and avoid overly concentrated wines, and Luc Bettoni of Domaine les Eminades concurs: ‘Maturity had to be managed through very precise harvest dates.’

Corbières had varied outcomes: there was some greenness here, perhaps due to blocked maturity. But also bright, rich, mouth-coating reds with satin tannins, although they may not be very long lived.

In Pic St-Loup, Languedoc’s wettest area, localised hail at the end of June caused loss of yield. This was followed by a very hot summer, but then cleansing rains in mid-August. These saved the vintage, and the wines have an open and buoyant fruit character, peppery aromatics, good concentration, as well as freshness and notably velvety tannins.

Terrasses du Larzac had the best consistency overall in terms of style: soaring aromatics, lip-smacking succulence and supple textures. This was hard won, though. The vines suffered. Flo Busch started harvesting very early, around 10 August. A rainstorm in mid-August, as in Pic St-Loup, brought some relief.

Producer spotlight: Mas Lou, Faugères

Adèle Arnaud, originally from the Gers countryside in southwest France, did not grow up around vines. Instead, it was her father’s keen appreciation for wine that led her down this path. She also found that it corresponded with her personality: ‘I’m a rural person, from the countryside, I grew up in nature,’ she says, ‘and compared to other agriculture, wine has a particular extra aura.’ She feels that the act of working the vines, harvesting the grapes, transforming them, and presenting it as a handmade product brings a great sense of personal achievement. ‘It’s hard, but there are few jobs that can give such intensity to life.’

She met her partner Olivier Gil, who is from a line of growers near Pézenas in Languedoc, at winemaking school, where they both achieved the national oenology diploma. Before settling in Faugères and launching their own domaine in 2014, they travelled the world, then worked for a number of winemakers in Collioure and Banyuls. Their far-flung adventures inspired their wine names.

2023: Weather and style

The cumulative effect of the dry preceding vintages, and a raging late August heatwave which saw four days above 40°C, meant this was a particularly alarming season for many vignerons as they watched berries completely shrivel on the vine and yields collapse.

Around the appellations

Somewhat surprising, and although quantities were down significantly, the whites of St-Chinian are some of the highlights of the vintage, with consistently high scores because they were just so exquisite. Bettoni says that his vines benefitted from maritime winds and morning mists which brought brightness and freshness.

Sarah Frissant of Château Coupe-Roses in Minervois says they had only 250mm rainfall this growing season. They’d already picked some fruit by the time the heatwave hit, but ‘it was a frustrating and difficult harvest’. She recalls: ‘The heat was intense; we had days without running water in late August and early September.’ The whites are mixed, I found many to be too chewy and tannic, while the successes were mineral and herbal.

Whites from La Clape are certainly worth seeking out this vintage. The characteristic notes of citrus and sea spray are charmingly present, although sometimes blanketed by round creamy fruit.

Among the Picpoul de Pinets from 2023 some are zesty and thirst quenching, and others are intriguingly rich and complex, leaning into waxy, honeyed notes. Cyril Payon, director of the Ormarine cooperative, says that the harvest was early due to the heat, and there were lots of very concentrated grapes, leading to this opulence and generosity in the wines.

Corbières whites are ripe, but there’s lots of good citrus intensity and distinct floral aromas, with a positive bitterness on the palate. There were already many reds from 2023 available too, which are fleshy and generous with lots of spice and some raised alcohol levels.

Producer spotlight: Domaine la Cendrillon, Corbières

Hubert Joyeux begins a new chapter in the history of Domaine la Cendrillon, one that spans eight generations, although it was only in 2008 that the first wines were bottled at the estate. The penultimate of eight children, initially Hubert wasn’t really sure if he wanted to be involved. ‘It was a culture we sort of lost, I came here just during my holidays,’ he says.

But after working in Asia and Paris, in 2017 he was at a point in his life, married without children, where it made sense to give it a go. His father has since retired, and Hubert took over vinification fully in 2022. He’s steering things towards a more natural outlook. That means trialling reduced sulphur levels, avoiding fining and filtration where possible, and the 2023 vintage is the first with indigenous yeast fermentations. The priority is clean, straight, well-made wines, but with the least intervention and additions as possible.

The world is tilting

It is impossible to visit Languedoc and not have a conversation (indeed, many conversations) about water.

While lack of rain during summer months has been a big problem in the last few vintages, a widespread concern is reduced rainfall over the winter period, meaning water reserves are not being replenished.

Changing timeframes of rainfall are introducing problems, too. Increased spring rain has brought disease pressure where there wasn’t any before.

Extreme drought has called into question vineyard practices such as cover cropping, even for producers who have long practised it.

‘We’ve had to give up leaving part of the vineyards grassed over during the driest periods due to too much competition with the vine,’ says Magali Quartironi of Domaine Pradels-Quartironi in St-Chinian. But she says this creates a further dilemma: leaving the soil exposed potentially increases water evaporation from the soil, exacerbating the issue.

To counterbalance this, they have taken to leaving more vegetation on the vines during the summer. This brings shade to both the grape bunches and the exposed soil below.

It seems part of a general trend of less leaf stripping and shoot trimming, thus protecting bunches from the sun.

Producer spotlight: Domaine Cailhol Gautran, Minervois

Olivia and Nicolas Gautran are part of a small group of winemakers getting behind the terroir of Cazelles as a potential cru of the Minervois. The majority of their 70ha of vineyards fall within this area. From 2026 they’ll be able to write Minervois Cazelles on their labels.

Nicolas loves that the Cazelles terroir is particularly homogenous, made up of clay-limestone soils. This terroir is supposedly most evident in their Carretal cuvée, which has a mineral core beneath the black fruit and garrigue herbs. The domaine’s full production is organic, and since 2014 most of their cuvées have no added sulphites.

Adaptations and key trends

Etienne Besancenot, director of Château de Caraguilhes in Boutenac, is forthright: ‘We must adapt viticulture and oenology to these climatic trends,’ he says.

And it’s not just vineyards benefitting from quick-fire adaptations.

Following the 2023 heatwave, Frissant says they had to adapt quickly in the winery and change their approach to extraction. ‘We went from two to three weeks of maceration to just two to five days,’ she says.

‘It was a bit stressful. But it marked the beginning of a new technique, learning how to make light and fresh wines under extreme conditions.’

These rapid learning curves are echoed by Brunnhilde Claux of Domaine de Courbissac, also in the Minervois, who in 2022 compensated for higher alcohols in her Syrah and Grenache by adding direct-press Carignan and Mourvèdre. In 2023 she took this a step further by doing whole-bunch co-fermentations.

Her experience at Domaine Gauby in Roussillon just after the heatwave of 2003 has put her ahead of the game.

‘Mediterranean drought is omnipresent in my construction as a winemaker,’ she says. ‘I know being very quickly confronted with the lack of water will help me to build tactics to continue making fresh wines even in heatwave vintages.’

Claux also feels they should look to appellations like Châteauneuf-du-Pape, towards co-planted vineyards of multiple and myriad varieties, both late and early ripening, to bring both ripeness and acidity to the wines.

François Fabre of Domaine du Somail says they trialled harvesting Syrah, Mourvèdre and Merlot early in 2022 to make a fruity wine of 12% alcohol. It was such a success that they’ve rolled this practice out to all of their cuvées in 2023 and 2024.

Producers can work at an individual level, but some responsibility is also on the appellation bodies themselves to help. And change is happening – albeit slowly.

As of late 2024, St-Chinian amended its rule book to allow Carignan and Cinsault, two varieties better adapted to heat and drought, a much higher percentage of the blend.

Faugères is rethinking its reliance on Roussanne as a dominant white variety in blends, as it suffers in drought conditions.

Boutenac is considering Cinsault for inclusion alongside its signature Carignan, to bring freshness, finesse and softness.

Changing fortunes

Data from the CIVL (the Languedoc wine body) shows how dramatically red wine sales have decreased: 41% in 10 years.

Whites have increased marginally, by 2.6%.

What this data doesn’t show is the vast amount of over production in this region, increasing producers’ economic woes.

On the flip side, the increasing number of Languedoc wines of supposed ‘cult status’ – the likes of Grange des Pères, Mas de Daumas Gassac, La Pèira, Roc d’Anglade – is testament not only to the work of vignerons seeking out the best terroirs and making world-class wines, but also to wider recognition from in-the-know drinkers that many of Languedoc’s producers have the potential to become the astute collector’s wines of tomorrow.

Despite the challenging 2022 and 2023 vintages in the Languedoc, the wines are remarkably consistent, with showstoppers in most appellations.

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Languedoc: The best of 2022 and 2023

The wines selected here are not necessarily all the top scorers from the 2022 and 2023 vintages in the Languedoc. They instead offer something for everyone: a mix of showstoppers, up-and-coming names, and wines with true character.

Related articles

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• Languedoc whites: Panel tasting results
• Ten reasons to rediscover Languedoc plus the wines to seek out

Decanter’s expert writers and contributors awarded 95-points or more to almost 3,000 wines in the 12 months to October 2024.

While they have all appeared in the pages of Decanter magazine and online on Decanter Premium and in our decanter.com database, there were too many to reproduce here for a seasonal wrap-up.

So, in a somewhat unfair and very challenging task, we asked each of our Regional Editors to select just five wines from each of their key areas of expertise to highlight the bounty and diversity on offer across the world wine map.

Scroll down for notes and scores of the Champagne, Rhône and regional French Wines of the Year 2024

Rhône

Our extensive Rhône coverage is impeccably reported by Matt Walls, with his twice-monthly column, yearly en primeur report and frequent features in the magazine and on Decanter Premium online. With this in mind, all but one wine in this selection is reviewed by Walls.

The outlier is M Chapoutier’s De L’Orée Ermitage Blanc, which I tasted alongside Michel Chapoutier at the Decanter Fine Wine Encounter event in New York in June last year. I was immediately seduced by this wine as the aromas twisted and turned; 99-points, a sip of pure gold.

Vincent Paris’ exceptional Cornas cuvée La Geynale warranted inclusion here not just because of its 100-point score, but also for Walls’ description of it, which I loved: ‘When young, it’s a roaring black hole, massive, dense, drawing you in. A wine so assertive it seems to taste you as much as you taste it.’

Châteauneuf-du-Pape takes two spots in the list, one red and one white, and although one is an older vintage (Château La Nerthe’s 1999 Cadettes), if you have it in your cellar, its 98-point score suggests now is the time to drink it.

Outside the well-known appellations, there’s great potential in Ventoux, with vines grown at altitude, so Saint Jean du Barroux’s 95-point La Montagne white merited inclusion, too.

Champagne

In Decanter’s first dedicated Champagne report, on the Côte des Blancs (July 2024 issue), correspondent Tom Hewson reviewed the latest releases from this chalky Chardonnay hotspot. Pierre Péters’ Les Chétillons Grand Cru 2009 was cream of the crop.

Three in this list were some of the most delicious wines I’ve tasted this year. Krug’s 2004 vintage Champagne, textured like silk and wearing effortless charm, will continue to dazzle for some time yet.

Regional France

Domaine FL’s Savennières Roche-aux- Moines 2016 supports my conviction that if I could only drink a single style of wine for the rest of my life it would have to be Loire Chenin Blanc.

Mas Cal Demoura’s Les Combariolles 2022 red earned a spot on this list as it demonstrates the potential of the Languedoc’s Terrasses du Larzac region, which I took a deep dive into for the October 2024 issue.

Many wines have fluidity, finespun tannin structure, lifted freshness and soaring aromatics.

Finally, the June issue’s Bandol panel tasting revealed top scores (95-points each) for the structured yet approachable reds from Château de Pibarnon, Domaine de la Tour du Bon and Domaine Ray-Jane.

Yet it was Pibarnon’s dark and distinctive 95pt rosé that I picked for this list, as the judges were wowed by its layers of fruit, spice, salinity and minerality.

Quick links:

See further analysis and top-scoring wines of the following areas:

Bordeaux & Burgundy | Italy | Spain & Portugal | The US | South America | Australia, New Zealand & South Africa | Rest of the World

Wines of the Year 2024: Champagne, Rhône and regional France

Wines are listed white then red, in score order

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Elizabeth Gabay MW, Poppy de Courcy-Wheeler and Justin Howard-Sneyd MW tasted 158 wines, with 2 Outstanding and 30 Highly Recommended.

Languedoc whites: Panel tasting scores

158 wines tasted

Exceptional 0

Outstanding 2

Highly recommended 30

Recommended 114

Commended 12

Fair 0

Entry criteria: Producers and UK agents were invited to submit current-release, still white wines from any of the AOPs within the Languedoc (with the exception of AOP Picpoul de Pinet), as well as from any of the IGP and Vin de France, but not including single-varietal Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay.

The wine-growing region of Languedoc is 200km in length, arcing round the southwestern edge of France’s Mediterranean coastline. Diverse terroirs with schist, limestone, clay and sand can be found along the coastal plains and the southern foothills of the Massif Central.

There is an Atlantic influence in the northwestern vineyards, higher altitude coolness in the foothills of the Pyrenees in the south, and cool air sweeping down the Rhône Valley in the east. The resulting diversity can make it almost impossible to define a ‘Languedoc style’.

Languedoc white wines rated 90+ listed below

A riot of varieties

A long history of producing large volumes of cheap and cheerful wines has fixed the image of the region for many consumers, but affordable land and free-minded attitudes have meant that the region has, for a number of decades, also produced some stellar wines.

Judge Justin Howard-Sneyd MW said: ‘It was great to see the wines aspiring to price levels certainly not achieved 20 years ago, meaning the best wines are excellent value compared to wines of similar quality from the Rhône, Burgundy or California.’

A distinctive feature of the tasting was the rich assortment of local white grape varieties. These include Clairette, Piquepoul, Terret Blanc and Gris, Carignan Blanc, Grenache Blanc, and Riveirenc Blanc and Gris; some saved from obscurity or even extinction.

Rhône varieties such as Marsanne, Roussanne, Bourboulenc, Araignan (also called Picardan) and Viognier, as well as Rolle (Italy’s Vermentino) and Macabeu (Viura in Spain), are also increasingly widespread. For Howard-Sneyd, ‘the most successful wines were Mediterranean blends’.

Since the 1980s, international varieties have been increasingly planted in Languedoc. Chenin Blanc was an early introduction in the area around Montpellier, appreciated for its acidity, and can now be considered a local grape. It is used extensively in Limoux and in the area of Terrasses du Larzac, where it is hoped it will soon be included in the list of permitted varieties.

Wines made from 100% Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc were excluded from the tasting. Newer international varieties such as Riesling, Petite Arvine, Colombard, Petit Manseng and Alvarinho do crop up, and can contribute freshness and acidity.

Single-varietal Viognier performed well, but blends including a small percentage of it did not.

Oak, concrete and freshness

Not every Languedoc appellation includes white wines, and those that do often produce just a small amount. This makes it more difficult to establish regional styles and Howard-Sneyd notes that whites under the large Languedoc AP ‘struggle for identity, and this risks being a dumping ground for anything that doesn’t have a more specific AP.’

Great freshness was found in maritime La Clape and the higher altitude and limestone soils of Terrasses de Larzac, but we were disappointed not to have found greater freshness in the wines from Limoux.

The best wines all had extended ageing in wood, concrete or tank, with great balance of freshness and richness, complexity and power. Poppy de Courcy-Wheeler felt that the use of oak did not always justify higher prices.

The lowest-scoring wines were often marked down due to flabbiness and a lack of freshness or, conversely, by hard, unripe greenness and more clumsy use of oak.

While there may not yet be clear regional Languedoc white styles, the range is still impressive: from rich, complex, oaked wines to lighter, fruity wines with prices from below £10 to over £50. Clearly this is a region with opportunities for exciting discoveries.

Languedoc whites panel tasting scores

Wines were tasted blind

The judges

Elizabeth Gabay MW is a wine writer, educator, speaker and consultant, with a focus on rosé and the wines of southern France, where she has lived since 2002. Her second book Rosés of Southern France (£22 Amazon, 2022) was co-authored with her son Ben Bernheim

Poppy de Courcy-Wheeler is a wine buyer for Waitrose, focusing on rosé, Burgundy and regional France, having previously worked for more than five years in roles including wine buying and head of trade sales at importer Charles Taylor Wines

Justin Howard-Sneyd MW is the DWWA Regional Chair for Languedoc-Roussillon. A former wine buyer in UK multiple retail, he is a wine trade consultant via his company The Hive Wine Consulting, a trustee of the Regenerative Viticulture Foundation, and produces wines at Domaine of the Bee in Roussillon

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Within a short distance of each other, we have the grey post-war Brutalist of the Barbican and the neat, symmetrical Georgian houses of Mayfair, while Gothic (or neo-Gothic) churches sit in the shade of modern glass-and-steel skyscrapers that have reached far beyond their spires.

Architecture has succeeded in forging new styles beyond historical forms, challenging planning laws and innovating with materials. Yet in the deeply traditional wine world, such behaviour is frowned upon as breaking with the wisdom of the past. Our aesthetic approach to what makes wine good mainly celebrates a single, Platonic form of quality established in the 20th century. This theoretically accomplished bottle is balanced and harmonious, intense and complex, with a long finish. It has fruit concentration, ripe tannins, integrated acidity and invariably some ageing in wood, bottle, or both.

The problem is that many thrilling wines don’t fit this mould. I recall a Fleurie from Michel Guignier that was one of the most joyous wines I’ve ever had, but I couldn’t really score it higher than 90 on a conventional scale. It was simple, not complex, pure but not concentrated, and so it failed conventional aesthetic criteria.

But why should simplicity and purity be judged inferior to complexity and layers of flavour? Is a refined, three-star Michelin dish of more value than a perfectly ripe peach that tastes entirely, gloriously of itself? There are many wines in which complexity is contrived and balance is engineered, creating something that is technically accomplished but lacks character and vigour. Such wines have often been given high scores (although I suspect sometimes rather grudgingly) by tasters and critics complying with the aesthetic code, dominant at the time, of what makes wine good.

This rulebook, often reinforced through wine education, has led us down some narrow and restrictive roads. For example, wine is often punished for the one thing that makes it wine and not grape juice: alcohol. What’s actually wrong with a little throaty roar in a 15% Roussillon red? Distinctive wine styles such as Amarone are sometimes dogmatically criticised for being ‘too alcoholic’, as though a wine can’t be great if it is over 14%. Wines that dare to boast residual sugar are often dismissed as ‘a bit sweet’, as though sweetness is beyond the pale. We should be aware that this is an aesthetic bias with no innate truth.

As though to tacitly acknowledge that our system isn’t perfect, we allow exceptions to the rules, giving a special pass to historical styles like Sherry, accepting that their greatness isn’t really accommodated within the rubric, and appeasing the misgivings of our consciences. Sauternes and vintage Port might get high marks – and so they should – but, on dispassionate examination, are these really ‘balanced’ wines? Too many less-established wines fail to earn such generosity in judgement, since they don’t have the justification of history behind them.

Wine will always be informed by its past, yet it is much more respectful of historical precedent than other forms of creative expression. But our understanding is evolving and there is a growing recognition that personality is more important than perfection. In The Stones of Venice, the great critic John Ruskin defended Gothic architecture against those who lambasted its contravention of ancient aesthetic ideals. He saw the contemporary fashion for neo-classical symmetry as a sign of sterility of imagination, a kowtowing, stale repetition of historical precedent.

We could do with a little more of that sort of thing in wine. We don’t have to reject balance or complexity any more than we have to knock down accomplished old buildings. But just as we can’t judge all architecture by how closely it adheres to Roman principles, we need to understand that there are multiple ways for a wine to be good, or even great. Perhaps we should judge less, and learn to appreciate more.

In my glass this month

Salvatore Molettieri, Cinque Querce Riserva, Taurasi 2007 (2008, £45.36 Colombier Wines). Neither ‘glou-glou’ enough for the tastes of new-wave natural wine fans, nor ripe and smooth enough for a Parker palate, nor sartorial enough for the classical one, wines from southern Italy’s Aglianico need to be judged on their own terms, not made to fit the mould of a Cabernet Sauvignon or live up to the expectations set by monikers like ‘the Barolo of the South’. In the right hands it has something to say – if we listen.

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The mountainous area of the Massif Central occupies about a sixth of France, bordering Beaujolais and the Rhône to the east and Languedoc to the south. The massif’s southern section consists of a number of limestone plateaus – called causses in the Occitan language, from the Latin calx, meaning ‘lime’.

It’s this landscape, with its stalactite-littered caverns and dramatically deep gorges, that gives rise to one of France’s most famous cheeses: Roquefort (also the first product of any kind in France to be granted ‘appellation d’origine’ status under the then-new law of 1925).

It’s also one of these arid, sparsely populated limestone plateaus, the Causse du Larzac, that defines a spectacular wine terroir: the Terrasses du Larzac.

Scroll down for highlights from Terrasses du Larzac

Ten years since itself becoming an independent AP (appellation d’origine protégée, as the designation has been known since early 2016), Terrasses du Larzac has quickly established itself as one of the most exciting and dynamic areas in this vast region.

Identified as a denomination of the wider Languedoc in 2004, this is one of the rare regions that gained its appellation status quickly; usually the process takes many years.

In Rosemary George MW’s 2001 book The Wines of the South of France, Terrasses du Larzac hardly gets a look in. ‘I gave it little more than a cursory mention,’ she acknowledges in her 2018 book Wines of the Languedoc, yet it ‘has attracted enormous interest over the past 20 years’.

And for good reason.

Lay of the land

Up on the arid, exposed Larzac plateau, wind-battered grassland is interspersed with gnarled lumps of grey-white rock that resemble ancient ruins. This Jurassic landscape – 145 million-200 million years old – has a long history of supporting the Lacaune sheep that provide the milk used in Roquefort production, an activity in which a number of wine estates were also historically involved.

The wheels of this veiny blue cheese that age in the caves under the village of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon, at the western edge of the Causse du Larzac, benefit from similar natural phenomena as the vineyard area below.

The caves feature cracks and fissures (called fleurines) that allow cool winds from high up on the plateau to blow down through the mountain itself, creating the perfect conditions for ageing the cheese.

These same winds blow off the top of the plateau into the foothills where the Terrasses du Larzac vineyards lie, one element in a terroir that’s ideal for producing wines with an inherent freshness.

‘We’re an appellation with Languedoc generosity but Larzac freshness,’ says Jean-Baptiste Granier, owner and winemaker of Les Vignes Oubliées.

The region’s climate, which is heavily influenced by the proximity of the Larzac plateau, is a unifying factor in an appellation with a huge diversity of soils, exposures and elevations.

This is one of the most northerly vineyard areas of Languedoc, scattered across 32 villages and communes that hug the foothills of the causse and fan out along the geological terraces that stretch to the confluence of the Hérault and Lergue rivers at Canet, forming a rough ‘V’ shape.

Vines are planted between 40 metres and 450m. Hillsides and valleys cut like notches into the landscape, creating a wealth of different exposures.

This, combined with the northerly latitude and more inland location, means that there’s a significant diurnal temperature range, ‘at least 20°C difference between night and day in the summer months’, says Loïc Benezeth, fourth-generation winemaker at Domaine La Rouquette.

This helps to preserve freshness and acidity, but also provides a ‘bigger aromatic revelation’, says Vincent Goumard, owner and winemaker of Mas Cal Demoura.

The Terrasses terroir: a patchwork of soils

The vineyard area is a complex array of geological eras – a fascinating mix of colour, shape and texture, a Kandinsky painting splashed out across the terrain. As soil types meander through alkaline limestone to more acidic sandstone and schist, the wild Mediterranean vegetation that surrounds the vineyards changes – a shifting, contrasting, metamorphosing landscape.

The thyme, juniper, bay and holm oak of the limestone-based garrigue transforms into the heather, mint, white oak and lavender of the sandstone-based maquis. Although communication around individual terroirs is at a nascent stage, a few specific areas are worth pointing out…

Cercle de la Blaquière

An enclave to the west of Mont St-Baudille, at 300m, from St-Privat down to St-Jean-dela-Blaquière. It’s mainly grès (sandstone) and schist – although not the same schist found in the Faugères appellation further southwest. The combination of schist and cool night-time temperatures brings elegance and silky tannins.

Escalette

The upper valley of the Lergue river, at 350m-400m, with rocky limestone soils and a very cool climate. Some vineyards are on terraces, and there are clapas – piles of stones – that surround the vineyards.

‘Women removed these large stones from the vineyards so that men could work the land,’ says Delphine Zernott of Domaine du Pas de l’Escalette, ‘but they also act as barriers, protecting vines from strong winds.’

This is a particularly fresh terroir, ‘really white wine country’, according to Decanter contributing editor Andrew Jefford. Reds have fresh acidity, a lighter body and a saline, mineral character.

Salagou and ruffes

In the west around the manmade Salagou lake, with a few outcrops in the southern part of St-Jean-de-la-Blaquière, striking red soils resemble the Australian outback. These ruffes (from the Latin rufus/Occitan ruffus, meaning ‘red’), were formed during the Permian period some 275m years ago.

According to author and geologist Luc David, these are alluvial terraces, with silty iron-oxide-rich soils. There’s also basalt from ancient volcanic eruptions.

Aniane and Puéchabon

To the east of the Hérault river, a few top-quality estates have made their mark, notably Mas de Daumas Gassac and Domaine de la Grange des Pères, although neither labels its wines as Terrasses du Larzac. Hilly vineyards with stony limestone soils and galets roulés (large, rounded stones) make for a lunar landscape.

The heart: Jonquières and surrounds

The lower-lying ancient terraces of the Lergue river. The soil is varied but there’s more clay here, with limestone pebbles as well as galets roulés. This part also includes Montpeyroux and St-Saturnin, historic denominations under the Languedoc appellation, both of which hope to gain individual AP status. The wines are denser and more structured.

The Buèges valley

Extending far up the right-hand branch of the Terrasses du Larzac ‘V’. This follows the Cévennes fault line, with glacial deposits of fractured limestone.

Grapes & styles

Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Carignan are the key varieties in this red-only appellation, with Cinsault, Counoise, Lledoner Pelut, Morrastel and Terret Noir as secondaries. A blend of at least three varieties is required.

As in other Languedoc regions, a renewed appreciation of once-maligned Carignan is helping to save old vines and bring fresh acidity to blends. Syrah, on the other hand, is suffering across Languedoc due to its sensitivity to drought, but here it’s less aggrieved, thanks to the fresh climate.

Even so, Amélie d’Hurlaborde of Mas d’Amile says that the climate keeps reminding them to look after the indigenous varieties that have better resistance to drought, like Carignan.

Cinsault plays an increasingly important role here, lending blends an ethereal, floral, juicy quality. I also love pure Cinsault – of course it’s not permitted under the appellation rules, but a few producers bottle one as Vin de France or IGP, so it warrants a mention here.

Try examples from Mas Combarèla, Le Clos Rivieral, Domaine du Pas de l’Escalette, Le Clos Rouge (Piccolo 2021, £22.49 The Wine Reserve) and Mas Conscience (Cieux 2021, £18 Dead Time).

Although it’s hard to generalise about the style of a large region with such variable geology, there are four striking things about the wines: their freshness, drinkability, aromatic display and tannic finesse.

Generous, dark brambly fruit is often tempered and lifted by red fruit undertones. Notes of garrigue – sage, thyme, juniper – are infused into the very core of the wines’ being. Many are moreish, delectable and succulent, boasting suave tannins with the texture of fine, wet clay.

Some are also elevated by a stony, iodine, mineral quality. It’s when these elements come together that the vigneron has succeeded in sharing their place with the drinker.

Although not currently permitted under the appellation rules, white wines are making promising strides and an official request for their inclusion is being assessed as I write.

The main varieties would be Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Rolle, Carignan Blanc and Chenin Blanc. Many of the whites currently made under the local IGPs are delicious, so this is definitely an area to watch.

Overall, despite the quality coming out of the region, the Terrasses du Larzac wines still appear fairly difficult to sell abroad. ‘It is the name of the estate that sells the wine,’ says Marcel Orford-Williams, wine buyer at UK retailer The Wine Society and DWWA judge for Languedoc-Roussillon.

Indeed the wide variety of terroirs and potential styles makes it difficult to define a singular identity for the region – but arguably this is also the region’s strength.

The place to be

The Terrasses du Larzac region is incredibly dynamic, having a combination of long-standing, native producers (such as Mas Jullien, Mas des Chimères and Domaine de Montcalmès, which all helped to create the reputation of the appellation) and a steady stream of newcomers who have arrived in a relatively short space of time (40 new wine-growers since 2014).

Some big names, including the likes of Gérard Bertrand, Calmel & Joseph and Vignobles Jeanjean, even have properties here.

‘With this mix, it could have been two worlds that coexisted but didn’t acknowledge each other, but that’s not at all what happened,’ says Sébastien Fillon, president of the appellation and winemaker at Le Clos du Serres. ‘They interacted and exchanged and discussed, and the people from outside were accepted, so it worked.’

One senses the cohesion and partnership among the producers.

‘Everyone helps each other. We’re friends – there’s no competition,’ says Benezeth, who took over the family domaine in 2021 at the age of 26.

‘When you’re young and recently installed in the region, it’s important to have the big names on your side.’

What’s more, about 80% of producers are organic and many are biodynamic, too (and the proportion rises to 92% if HVE and Terra Vitis certification are taken into account), which highlights a certain like-mindedness among them, and also ‘allows for large areas in which biodiversity can thrive and a natural balance can be achieved’, according to Goumard.

The wines, with their fluidity and delicate structures, could strike a chord with new drinkers discovering wine for the first time, as well as seasoned wine lovers looking for wines with a southern soul but also balance and finesse.

In the mighty tome that is the Languedoc, Terrasses du Larzac might be the most compelling chapter.

Terrasses du Larzac: the facts

Producers: 96 independents, 3 cooperatives; 4 négociants

Area planted: 747ha (AP)

Production (2023): 2.7m bottles

Average yield (2023): 27.1hl/ha

Grapes: Principal Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Carignan; Secondary Cinsault, Counoise, Lledoner Pelut, Morrastel, Terret Noir

Blends: At least three varieties, of which two must be principal varieties; principal varieties at least 75% of the blend; no single variety more than 70% of the blend; Carignan maximum 50%, Cinsault maximum 25%; secondary varieties (other than Cinsault) max 10%

Organic producers (2023): 79% certified or under conversion (92% if including HVE or Terra Vitis certification)

[Source: AP Terrasses du Larzac]

Producers to know in Terrasses du Larzac

Clos Constantin

Domaine de Montcalmès

Domaine du Pas de l’Escalette

Les Vignes Oubliées

Mas Cal Demoura

Mas d’Amile

Mas des Brousses

Mas Combarèla

Mas Conscience

Mas Jullien

New & noteworthy:

Domaine de l’Accent

Domaine Flo Busch

Les 8 Sarments

Le Clos des Combals

Mas Lasta

Mas Origine

Languedoc charm: 10 wines from Terrasses du Larzac

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According to Antoine Lespès, research and development manager at Domaine Lafage just outside Perpignan, the average rainfall at this Roussillon estate between 2010 and 2023 was just 550mm per year. These last few years have been particularly dry: in 2021 and 2022 there was 340mm. In 2023, just 240mm – ‘like Marrakesh,’ says Lespès.

Thankfully, Roussillon has a natural defence against drought: 50% of the region’s vines are over 50 years old. Old vines with deep, well-established root systems pump water from below the ground, instead of relying exclusively on that which falls from the sky. And this is just one advantage of having plenty of venerable old plants.

Scroll down to see notes and scores for 20 old vine wines to try

Stubborn and resilient

Mas Llossanes is located on the western edge of Roussillon; with vineyards ascending to 700m altitude, it’s one of the highest estates in France. Owner Dominique Génot has some vines aged up to 80 years old, and he says ‘resilience is their number one advantage.’ In drought years, it tends to be older vines that perform the strongest.

He adds that ‘the production is much more stable – the same level of quality and quantity’ from year to year. Old vines are also less likely to suffer from disease as they produce smaller, looser, better ventilated bunches.

Small bunches and little berries make for concentrated wines – a greater proportion of skins to juice means more colour and more tannin. So wines made from old vines can be particularly powerful and long-lived.

The drawback is that gnarly old trunks are expensive to work and maintain, requiring dedicated manual work and attention. ‘Old vines are like stubborn old men,’ says Benoît Danjou, co-owner of Domaine Danjou-Banessy in Espira-de-l’Agly, ‘they give what they want’ and can be difficult to manage.

They also produce smaller yields – meaning either that growers make less income, or that we as consumers have to pay a premium.

Better wine?

If the wines are better, then most of us are happy to pay a little extra. But do older vines really produce better wine? Concentration is not always a positive – particularly if a style of wine is already dense and muscular. A little fluidity and juice can be useful in creating drinkability and balance.

In fact, not all growers favour old vines. Hervé Bizeul of Domaine du Clos des Fées in Vingrau uses relatively young vines for his top cuvée Le Clos de Fées, while his oldest vines (50 to 100 years old) go into his more affordable Vieilles Vignes bottling.

Looking outside the region, one of the greatest winemakers of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Henri Bonneau, preferred vines of around 30 years old – when they got much older, he’d pull them out and replant. And Troy van Dulken, vineyard manager at Kilikanoon in Clare Valley, says ‘once a vineyard is at 15 years old, I think it’s at its peak.’

Van Dulken points out that some cultivars age better than others. Syrah and Grenache can live to a ripe old age, whereas he’s more likely to pull out Cabernet Sauvignon at 30 to 40 years old. Carignan is another variety that can age impressively. Domaine du Lendemain in Roussillon has some pre-phylloxera vines planted in 1880 that are still producing fruit.

The taste test

There’s undoubtedly something special about drinking bottles produced from such ancient plants – like drinking very old vintages, there’s a feeling of being closer to history. But can we distinguish between young and old vine cuvées by taste alone?

There’s certainly no identifiable flavour as such. But there is often a sense of depth, resonance and vinosity with wines drawn from old vines. Rather like organic and biodynamic certification, old vines are ‘a sign of quality – but not a guarantee,’ to quote Bizeul.

‘A young asshole will become an old asshole,’ he says; just because a vine is old doesn’t make it good. But if a plant has survived for a century, it suggests that the wine it makes is special enough to have warranted its long-term cultivation and nurturing. Otherwise it would have been pulled out long ago.

These old warriors have seen many changes in Roussillon. The rise and fall of aperitifs like Byrrh, of sweet Muscats, of vins doux naturels, of Parkerised reds… let’s hope they can survive the climate turmoil of the 21st century.

20 old vine wines to try:

The wines below are made from vines at least 60 years old. Wines are listed by style then score.

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Roussillon and the southern Rhône have many things in common. They share the same four main red grapes: Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Carignan, and both regions endure hot, dry summers.

But while the white wines surrounding Avignon tend towards generosity and richness, those around Perpignan have a distinct crispness and clarity. The key, it transpires, is a grape with a familiar name but a distinctive profile: Grenache Gris.

Grenache is like Pinot in many respects: it comes in three colours, it has thin skins, and it can reflect the minutiae of where it’s grown with precision. And just as there’s a clear difference between Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris, so there is with Grenache Blanc and Grenache Gris.

Scroll down to see notes and scores for 24 white Roussillon recommendations from Matt Walls

Hoping for Gris

In the Rhône, Grenache Blanc is the most widely planted white grape, with 2,060ha of vineyards. Pink-skinned Grenache Gris however is one of the rarest, with just 34ha under vine.

For some unfathomable reason, outside Châteauneuf-du-Pape, it’s not allowed to be used for white wines in any Rhône appellations – it’s only permitted as a blending grape for reds and rosés.

Imagine if Alsace only permitted Pinot Gris in its red wines. Clearly this would be an error. But the appellation rules in France aren’t always entirely intelligible.

Roussillon, by contrast, embraces Grenache Gris for its whites: Grenache Blanc represents 1,283ha, Grenache Gris 1,056ha – and these plantings are growing. It’s the only region in the world where, if you’re told a white wine is made of Grenache, you have to ask – which Grenache?

And you hope it’s Gris.

Jonathan Hesford of Domaine Treolar is a fan. ‘I think Grenache Gris is a super grape variety,’ he says. ‘All the best white wines of the Roussillon have at least 50% Grenache Gris.’

By comparison, he believes Grenache Blanc can oxidise relatively easily, and is more prone to flabbiness.

Some white Roussillon, such as Domaine de la Meunerie’s Argenta Brilo, are made of pure Grenache Gris. It’s a good example of what this grape delivers in this part of the world: pale in colour, intense and focused wines with crisp acidity – and great value.

Domaine Danjou-Banessy makes a white from equal parts Grenache Blanc, Gris and Noir called Clos des Escounils. Co-owner Sébastien Danjou-Banessy says that Grenache Gris is more structured than Grenache Blanc, with ‘more grain, more tannin’.

Winemakers have multiple options when it comes to vinification. They can ferment or age in oak to build richness and complexity, or choose stainless steel to produce a leaner, straighter style. It’s a wine that can call to mind fruits, herbs and minerals. It ranges from light in body to bold and firm – but rarely fat.

A varied grape palette

Grenache Gris isn’t the only grape of interest among Roussillon’s contemporary dry whites. Similarly to Pinot and Grenache, Carignan also comes in Noir, Gris and Blanc – and the white and pink versions can make for noteworthy wines thanks to their strong acidic backbones.

Once considered inferior grapes, they have been largely uprooted – but the Danjou-Banessy brothers are planting them once more.

Vermentino is the fastest growing white variety, which is a positive trend – it can make zesty wines with mouthwatering sapidity. And Mas Llossanes has had success with Chasan, a crossing between Chardonnay and Listan (aka Palomino). Perhaps others will follow suit.

Grenache Gris might be little planted elsewhere, but the word is spreading. ‘I love the versatility of it,’ says Ben Gertie of Gertie Wines, who recently planted some in Clare Valley in Australia.

Surprised, I asked him where he heard about it. ‘A mate was raving about it,’ he says, ‘he’d just got back from a trip to France.’

Whereabouts, I asked. ‘The Roussillon,’ he replied.

Matt Walls: 24 Roussillon whites to seek out

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The Olympic flame arrived in Narbonne on 16 May 2024 carried by the biodynamic winemaker – and one of the key faces of the Languedoc region around the world – Gérard Bertrand.

A tradition since the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, the Olympic torch relay begins in Olympia, Greece, where the flame is lit and is then carried, mostly on foot, through the host country in the weeks leading up to the start of the Olympic Games.

The Olympic committee selected 11,000 torchbearers to carry the flame across France to Paris, where the 33rd edition of the games will be held. The torch arrived in the French city of Marseille on 8 May.

Bertrand, who is recognised as a global leader in organics and biodynamics, said: ‘I am very proud to carry the Olympic flame, firstly because it’s my territory but above all, because it symbolises self-transcendence and the peace that we need in the world.’

Bertrand’s wine is exported to more than 180 countries worldwide, with all of his 17 estates across Languedoc – and now into the southwest with a recent purchase of an estate in Cahors – farmed biodynamically.

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Languedoc-Roussillon: two words, three syllables each. You’d be forgiven for assuming some kind of parity. But Roussillon makes only about 5% as much wine as Languedoc.

Take a walk around Perpignan, just 10km from the Mediterranean and 20km from the Spanish border, and you’ll sooner spot the blood-and-gold stripes of the Senyera than the French tricolour. Street signs offer both Catalan and French names. Many locals believe Roussillon is more naturally grouped with Penedès and Priorat than Pic-St-Loup and Picpoul de Pinet.

Ask wine lovers to name the greatest estate in Languedoc and Mas de Daumas Gassac will undoubtedly feature. But what about Roussillon? Not so obvious, but there’s one producer that I would suggest without hesitation – Domaine Danjou-Banessy.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for 10 Domaine Danjou-Banessy wines

A singular estate

Travel eastwards along the Mediterranean coast from Roussillon and Languedoc and you reach the southern Rhône. The pinnacle of wine here? Château Rayas is the main contender. In fact, when I first tasted bottles from Danjou-Banessy, it was the wines of master winemaker Emmanuel Reynaud that sprang to mind.

Now comparing the greatest estate of Châteauneuf-du-Pape with a relatively unknown Roussillon domaine might raise some eyebrows; but let me explain. Like Rayas, Danjou-Banessy’s wines are not only brilliant, but they are stylistically unlike anything made by their neighbours.

Both producers make wines of tremendous personality. Not always faultless, polished or perfect – but always exciting, fascinating and memorable. They share similarly extreme climates but make wines with delicacy. ‘Our aim is to make fine wines,’ says Sébastien Danjou, one of two brothers who run the domaine, ‘even if we have a hot and dry climate, you don’t have to make something violent or brutal.’

There are even similarities in the way both domaine’s work. Both use whole-bunch fermentation and shy away from new oak. Rather than rigorous extraction, both opt for gentle infusion. ‘Extraction is very important in northern areas,’ says Sébastien, such as Burgundy, ‘but we have lots of sun, so it’s not needed.’ His brother Benoît adds: ‘we work on concentration not in the cellar but in the vineyard.’

Ancient vineyards

Old vines help them to achieve this concentration; and by ‘old’ they mean between 60-120 years. They don’t know how far back their family roots go here in the Agly Valley, but ‘my grandfather used to talk about his grandfather in the vines,’ says Benoît. He’s the younger of the two brothers, enthusiastic and funny; Sébastien was a teacher before joining the estate, and still has a professorial presence.

They aim to have three ages of vines for each soil type: old vines, middle-aged, and young, as well as fallow areas for the land to recover. The domaine is certified organic, and they use biodynamic methods where practicable.

Depending on the cuvée, they’re happy to blend across vine age and varieties – but not soil type. ‘We can’t blend slate with limestone or clay,’ says Benoît, ‘because slate soil gives a different taste to clay and limestone.’

The wines

The cuvée Estaca – one of my wines of the year in 2023 – is pure Grenache planted on black marl. The Cinsault of cuvée Espurna is planted next to it. I have only once tasted French Cinsault this good – grown by Emmanuel Reynaud, part of the blend for Château de Fonsalette.

Les Mirandes is a herbal, mentholated Syrah of unusual pungency. Les Myrs is very old Carignan grown on slate. There are many fine examples of this underrated variety grown in Roussillon, and this one is particularly delicate and compelling.

As with Grenache, Carignan grapes come in three colours – noir, gris and blanc. La Truffière blanc is pure Carignan Gris, a grape the brothers love for its bright acidity. Clos des Escounils is a white made from all three colours of Grenache. Coste is a pure Macabeu, another Roussillon speciality, here producing a light, fresh and stony white.

One question that remains for me is this. Considering this is the hottest wine region in mainland France, how are the alcohols so mild? Whites range from 12% to 12.5%; reds from 12.5% to 13.5%. Sébastien says they’re not even the first to pick; as with Rayas, some mysteries remain.

Any comparison with the wines of Reynaud can only go so far; both he and the Danjou-Banessy brothers are firmly rooted in their own local cultures after all. But those seeking the finest expressions of Mediterranean grapes, especially Grenache, will find much to love in both.

10 fabulous wines from Domaine Danjou-Banessy:

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‘We’re not in the habit of tasting old vintages of Corbières,’ says Louis Fabre, who founded his Languedoc estate in 1982 and, until 2020, oversaw the five domaines which form the Famille Fabre portfolio.

The reason he’s not in this habit, though, is more to do with the culture of wine he’s been brought up in, rather than the ageability of the wines. ‘We’re in a region where we think our wines don’t age well, that they have to be drunk quickly,’ he says. ‘But it’s all in our heads and even I sometimes struggle to think otherwise.’

The arrival of the next generation, in particular Louis’ daughter Clémence and her husband Louis-Jacques Ramin, who took over the running of the family portfolio in 2020, is changing that.

Louis-Jacques, who comes from a finance culture, doesn’t have that ‘psychological glass ceiling’, says Louis. So the time had come to taste through 30 years of history, culture and change, through the lens of the new generation.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for 20 vintages of Château Fabre Gasparets

A cuvée, not a château

Château Fabre Gasparets is the most iconic wine in the Famille Fabre portfolio – but don’t go looking to drop by the cellar door.

‘The actual château was sold about 15 years ago,’ says Clémence. ‘My father made some very audacious decisions, such as converting to organics in the 1990s and agroforestry, and economically he was obliged to sell some of the buildings.’

Boutenac is the only official cru within the sprawling 8,079-hectare mass of the Corbières appellation in Languedoc. Covering 220ha, the Boutenac vineyards fan out around the pine-littered Massif du Pinada, which peaks at 273m.

The vines that contribute to the Château Fabre Gasparets cuvée are dotted across the northeast flank of this massif, nestled among the garrigue within the smaller peaks and troughs between the villages of Boutenac, Luc-sur-Orbeiu and Gasparets.

Château Fabre Gasparets: the wine

Grape varieties Carignan, Mourvèdre, Syrah

Winemaking Syrah and Mourvèdre are destemmed, with regular pump overs; Carignan is whole-bunch fermented

Ageing 12 months, part in French oak and part in concrete egg-shaped tanks

Life and vine intertwined

Château de Luc is another of the family’s five domaines, and the home in which Louis and his wife Claire brought up their family.

In the cellar, there is a chunk of stone. ‘It is a fragment of a sarcophagus that my parents found in the garden when they started work to restore this building,’ says Jeanne Fabre, Clémence’s sister, who runs the wine tourism operations at Famille Fabre and is also president of the organisation committee of Millésime Bio, the world’s largest organic wine fair.

‘Carved into it are depictions of vines, as well as the Alpha and Omega signs’. It dates back to the time of the Visigoths. ‘The history of the vine has always punctuated our architecture, our landscape and our economic life in the Languedoc.’

Jeanne also highlights a ledger of revenue and expenses dating to 1800 and belonging to a farmer – by the name of Fabre – in the village of Gasparets, where Château de Luc is located.

More than simply quaint historical anecdotes, it explains how the domaine and surrounding area were once dedicated to polyculture.

‘I exchanged a sheep skin for a tool at the Lézignan fair; I sold this many litres of olive oil; I harvested my wheat,’ Jeanne reads aloud from the ledger.

The landscape was much more varied, the economy more diversified. Crops were rotated and therefore soils were healthier and more alive than those farmed under the prolific monoculture of today’s wine production.

Famille Fabre: key facts

Earliest recorded family history 1605

Foundation of current company 1982, by Louis Fabre

Vineyard area 360ha

The domaines

Château Fabre Gasparets acquired in 1711 (Corbières Boutenac)

Château Coulon acquired in 1816 (Corbières)

Château de Luc acquired in 1870 (Corbières)

La Grande Courtade acquired in 1950 (IGP Pays d’Oc)

Tour de Rieux acquired in 2016 (Minervois)

‘Never will we manage to go back to the balance we once had,’ says Jeanne. ‘Today we are in the kingdom of monoculture.’ But now the family has embarked on a path of diversification, ‘to compensate for this lack of biodiversity’.

‘We see the land is in difficulty because of this monoculture. It’s now up to us to make decisions that are a bit radical, to quickly turn things around.’

Along with the family’s 360ha of vineyards, there are 80ha of fields filled with chickpeas, barley and wheat. André Fabre, the youngest of Louis and Claire’s children, has spearheaded an ambitious agroforestry plan, planting kilometres of hedges around the vineyards to increase biodiversity, as well as apple and quince trees (he’s a budding cidermaker, too).

Having founded his family company in 1982, Louis started converting his vineyards to organics in 1991. The new generation is forging ahead with a strong sustainability agenda.

Key dates

1953 Louis Fabre, current winemaker and owner, is born

1982 Louis Fabre creates the Fabre estate

1991 Organic conversion begins

1996 Bernard Rehs joins and remains oenologist for 27 years. André Fabré Jr is born

1998 Stephane Yerle joins, specialising in micro-oxygenation

2002 Collaboration with St-Emilion cooper Fombrauge stops. New barrels brought in, and part of Château Fabre Gasparets is aged in concrete tanks

2005 Boutenac cru is created

2011 Grenache removed from the blend to give more freshness and ageing potential

2012 First year all Famille Fabre wines are certified organic.

2015 The vintage served at Clémence and Louis-Jacques’ wedding; Clémence and sister Jeanne, the 16th generation, join the company

2020 Clémence and Louis-Jacques Ramin take over Famille Fabre

Tasting 20 vintages across three decades

The line up featured 20 vintages between 1994 and 2020. The idea was to see what changes in the climate, blend and winemaking methods have brought to the style of the wine over time.

The tasting was both a privilege and a stark reminder of the impact of ongoing climate chaos. This was perhaps most clearly observed in two areas. Firstly in the increasing alcohol levels:

1994-1999 12.5%

2002-2006 13.5%

2007-2014 14%

2015-2020 13.5%-14.5%

Secondly, the removal of Grenache from the blend from 2011. ‘Grenache can bring really jammy, pruney notes, but we wanted a wine that kept a lot of freshness. So from 2010 we started to reduce the Grenache in the blend,’ explains Clémence.

And, indeed, the 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 showed bags of charm and approachability.

The removal of Grenache and an increase in Carignan has meant many more recent vintages balance their higher alcohols with Carignan’s fresh acidity. Syrah also used to be a more important component of the blend, but today it’s kept to 20% or less.

Vinification and ageing techniques have changed over time, too. In the early 1990s, carbonic maceration, little extraction and 100% ageing in old barrels was the norm. The late 1990s saw a change towards more extraction and Louis says this was when they started to work on the reaction between the wine and oxygen.

‘We realised Carignan needed to be worked a bit more: not too light in extraction and with a bit more oxygen,’ he says. This is also when the family started working with oenologist Stephane Yerle, who specialises in micro-oxygenation and organics, and makes his own wine at Vila Voltaire in St-Chinian. New oak was also introduced in the 2000s.

The wines from the first decade of the 2000s, although still delicious to drink, are bold and burly, with an overall feeling of extreme ripeness, dark chocolatey richness, char and toasty oak.

2017 was the first year that the Carignan was aged in small amphorae, and this particular vintage sings with vibrant fruit, unmarked by overt woody notes.

A key focus of the tasting was the levels of rainfall during each vintage, measured from October to October. Some of the exceptionally dry years (1998, 2002 and 2007), however, still show remarkable freshness. In fact some of my highest scoring wines came from very dry vintages. The effect of Boutenac’s deep stony soils, that allow the roots of the ancient Carignan vines to plunge deep in search of water, perhaps?

Best broached at least three years after release, Château Fabre Gasparets is an ageworthy wine and goes some way to put Boutenac in the much-deserved spotlight. The oak is still present in some vintages, but what linked these wines together was a seam of fine acidity aligned perfectly to bright, ripe fruit.

And as Louis says: ‘We’re working on making wines that are much more modern, are ready much earlier, and have much less power.’ They’ve clearly got a keen eye on the next generation of drinkers.

Château Fabre Gasparets: 20 vintages from 1994 to 2020

Wines are listed in order of vintage: oldest to youngest

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The ascension of Languedoc Grés de Montpellier to its own specific appellation status was approved on 30 November 2023 by the French National Institute for Origin and Quality (INAO).

Once the decree has been officially formalised, which will take place in the next few weeks, it will allow producers to label their wines as Grés de Montpellier from the 2024 vintage, dropping the preceding ‘Languedoc’ nomenclature.

‘The national commission found that the dossier [submitted by the winegrowers] proved that Grés de Montpellier is a terroir in its own right,’ Olivier Durand, president of the Grés de Montpellier appellation, told Decanter.

‘There is a collective pride,’ said Durand, ‘because, as well as being about a specific geographic and climatic terroir, this is a human story.’

The new appellation is designated for red wines only, made from Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre as principal varieties and Cinsault, Carignan and Morrastel as secondary varieties, and requiring a minimum of one year of ageing.

The Grés de Montpellier vineyard area, influenced by its proximity to the Mediterranean sea, covers 4,600ha in fragmented pockets around the city of Montpellier, stretching for 60km across 45 villages from Montagnac in the west to Lunel in the east. The vineyards, of which only 420ha are currently in production of Grés de Montpellier wines, are located on gently rolling hills, between 30m and 300m altitude, with stony soils.

According to Durand, not only does the decision of the INAO cement the appellation as the ‘flagship of Montpellier’, but it also allows the producers to ‘commercially justify a certain price for their wines’.

‘The goal is for these wines to be recognised as great wines of Languedoc,’ said Durand.

In 2011 the appellation created a special embossed bottle uniquely for Grés de Montpellier wines, like those of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Picpoul de Pinet.

Grés de Montpellier is the first to gain appellation status in the Languedoc since Pic St Loup in 2017, highlighting just how long the application process can take.

The success of Grés de Montpellier’s application to the INAO opens the door for the other of Languedoc’s complementary geographic denominations, such as Languedoc Montpeyroux, Languedoc Saint-Drézéry and Languedoc Saint-Georges d’Orques, to gain their own specific appellation status.

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A region as vast and geographically complicated as Languedoc is difficult, if not impossible, to generalise about. With so many appellations, topographies, microclimates, grape varieties and terroirs, it’s more than just the sum of its parts. Languedoc has moved into a new era, extending beyond the tropes of ‘great value’ and ‘rustic, hearty reds’.

Now is the time to discover the cutting edge of what’s happening in this region. Run, don’t walk, to snap up the exciting wines of Languedoc.

Scroll down to see notes and scores for 10 Languedoc wines worth seeking out

1. Whites

Most famous for its reds, Languedoc’s white wines may surprise, in that they are becoming a real source of freshness, intrigue and deliciousness. There are still vast plantings of international varieties such as Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc in the region, but it’s the local varieties that make the most complex and interesting wines. Carignan Blanc and (the rare) Gris, Grenache Blanc and Gris, Terret, Bourboulenc, Rolle, Mauzac and Clairette are being used to great effect in blends, alongside adopted varieties such as Roussanne, Marsanne, Viognier and Chenin Blanc.

Some producers are honing in on single-variety styles, and when sourced from old vines this can work very well, giving great concentration and varietal definition. There’s one appellation that’s dedicated solely to the production of dry whites, Picpoul de Pinet, which since its ascension to appellation status in 2013 has become a huge commercial success.

Other whites of the Languedoc region look set to follow suit. Sometimes it’s an entire appellation that impresses, while at others it’s more about individual producers. The whites of La Clape – classy, saline and fresh – have risen in profile as a success thanks to signature variety Bourboulenc’s racy acidity; look out for those from Sarrat de Goundy and Château Rouquette sur Mer. Terrasses du Larzac, where white varieties thrive in Languedoc’s cooler reaches, is working on plans to have its appellation regulations updated in order to include white wines. Check out producers Domaine Le Clos du Serres, Les Vignes Oubliées and Mas Cal Demoura for some seriously aromatically complex whites. I’ve been impressed by some white Corbières, but here you do have to know your producers: don’t miss the elegant La Bégou from Maxime Magnon (2021, £38 Roberson), and the whites from Château La Baronne and Pierre Bories.

2. Individuality

As appellations work hard to show drinkers exactly what defines their wines, we are moving away from the region being seen as ‘one monolithic block’, says Amber Gardner, wine consultant and head of sales at UK importer Emile Wines. Each appellation has its own distinguishing features, and the resulting wines cater for varying tastes. The cooler, wetter Pic St-Loup, for example, focuses on Syrah (minimum 50% in red blends, 30% in rosés), and you’ll find refined wines from Clos des Reboussiers, Domaine de l’Hortus and Mas Bruguière; while the warm, dry Corbières, especially its cru Boutenac, goes crazy for Carignan (up to 50% in red blends, 40% in rosés).

Terrasses du Larzac is one of the most dynamic appellations, with a sense of community and mutual respect among its producers. The influx of newcomers over the last 10 years, welcomed by the appellation’s leading names (not always a given in Languedoc), has created a fusion of sharp minds, fresh ideas and consequently standout wines. According to the appellation authorities, three-quarters of producers here cultivate using organic methods, and it’s increasing each year. Pioneers such as Mas Jullien have paved the way for ambitious boundary pushers like Domaine Flo Busch, Domaine Romain Portier and Mas d’Amile.

In his 2023 book The New French Wine (US$28.99 Ten Speed Press), Jon Bonné highlights St-Chinian and Faugères as showing ‘some of the strongest evidence of specific terroir identity in the region’, and while some still feel too extracted and heavy for modern times, there are elegant, satin-textured wines to be found from the likes of Domaine de Pech-Ménel and Terres Falmet in St-Chinian and from Domaine de Cébène and Clos Fantine in Faugères.

3. The outliers

While the appellation system lends structure and points of reference, Languedoc is also alive with producers ploughing their own furrow. Perhaps it’s what some see as excessively strict, outdated appellation rules, confusing classification hierarchy, or the obscurity of some appellations to consumers that have given rise to a host of outliers and artisans, of punks and wild warriors, pushed to cut themselves loose from the shackles of precise grape variety percentages and controlled yields. This is cowboy territory.

Labelling wines under one of Languedoc’s many regional IGP designations, or even Vin de France (which permits the blending of grapes with no region-based restrictions), is increasingly common, but shouldn’t be seen as a downgrade in quality. Often, it’s the opposite. Some famous names – Mas de Daumas Gassac and Domaine de la Grange des Pères – have done this for years, as have those in the more underground scene such as Domaine Ledogar, Les Sabots d’Hélène (with a wine called Anticonstitutionnellement: £24 Pure Wines) and Mas Coutelou. Scratch beneath the surface and you’ll reveal a whole other world. Look for whites with extended skin maceration, which works particularly well with Muscat, such as those from Clos du Gravillas (A Fleur de Peau 2021, £27 Sip Wines) and Domaine Mamaruta (Trafalgar or Zuru Zuru).

4. Experimentation

The rule-breaking artisan winemakers embody the Languedoc bywords of freedom and experimentation. Take, for example, the idea of blending white and red grapes, often from co-planted vineyards of local varieties. New from Clos du Gravillas is I’m Alive, a carbonic maceration Vin de France blend of the ancient Piquepouls Blanc, Noir and Gris, with a touch of Cinsault. Pale red in colour, the nose and palate are radiant with wild strawberry and tangy redcurrants, flecks of orange rind and dried thyme. Other producers playing with this technique include Domaine Jean-Baptiste Senat, Le Petit Domaine de Gimios and the tiny L’Absurde Génie des Fleurs.

The move away from new oak continues in earnest as a variety of vinification and ageing vessels step in to take its place. Eggs, amphorae, dolia and jars made from concrete, terracotta, stoneware and ceramic have become a common sight across the region. These help with textural complexity, as well as aiding microoxygenation without the intrusion of oak flavours. Small new oak barriques are an increasingly rare sight, nudged out by large foudre casks and even experimental barrels made from both oak and acacia, as at Domaine de la Dourbie.

Brigitte Chevalier of Domaine de Cébène admits that she wishes she had started using ceramic eggs and terracotta jars earlier than a few years ago, now saying: ‘I think that for the wines of Faugères, barrels are not justified.’

5. Lighter, fresher wines

Global wine consumption is decreasing – the OIV organisation reports that estimated consumption of 232m hl in 2022 marks a decrease of 2m hl on the previous year, furthering a decline from a peak of about 246m hl in 2017. With trade reports at the same time revealing increased consumer interest in lower-alcohol drinks of all kinds, Languedoc and its rising alcohol levels are in trouble. The way forward is lighter, fresher wines, which many winemakers are already achieving. As well as the blending of red and white grapes – which ‘helps to combat the rise in levels of alcohol brought on by climate change resulting in a fresher, crunchier style of red wine’, according to Ania Smelskaya, independent consultant and ex-sommelier – I’m also hearing more about infusion winemaking.

Often described by winemakers as the opposite of extraction, this gentle method of vinification uses whole bunches with very little punching down or pumping over, giving a lighter colour and less tannin but still with aromatic and textural complexity. This is contrary to the old image of the rich, overextracted, jammy Languedoc wine style: historically ‘people looked towards Languedoc when they wanted jam’, says Nicole Bojanowski of Clos du Gravillas.

One name has surfaced on numerous occasions during my travels across the region: Eric Pfifferling of Domaine l’Anglore. Over in the southern Rhône, his deep-hued Tavel rosés and delicate reds have garnered a cult following, and it’s to these wines that some forward-thinking Languedoc winemakers are looking. That this inspiration can be found so close to home – Tavel is almost within touching distance of Languedoc’s far-eastern border – shows there’s great potential for things to come. ‘This is the region’s future,’ says Bojanowski. If it’s freshness, elegance and supreme drinkability on the cards, count me in.

6. Greener drinking

The surface of certified organic vineyards in the Languedoc region has increased, according to L’Agence Bio, from 13,748ha in 2013 to 32,693ha in 2022, and the surface under conversion to organics from 3,857ha to 14,800ha. Many producers have embraced biodynamics and brought increased biodiversity to their vineyard ecosystem, while others carry out trials in vitiforestry – growing trees alongside or within vineyards – and regenerative viticulture, which focuses on the vineyard, its soils and surroundings as a whole ecosystem.

As unpredictable weather patterns, and in particular extreme drought, threaten the livelihoods of Languedoc’s winemakers, many are doing what they can to ensure their vines and wines survive in this new climatic era.

7. Old vines

‘They don’t have high yields, they’re hard to work. But the idea is to make good wine,’ says Maxime Magnon, whose white-variety vines in Corbières are 80-120 years old. There are many saviours of old vines in Languedoc, who nurture and protect their gnarled, misshapen charges with tenderness and devotion. Katie Jones, of Domaine Jones, tends almost exclusively old vines between 50 and 120 years old in Fitou, bottling most of them as single-variety wines. Her old-vine Carignan Gris cuvée is a wonderfully refined, complex wine. ‘You feel like you’re saving these old grape varieties,’ she says. The ‘(re-)valorisation of old-vine Carignan’, as wine writer and educator Heather Dougherty calls it, is seen in particular in Corbières-Boutenac, Minervois and Faugères.

8. Indigenous varieties

Once maligned, the native grape varieties of the south are resurfacing, and there are pockets of producers intent on bringing these back from oblivion, not only for their better resistance to dry conditions, which have become a catastrophic problem in the Languedoc region, but also to reconnect with local traditions. Thierry Navarre, in St-Chinian’s cru of Roquebrun, is a Ribeyrenc (or Rivairenc) evangelist.

‘Before phylloxera, this variety made up a third of plantings in some areas, particularly the Minervois,’ he says. Now there is only a smattering of vignerons with plantings, including the young Domaine Ampelhus, east of Montpellier. The variety is late-ripening, but the alcohol remains surprisingly low (Navarre’s pure Ribeyrenc cuvée only reaches 10%-11.5% abv and is light-coloured and juicy: 2021, £21.20 Theatre of Wine). The Bojanowskis at Clos du Gravillas in St-Jean de Minervois are well-known supporters of ancient local varieties, with Terret, Clairette and Piquepoul thriving on their limestone soils in the region’s west. The gris versions of these grapes are even rarer, but John Bojanowski says: ‘I’m convinced by pink grapes for making white wine.’ This diversity of vine material not only makes for more structural and aromatic complexity, but also acts as an insurance policy against increasingly unpredictable growing conditions.

Languedoc: Seven names to know

Beyond the names already cited, the following producers should also be on your radar…

CLOS DES JARRES, Minervois Vivien Hemelsdael makes fresh wines that sometimes stray away from the appellation norms.

DOMAINE DE VILLENEUVE, Pic St-Loup Softly spoken and a fount of knowledge, 28-year-old Victorine Fraisse is the new generation now heading up this family domaine.

ETIENNE FORT, Limoux Converting a portion of his family’s vineyards to organic and rescuing them from the cooperative, Etienne makes elegant, expressive Crémant and Blanquette. (+33(0)633434146)

LES HAUTES TERRES, Limoux A reference for high-quality still and sparkling in Limoux.

MAS COMBARELA, Terrasses du Larzac A relatively new domaine in the appellation, founded in 2016 by Olivier Faucon, and one to watch.

MAS FOULAQUIER, Pic St-Loup A biodynamic domaine in the northern reaches of the appellation, established by former architect Pierre Jéquier in 1998 and run since 2003 with his wife Blandine Chauchet.

YOHANN MORENO, Corbières A new young winemaker in Durban-Corbières, making waves in the natural wine scene. (@morenoyohann)

9. Imported grapes

On limestone above the village of Lagrasse in Corbières, Laurent Miquel has pioneered the planting of Albariño – the popular grape of Galicia in northwest Spain that Miquel had an inkling might work in Languedoc. He’s had great success, especially on export markets; his Albariño cuvées are hyper-refreshing, clean and precise (IGP Aude 2021, £12.50 Sainsbury’s, Waitrose). With climate change worsening, producers have been looking into grape varieties from other warm regions around the world. Château La Roque in Pic St-Loup has planted Malvasia Istriana and the Greek Assyrtiko grape, producing Vin de France bottlings of 1,700 and 600 bottles respectively in 2020. And in 2022, the AP Languedoc authority officially added Assyrtiko to its list of permitted subsidiary varieties, along with Italian Nero d’Avola and Montepulciano.

10. People & place

‘Languedoc has always been about people,’ says Marcel Orford-Williams, long-time buyer for UK merchant The Wine Society. ‘The key to knowing Languedoc and revealing its secrets is to know the people.’ Somewhat overwhelming, considering there are some 1,200 producers of all sizes in the region.

Complicating matters further are the cycles of newcomers and a new generation of youngsters taking over family domaines; but this just serves to inject the region with new energy, techniques, wine styles and ideas. Many of them have a sympathetic view of organic, biodynamic or regenerative practices, plus a strong concern for the environment, biodiversity and respecting the ecosystem in which they work. ‘They are going to bring a spirit of freedom,’ says Nicole Bojanowski in Minervois.

Land prices are slowly increasing in the region – figures from French agency Safer’s Le Prix des Terres arm show vineyard prices in the Aude, Hérault and Gard departments rising between 1% and 6% over 2021-2022. And prices per hectare of vineyard land in Pic St-Loup and Terrasses du Larzac are considerably higher than elsewhere in the region, averaging €72,000 and €27,500 respectively, compared with €16,000 in Faugères or €12,000 in St-Chinian, less elsewhere.

Yet Languedoc still remains affordable compared with many other French wine regions – 2022 values per hectare in Côtes du Rhône villages Rasteau and Tavel averaged €80,000 and €70,000, and for Bordeaux’s Haut-Médoc it was €60,000. Languedoc is therefore ‘bustling with creativity’, says Gardner at Emile Wines.

But there’s an ‘old-new’ generation that still acts as a reference point and as inspiration for the newbies, too; a selection of established names quietly beavering away making top-tier, modern wines have made space and shared their experience and expertise.

Rediscover Languedoc: 10 wines to tempt

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A large French winemaker protest is set to take place in Narbonne on 25 November, in the Aude area of Languedoc-Roussillon.

Frédéric Rouanet, head of the Aude winemakers’ union, called on Facebook for a ‘general strike in the vines’ on that day. 

Producers want the French government, as well as domestic merchants and supermarkets, to do more to help those facing financial difficulties, against a backdrop of higher costs.

News of the demonstration in Narbonne comes after protesters blockaded Le Boulou motorway toll station near the Spanish border in October, and attacked two lorries carrying wine into France from Spain.

They smashed the Spanish wine cargo of one trailer and opened the tank on another, sending its contents gushing out onto the road surface.

Rouanet told Decanter these were ‘acts of desperation’ by people facing serious difficulties. Whilst French producers’ costs have risen, prices for their wines have not, he said.

French rural affairs minister Dominique Faure recently criticised violence at Le Boulou, telling France Bleu she understood winemakers’ anger but couldn’t condone their methods. Spain’s Confederation of Freight Transport (CETM) urged authorities to do more to stop attacks on lorries.

Rouanet said today’s crisis was just as severe as those faced by previous generations in the region, which has a long history of winemaker protests and where vineyards continue to be a bedrock of the local economy.

Languedoc-Roussillon – now part of Occitanie – has undergone large-scale change in the past couple of decades. Its vineyards saw a significant amount of restructuring following European Union (EU) wine reforms agreed in 2008.

A new generation of winemakers has also gained wider international acclaim, and the area is known for some great-value, high-quality wines.

Yet the region is vast, and Rouanet told France Bleu local radio this week that several factors have damaged many producers’ finances in the area in recent years.

These include Covid, a difficult 2021 growing season and inflation linked to the war in Ukraine. He called on high-ranking ministers to visit the region to discuss the situation.

France’s agriculture ministry said on 9 November it would open a €20m emergency support fund for winemakers across the country with cashflow problems.

It acknowledged an ‘exceptional climatic and economic situation’ for the wine industry and reiterated it has offered significant aid, including a €200m scheme to help distil surplus wine into industrial alcohol earlier this year.

Ministers also pledged €38m to help fund a scheme to ‘grub up’ vineyards in Bordeaux, to prevent oversupply in future.

The government has said it will work with producers to develop a long-term plan to put France’s wine sector on a more sustainable footing.

Falling domestic consumption has been a major issue. Whilst France remains one the world’s biggest wine-drinking nations, industry leaders said at the end of 2022 that consumption has fallen by 70% in the past 60 years. 

Winemakers in other European Union countries have also faced problems.

The European Commission allowed crisis distillation across the bloc earlier this year. It highlighted falling wine consumption in France, Spain, Italy, Germany and Portugal, and also a decline in EU wine exports in the first four months of 2023. 

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In most of the Languedoc, the growing season got off to a good start, with a normal winter, dry in some places but sufficient rainfall in others, and no reports of damaging frosts.

Pic St Loup, one of the wettest appellations in the region, then had a particularly wet May and June. ‘This allowed for good fruitset,’ said Victorine Fraisse of Domaine de Villeneuve.

Benoît Viot, winemaker at Le Chemin des Rêves and president of the Pic St Loup appellation, added that there was about 200mm of rain during these two months, so ‘the vines were therefore able to approach summer with beautiful canopies, but there was strong mildew pressure to control’.

No rest for the wicked: the wet conditions meant ‘being ever present in the vines’, said Cyriaque Rozier of Château La Roque and Château Fontanès.

The threat of mildew in such damp, humid conditions was incredibly high, but those that were organised enough were able to treat it, although it kept them on their toes. Treatment with copper and sulphur was widespread throughout the region.

This rainy spring in Pic St Loup meant the vines had good water reserves going into summer, ‘which makes a change from the previous vintage’, said Marie Cavalier of Châtaux de Lascaux, ‘and the vines were able to resist the first heat of the summer months.’

But they were lucky. By contrast, other areas of the Languedoc were in desperate need of rain throughout the growing season. Peter Core, of Mas Gabriel near Pezenas, points out that the winter was very dry there; where annual rainfall is about 600mm, which mainly falls in the winter, this year they had just 350mm between last year’s harvest and the beginning of August this year.

In La Clape, the season started with very little rainfall. This was assuaged somewhat by downpours in mid-July, and the state of the grapes at that stage was excellent, with large bunches at fruitset according to François Bouscary of Château Rouquette sur Mer.

In Picpoul de Pinet the disease pressure was lower, but the drought was felt keenly, and as a result ‘the berries are very small’, said Claude Jourdan of Domaine Félines Jourdan.

The drought put many vines into hydric stress, and caused widespread blockages in maturity – 2023’s slogan was ‘still no rain,’ said Jourdan.

There are reports, though, that some varieties are managing the stress better than expected. ‘We’re realising that the vines are reacting very well,’ said Brigitte Chevalier of Domaine de Cébène in Faugères, ‘they stop growing, producing less leaves, thus limiting evapotranspiration.’

‘The vines surprise us with their resistance,’ added Clémence Fabre of Famille Fabre in the Corbières.

The worst is yet to come

But as the end of August arrived, so did disaster: 20 August brought an intense heatwave right across the region which saw temperatures rocket to 43 degrees and last for four days. This was compounded by nighttime temperatures not dropping below 30 degrees.

‘It was catastrophic,’ said Xavier Ledogar of Domaine Ledogar in the cru of Boutenac in the Corbières, an area which suffered particularly badly. He reported that in many plots the vines’ leaves were burned, and with no shade left to protect them, the grapes burned too. ‘This is the first time I’ve seen this,’ he said.

‘The heatwave accelerated maturity,’ said Xavier Bruguière of Mas Bruguière, and for many harvest was brought forward earlier than expected.

Ultimately the extent of the damage depended on variety (Syrah was in a bad way), soil type (deep roots in schist soils fared better), and water reserves (Pic St Loup’s spring rains helped).

As might be expected from such lack of water, in general berries were small, with little juice, so yields in general were down. That being said, there were some surprising instances of abundant yields and lots of juicy grapes.

‘Despite the fear, the drought, the heat and the few plots in distress, the vintage is very pretty,’ said Charlotte de Béarn of Château de Jonquières in Terrasses du Larzac.

How can vignerons maintain morale in the face of worsening extremes? Many don’t. One thing is certain: you need incredible resilience to be a vigneron in these times.

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It’s no secret that when it comes to finding quality wines with complexity and character at affordable price points, Languedoc is ripe for the picking.

Value isn’t its only calling card, but it is one of the main reasons Languedoc remains so exciting – you can discover new wine styles and experiment with grape varieties you’ve never tried before all without breaking the bank.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the 10 best value picks from the Languedoc report 2023

See the Languedoc report 2023 homepage

Individual appellation analysis:

Limoux | Corbières & Minervois | La Clape | St-Chinian | Faugères | Picpoul de Pinet | Terrasses du Larzac | Pic St Loup

Here is a breakdown of the top five value wines from each appellation from the Languedoc report 2023.

If any of the following wines are available to buy at retail in the UK, this has been indicated in the wine’s tasting note and most are £20 or less. Of those that are not available in the UK, I have selected wines that retail in France at €15 or less, except for appellations such as Pic St Loup and Terrasses du Larzac, where the wines representing the best score to price value have been selected.

Limoux

Clos Teisseire, Vue Sur Ciel, Haute Vallée de l’Aude 2022 – 92 points

Domaine Rosier, Cuvée Ma Maison, Blanquette de Limoux 2021 – 91 points

Domaine J Laurens Clos des Demoiselles Brut Crémant de Limoux 2021 – 90 points

Domaine Begude, L’Etoile, Limoux 2022 – 92 points

Plô Roucarels, La Petite Rive, Haute Vallée de l’Aude 2022 – 90 points

Corbières & Minervois

Domaine Py, Troisième Cuvée, Corbieres 2022 – 91 points

Château Beauregard Mirouze, Campana, Corbières 2022 – 90 points

Clos de L’Anhel, Le Lolo de L’Anhel, Corbières 2022 – 92 points

Domaine Combe Blanche, La Chandelière, Minervois La Livinière 2020 – 93 points

Château Maris, La Touge, Minervois La Livinière 2020 – 94 points

Picpoul de Pinet

Château Petit Roubié, L’O Sur Lie Patience, Picpoul de Pinet 2022– 92 points

Château Petit Roubié, Picpoul de Pinet 2022 – 92 points

Domaine Belle Mare, Classique, Picpoul de Pinet 2022 – 92 points

Font-Mars, Picpoul de Pinet 2022 – 92 points

Domaine Félines-Jourdan, Picpoul de Pinet 2022 – 91 points

St-Chinian

Domaine La Linquière, Fleur de Lin, St-Chinian 2021 – 93 points

Les Vignobles Foncalieu, Petit Paradis, St-Chinian 2022 – 88 points

Cave de Roquebrun, Les Fiefs d’Aupenac, St-Chinian 2020 – 93 points

Clos la Rivière, St-Chinian 2019 – 93 points

Clos Bagatelle, Sentiers de Bagatelle, Colline, St-Chinian 2020 – 90 points

Faugères

Domaine Ollier-Taillefer, Allegro, Faugères 2022 – 93 points

Mas Olivier, Blanc, Faugères 2022 – 90 points

Domaine de Cébène, Ex Arena, Faugères 2022 – 93 points

Château Chênaie, Conviction, Faugères 2021 – 93 points

Mas Olivier, Sélection, Faugères 2020 – 92 points

Terrasses du Larzac

Domaine Plan de l’Homme, Cuvée Khi, Terrasses du Larzac 2020 – 93 points

Mas de Cap Daniel, Les Cormiers, Terrasses du Larzac 2021 – 91 points

Castelbarry, Les Raisins d’Y Croire, Terrasses du Larzac 2019 – 90 points

Château de Jonquieres, Lansade, Terrasses du Larzac 2021 – 90 points

Mas d’Amile, Le Petitou, Terrasses du Larzac 2021 – 90 points

Pic St Loup

Château de Lascaux, Carra Rosé, Pic St-Loup 2022 – 93 points

Château de Lancyre, Vieilles Vignes, Pic St-Loup 2020 – 93 points

Le Chemin des Rêves, L’Optimiste, Pic St-Loup 2021 – 93 points

Château de Cazeneuve, Les Calcaires, Pic St-Loup 2021 – 92 points

Domaine de Villeneuve, La Muse, Pic St-Loup 2021– 92 points

La Clape

Château Rouquette sur Mer Cuvée Arpege – 92 points

Château La Negly La Brise Marine – 92 points

Cave La Clape L’Empreinte – 90 points

Sarrat de Goundy, Le Moulin 2021 – 90 points

Château Combe des Ducs, Pierres de Mer 2021 – 90 points

See the Languedoc latest releases score tables:

All top-scoring wines

All top-scoring white wines

All top-scoring red wines

Individual appellation analyis:

Limoux | Corbières & Minervois | La Clape | St-Chinian | Faugères | Picpoul de Pinet | Terrasses du Larzac | Pic St Loup

The 10 best value picks from the Languedoc report 2023:

The wines below are listed by style then score.

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La Clape 2022 vintage rating: 4 / 5

La Clape 2021 vintage rating: 3.5 / 5

Such is La Clape’s ecological importance that it has been classified three times: it is a natural heritage site, a regional natural park, and a European Union Natura 2000 site. A triple-pronged environmental ranking which, in theory, strongly protects it, and has meant that it remains a relatively wild enclave in what is a highly touristic area.

Despite this protection, one of its main (and increasing) risks is fire. The vegetation across the rocky limestone bluff that forms the La Clape Massif is incredibly dense and dry, and with the sunny, dry, windy weather conditions wild fires can be a major problem. Access to the massif is often blocked off when the risk of fire is high.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the top La Clape wines from 2022 & 2021

See all La Clape latest releases rated

2021

The growing season

The frost that hit many other areas of Languedoc in spring had little impact in La Clape, due to the proximity to the sea.

It was an extremely dry year for the appellation, with very little rain and yields were very low.

A significant fire burned through 100ha of land at Château Rouquette sur Mer. Thankfully there were no huge losses, with only one vine that died, except for around 100hl of wine which was severely affected by smoke taint and completely unusable, according to François Bouscary of Château Rouquette sur Mer.

Reds

The reds from 2021 show both power and freshness, although a few are a little awkward and porty. The successes are plump and ripe, supported by good acidity and an aromatic profile that really puts garrigue herbs front and centre.

Languedoc latest releases homepage

2022

The growing season

La Clape’s proximity to the sea tempers the climate, meaning it experiences less extremes, limiting temperature variations. It hardly ever frosts or hails, so the hail alert for some zones in 2022 was an unwelcome surprise. Luckily the impact was limited.

One of the main pressures for growers here is hydric stress; lack of rainfall can be severe, and 2022 was particularly dry, with a long and hot summer. At Château La Négly the harvest started early, at the beginning of August.

Whites

All of the whites featured here are from the 2022 vintage and they possess good concentration of ripe white stone fruit and citrus, and many enjoy distinct honeysuckle and blossom notes. The characteristic iodine note is there in most of them, although many also have an oily richness and a few are showing their alcohol.

Bourboulenc is not only La Clape’s emblematic white variety, it is also its safety net. It is late-ripening, so arrives at maturity when temperatures are a little cooler, preserving its elegant aromatics. It’s well suited to La Clape’s warm, dry conditions and a changing climate.

Top-scoring wines

White

Château Pech Redon, Epervier 2022 – 93 points

Château Rouquette sur Mer Cuvée Arpege – 92 points

Red

Sarrat de Goundy, La Combe aux Louves 2021 – 92 points

Château L’Hospitalet, Grand Vin 2021 – 91 points

Château Pech Redon, Epervier 2020 – 91 points

Sarrat de Goundy, La Planteur 2021 – 91 points

See the Languedoc latest releases score tables:

All top-scoring wines

All top-scoring white wines

All top-scoring red wines

Top five value wines

Château Rouquette sur Mer Cuvée Arpege – 92 points

Château La Negly La Brise Marine – 92 points

Cave La Clape L’Empreinte – 90 points

Sarrat de Goundy, Le Moulin 2021 – 90 points

Château Combe des Ducs, Pierres de Mer 2021 – 90 points

Individual appellation analyis:

Limoux | Corbières & Minervois | St-Chinian | Faugères | Picpoul de Pinet | Terrasses du Larzac | Pic St Loup

Top five producers to look out for

Château Rouquette sur Mer

Less than 1km as the crow flies from the blue waters of the Mediterranean, the vineyards stretch back from the château up onto the limestone chunk that is the La Clape massif. Standing in the vineyard looking seaward, buffeted by the marine breezes, it’s not hard to imagine why the wines have a distinct saline tang.

Château les Bugadelles

Some good wines coming out of this organic estate.

Combes des Ducs

A fourth-generation domaine with 50ha of vines making whites, reds, and even some sweet Muscats.

Sarrat de Goundy

Not only is the restaurant well worth a visit, but the wines are also very good, expressive and fine.

Château Pech Redon

A stalwart in the region, Château Pech Redon continues to produce refined, ageworthy wines.

Tasting notes and scores for the top La Clape latest releases:

The wines below are listed by score.

Related articles

• Top 10 Languedoc wineries to visit
• Alsace Grand Cru vintage report: 2020 & 2021
• Corbières Reds: Panel tasting results

Terrasses du Larzac 2021 vintage rating: 4 / 5

Terrasses du Larzac 2020 vintage rating: 5 / 5

The Terrasses du Larzac zone is fairly spread out, the vineyard area forming a v-shape around the foothills of a limestone plateau, the Causse du Larzac. The areas classified under the appellation appear a little scattergun when looking at a map. They’re concentrated around the village of Jonquières, the bottom of the ‘V’, while others are some 30km northwest and a few more some 50km northeast.

This is one of few appellations where Carignan is a principal variety (not relegated to a secondary or accessory variety). The others are Syrah, Mourvèdre and Grenache, with Cinsault becoming more important too.

I’ve been blown away by the style and class of these wines. This really is Languedoc’s bijou. It is beginning to be reflected in the price of the wines, however, so now is the time to start snapping them up.

See the Languedoc report 2023 homepage

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the top Terrasses du Larzac wines from 2020 & 2021

2020

The growing season

Coming off the back of two difficult and extreme vintages – the devastating mildew of 2018 and the heat and drought of 2019 – 2020 presents itself as an ideal vintage in Terrasses du Larzac.

‘2020 was a beautiful year,’ says Sébastien Fillon, president of the Terrasses du Larzac appellation and owner of Domaine Le Clos du Serres.

‘Spring brought generous rain and wind,’ says Charlotte de Béarn of Château de Jonquières, in the village of Jonquières at the heart of the appellation. She and her husband Clément are the new generation at this domaine, having taken over from Charlotte’s parents in 2014.

The wind acted as a natural treatment against mildew, making for ripe, healthy grapes when harvest came.

Reds

The 2020 reds are spectacular; utterly delicious to drink now, but they will also age into the medium term due to juicy, succulent acidities.

These wines show better consistency than the 2021s, they’re well balanced with great freshness. The best have exceptional concentration of ripe red and black fruit but with a magical lift, an aerial quality and a mineral, iodine, herbal seam.

See the Languedoc latest releases score tables:

All top-scoring wines

All top-scoring white wines

All top-scoring red wines

See all Terrasses du Larzac latest releases rated

2021

The growing season

In contrast to 2020, 2021 was a cool vintage overall. At Château de Jonquières, the frost of 8 April ‘intensely disrupted the vines,’ says De Béarn. This lead to many domaines losing a large part of their crop, sometimes up to 80% according to Fillon.

‘We lost about half of the Grenache Blanc and Grenache Noir,’ says Flo Busch of his eponymous domaine, also located in the village of Jonquières, ‘but luckily the other vineyards were not much affected.’

What seemed a complete disaster at the time was improved slightly by some vines pulling round later in the season: ‘the losses are considerable, but are not as colossal as we estimated in the early hours of that frosty morning,’ says De Béarn, ‘where some vines were down 70%, others restarted, saving what would end up as a small harvest.’

This challenging episode was followed by a fair amount of rain during the growing season and around harvest. Coupled together, they delayed and disrupted ripening, and had the effect of ‘elongating the harvest, with up to 15 days between two plots, right into the middle of September,’ says De Béarn.

It also meant that it was difficult for some grapes to reach maturity: ‘for a fragile variety like Cinsault, it was was fairly difficult to reach maturity while keeping healthy grapes,’ says Fillon. ‘The grapes were very slightly underripe,’ says Julien Zernott, winemaker at Domaine du Pas de l’Escalette, but it also allowed them to harvest grapes with balanced alcohol levels.

A difficult vintage overall with lower yields and disease pressure, therefore much depended on the reactions and decisions of the winemakers at each moment. ‘There were choices to make and risks to take,’ says Fillon.

Reds

This has resulted in wines with high acidities, moderate alcohol levels, and enough ripe fruit to keep the wines very balanced. It should also mean that these are good wines to cellar for at least 10-15 years.

The best have dazzling aromatics and many show sophisticated herbal nuances spreading through mint, wild thyme and laurel. The less successful examples, while still enjoyable to drink now, lack a little aromatic finesse.

Top-scoring wines

Mas d’Agamas, Baies Choisies, Terrasses du Larzac 2020 – 95 points

Mas Cal Demoura, Les Combariolles, Terrasses du Larzac, 2021 – 95 points

La Jasse Castel, Bleu Velours, Terrasses du Larzac 2021 – 94 points

Domaine du Pas de l’Escalette, Le Grand Pas, Terrasses du Larzac 2021 – 94 points

Individual appellation analysis:

Limoux | Corbières & Minervois | St-Chinian | Faugères | Picpoul de Pinet | Pic St Loup | La Clape

Top five value wines

Domaine Plan de l’Homme, Cuvée Khi, Terrasses du Larzac 2020 – 93 points

Mas de Cap Daniel, Les Cormiers, Terrasses du Larzac 2021 – 91 points

Castelbarry, Les Raisins d’Y Croire, Terrasses du Larzac 2019 – 90 points

Château de Jonquieres, Lansade, Terrasses du Larzac 2021 – 90 points

Mas d’Amile, Le Petitou, Terrasses du Larzac 2021 – 90 points

Top producers to look out for

Domaine du Pas de l’Escalette

Top-quality biodynamic domaine with 22ha started by Julien and Delphine Zernott, both of whom are originally from the centre of France. Clay-limestone soils, with a particularity of old Carignan and old Cinsault.

Le Clos du Serres

Also incomers to the region, Sébastien, who is also the appellation’s current president, and his wife Béatrice run this 15ha domaine and make elegant wines.

Les Vignes Oubliées

A sort of small cooperative where the grapes come from a collective of a few farmers working tiny parcels as naturally as possible, and the wines are made by Jean-Baptiste Granier.

Mas Conscience

A domaine which was relaunched in 2020 and is now run by a number of renowned winemakers including Audrey Bonnet-Koenig, Claude Gros and Stéphane Canaguie.

Tasting notes and scores for the top Terrasses du Larzac latest releases:

The wines below are listed by score.

Related articles

• Top 10 Languedoc wineries to visit
• Alsace Grand Cru vintage report: 2020 & 2021
• Corbières Reds: Panel tasting results

Pic St Loup 2021 vintage rating: 4 / 5

Pic St Loup 2020 vintage rating: 4.5 / 5

Pic St Loup is currently the youngest appellation to have gained its own AP status, in 2017. It’s only 25km long, covering 17 villages, and is the most easterly of the Languedoc appellations. Rainfall is high and temperatures are cooler compared to other areas of Languedoc, and the climate is fairly consistent across the appellation. 90% of the production is red and 10% is rosé, with no whites currently allowed under the region’s regulations.

‘The northern Rhône aside, nowhere in France can offer better Syrah aromatic profiles than Pic St-Loup: floral, lifted and beguiling yet authentically southern, like a citrus grove on a warm spring evening,’ says Andrew Jefford in his profile of the region in the February 2021 issue of Decanter.

These are elegant, refined expressions of Syrah that often illicit comparisons with the northern Rhône. The wines are enticing, fragrant, with great aromatic finesse.

See the Languedoc report 2023 homepage

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the top Pic St Loup wines from 2020 & 2021

2020

The growing season

Winter rains replenished the vines’ water reserves and spring started off fairly early, sunny and warm. This was followed by a particularly hot and dry summer. The drought was relieved by a few summer storms in mid-August.

The harvest started quite early, and for some it lasted a long time, up to six weeks for Château de Lascaux. Yields were generous.

Reds

The 2020 reds are profound and alluring, the aromas a kaleidoscope of complex smoky-tinged fruit and black olive savouriness. They’re structured and concentrated with fine silken tannins and a fresh mineral streak.

See the Languedoc latest releases score tables:

All top-scoring wines

All top-scoring white wines

All top-scoring red wines

See all Pic St Loup latest releases rated

2021

The growing season

As with many other areas of France and Europe in general, Pic St Loup was hit by stark April frosts. ‘This intense period stopped the vines’ development for almost two weeks,’ says Benoît Viot, president of the Pic St Loup appellation and winemaker at Le Chemin des Rêves.

Cyriaque Rozier, winemaker at Château La Roque and Château Fontanès, and his wife Natalia Romanchenko remark that they lost 35% of the crop to frost at Château La Roque, therefore decided to make only one red cuvée, out of their usual four.

What followed was ‘a summer without excessive heat, with cool nights,’ says Marie Cavalier of Châtaux de Lascaux. Victorine Fraisse, the new generation at Domaine de Villeneuve, says that the summer saw several storms, too.

This all lead to delayed ripening and lower alcohol levels.

Reds

The yields are small, yet with its lower alcohols and high acidity, this vintage in Pic St Loup will likely please many drinkers in search of lighter, fresher wines.

2022

Growing season

While the 2022 reds are not yet on the market, it is worth commenting on this vintage for the rosés, given that Pic St Loup produces exclusively reds and rosés.

This was a markedly different year to 2021, with localised variations in rainfall and temperatures. ‘A hailstorm hit parts of the appellation from Claret to Vacquières/Corconne at the end of June,’ says Fraise. Elsewhere, though, it was a little different: ‘there was low rainfall in late spring and summer,’ says Rozier.

What started out as an extremely hot and dry summer ended with a few summer storms and heavy rain at the begining of December.

‘The winegrowers had to take risks and stagger the harvest,’ says Viot.

Rosé

The rosés are bright and vivid, with lots of fresh red fruit and spice. We will see how the reds turn out.

Individual appellation analysis:

Limoux | Corbières & Minervois | St-Chinian | Faugères | Picpoul de Pinet | Terrasses du Larzac | La Clape

Top-scoring wines

Clos des Reboussiers, Pic St-Loup 2020 – 94 points

Domaine de l’Hortus, Le Dit de l’Hortus l’Ombrée, Pic St-Loup 2020 – 94 points

Le Chemin des Rêves, La Soie, Pic St-Loup 2021 – 94 points

Mas Bruguière, La Grenadière, Pic St-Loup 2021 – 94 points

Top five value wines

Château de Lascaux, Carra Rosé, Pic St-Loup 2022 – 93 points

Château de Lancyre, Vieilles Vignes, Pic St-Loup 2020 – 93 points

Le Chemin des Rêves, L’Optimiste, Pic St-Loup 2021 – 93 points

Château de Cazeneuve, Les Calcaires, Pic St-Loup 2021 – 92 points

Domaine de Villeneuve, La Muse, Pic St-Loup 2021– 92 points

Top producers to look out for

Domaine de l’Hortus

A pioneer of the appellation and neighbours with Mas Bruguière, wedged between the Pic St Loup itself and the Montagne de l’Hortus.

Domaine de Villeneuve

Run by Anne-Lisse Fraisse-Florac since 2005 who has now passed the reins to her 28-year-old daughter Victorine. A real breath of fresh air. Production is predominantly Pic St Loup, however there are lots of cuvées and lots of experimentation.

Le Chemin des Rêves

An ex-pharmacist who turned to winemaking, Benoît Viot is the current president of the appellation and now has 17ha of organic vines.

Mas Bruguière

These wines are compelling; firm in their youth but refined. The vineyards, 12ha in total, are spectacular. One dramatic plot sits right at the foot of the Montagne de l’Hortus.

Tasting notes and scores for the top Pic St Loup latest releases:

The wines below are listed by order.

Related articles

• Top 10 Languedoc wineries to visit
• Alsace Grand Cru vintage report: 2020 & 2021
• Corbières Reds: Panel tasting results

When Gérard Bertrand decided to create a top-tier rosé to partner his top-tier red, Clos d’Ora, he set about searching for the perfect terroir. Bearing in mind the freshness that could be found at higher altitude along the foothills of the Massif Central, Bertrand’s search brought him to the small wine region of Cabrières, north of Montpellier.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for five vintages of Clos du Temple

The location

Cabrières is an extension of the schist soils of Faugères to the west. There are also occasional limestone and volcanic outcrops, including the extinct 480m Pic de Vissou volcano, around which the vineyards extend in an undulating amphitheatre. There are many underground springs and waterways here – including the famous Estabel spring which has only flowed 11 times since 1856 – all helping maintain freshness and acidity in the grapes.

One of the Languedoc’s many sub-appellations, Cabrières is the only one to allow Cinsault as its primary grape variety. Archival records dating back to 1357 mention a ‘vin vermeil de l’Estabel’, a dark, oaked rosé made with Carignan and Cinsault in this area. Grenache, Bertrand’s favourite variety for rosé, was introduced in the 1970s, and he was keen to find a vineyard with old vines.

The rosé project begins

In 2016 Bertrand bought Domaine du Temple and Château des Deux Rocs, combining them to reach 35ha. For the next two years, biodynamic practices were introduced and fruit and wines were studied to identify the best terroir for the rosé. Bertrand identified an area of 12ha on steep, south-southwest facing slopes rising from 150-240m. The area was already partially defined by walls, which Bertrand completed, creating the Clos. A modern cellar was constructed into the hillside, designed by French architect François Fontès.

There is some co-planting in the oldest plots of 50-to-60-year-old Cinsault and Grenache vines, as well as some old Aramon, Terret Gris and Blanc, Piquepoul Noir, Carignan Blanc and Noir, and Mourvèdre, as well as more recently planted Syrah and Viognier.

Clos du Temple rosé: the details

Bertrand’s group technical director, Guillaume Barraud, and Clos du Temple winemaker, Benjamin Gadois, direct the harvest, which is done in three goes. The first harvest focuses on freshness and acidity, the second on ripeness and plumpness and the third on concentration and complexity. The grapes are chilled and pressed, some without destemming or crushing, under inert conditions.

The grapes start their temperature-controlled fermentation using indigenous yeast in a combination of pyramidal vats, steel tanks and concrete tanks, which allow for micro-oxygenation. Halfway through fermentation, the wine is transferred to barrels. Bertrand is a firm believer in adapting the barrels to variety and vintage, using oak and acacia in different sizes and from different sources.

Malolactic fermentation is prevented to preserve freshness. Half of the wine is aged in new wood for six to 10 months to give structure, ageing capacity and aroma. Bottling is carried out on a fruit day in the lunar calendar.

During blending, Bertrand finds that ‘old vine Cinsault, Grenache and Syrah give structure; Mourvèdre brings the final touch, enhancing the wine, and Viognier contributes to the aromatic complexity.’ In all vintages but the 2022, floral notes are evident, attributable to the Viognier.

How does Clos du Temple taste?

Clos du Temple is far from being a classic, fresh, fruity rosé. It has the weight and structure to accompany stronger white meats such as veal and game, but also the freshness to accompany fish.

Chefs such as Guy Savoy, of the eponymous restaurant in Paris, have raised the level of food matching by introducing unique seasoning and flavour combinations: the earthiness of lentils, the aromatic notes of Timut pepper, the sweetness of lobster and the saline notes of liquorice go extremely well with the rosé.

Bertrand made a conscious decision to make a quality rosé which would age, and therefore has kept back a significant number of bottles from each vintage to allow for vertical tastings.

Beautiful as the bottle is, it would be impressive to see these older vintages in dark glass for protection from light strike. It also may benefit from a slightly later release date – the 2022 is certainly not ready to be drunk today.

Know your vintages

2018 – A wetter than usual vintage. This was a tropical year, with a wet, humid spring that caused the vines to grow fast, which resulted in fresh ripe fruit.

2019 – A hot summer. This was the year of the heatwave, with two days over 45C, creating robust, intense wines. Some refrigeration was carried out to preserve freshness, aromas and a pale colour.

2020 – There was a humid spring, and rainfall for the year was 600mm-700 mm, as opposed to the more normal 400mm-500mm. This was followed by a hot dry summer. More wine was aged in 500-litre barrels this year, and there was a little more Syrah for extra minerality.

2021 – Following a damp winter and mild spring, the season was marked with alternating hot and temperate patches and drought conditions. Wines achieved fresh acidity.

2022 – Following a mild, wet winter, the vines experienced early budding, 15 days in advance. After a cool spring there was a hot dry summer, with storms at the end of June. Despite the heatwave, there was no hydric stress. Harvest started slightly earlier with Viognier and finished with the Mourvèdre.

Five vintages of Clos du Temple:

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Faugères 2021 vintage rating: 4 / 5

Faugères 2020 vintage rating: 4.5 / 5

In the foothills of the Cévennes mountains, with vineyards dotted across dips and slopes between 150m and 400m altitude, Faugères is synonymous with schist soils. With its flaky sheets that crack and crumble, schist allows the roots of the vines to slither deep down through its layers, in search of the droplets of water that reside there.

The majority of production is red, at 79%, with only 4% of white. One of the most impressive and forward thinking actions of the appellation in the last 15 years has been the ban on herbicide use, which was entered into the appellation regulations in 2011. 50% of producers practise organic viticulture, and ‘everyone has taken measures to reduce chemical entrants in the soil,’ says Jérôme Salles, vice president of the only cooperative winery in Faugères, Mas Olivier.

See the Languedoc report 2023 homepage

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the top Faugères wines from 2021 & 2020

2020

The growing season

2020 was a vintage that ‘took it’s time to reach maturity,’ says Brigitte Chevalier of Domaine de Cébène.

There was rain in May and cooler weather into June; some humidity meant that ‘we had mildew, but less than in 2018,’ says Corine Andrieu of Clos Fantine. This lead to the wines losing some of their leaves, and Andrieu believes it was therefore the roots that had to work to nourish the fruit.

This was followed by a very hot and dry summer, and the yield was relatively small for some.

Reds

The reds that are still available from 2020 are a little varied in quality and style but most are accessible now, offering good drinkability. The best have waves of fresh acidity, silky, velvety tannins and ripe, balanced fruit, while less successful wines have harsh, underripe tannins and a leaner fruit profile.

See the Languedoc latest releases score tables:

All top-scoring wines

All top-scoring white wines

All top-scoring red wines

See notes and scores for all Faugères latest releases rated

2021

The growing season

Starting with regular rain over the winter, this extended into spring, which ‘allowed regular sustenance for the vines,’ says Chevalier.

‘Spring and summer were fresh and rainy,’ says Pierre Jacquet of Domaine Binet-Jacquet, and in fact there was more rain over the summer than usual.

‘Rain just before harvest caused the berries to swell,’ says Chevalier, and they ended up much larger than usual.

Reds

Some may fear dilution in a vintage such as this, however this didn’t present itself during my tastings. The top wines have great depth of fruit, substance, refined tannins and surging freshness. Some even have a little red-fruited quality on top of dark stone and flinty minerality. Only a few lacked concentration.

2022

All of the whites tasted were from the 2022 vintage, and there are a couple of 2022 reds already on the market, so it is worth taking note of this vintage, which was very hot and extremely dry.

There was hardly any rain after spring, and ‘the rare rainy spells couldn’t penetrate deep enough into the soils and reach the vines roots,’ says Chevalier.

The older vines fared better, where the deep established roots can find water in the cracks in the schist rock.

Jacquet says that some rain between mid-August and the beginning of September ‘saved the harvest’, although such lack of water would have produced small berries with ticker skins and less juice.

The whites are ripe, exotic, with a little nuttiness, but generally fair balance. The 2022 reds on the market already are those made in a fresh, immediate, more light-bodied style, very fruity and supple.

Coming this week – individual appellation analysis:

Limoux | Corbières & Minervois | St-Chinian | Picpoul de Pinet | Terrasses du Larzac | Pic St Loup | La Clape

Top-scoring wines

White

Domaine Ollier-Taillefer, Allegro, Faugères 2022 – 93 points

Red

Domaine de Cébène, Belle Lurette, Faugères 2021 – 95 points

Domaine Binet-Jacquet, Réserve, Faugères 2020 – 95 points

Top five value wines

Domaine Ollier-Taillefer, Allegro, Faugères 2022–93 points

Mas Olivier, Blanc, Faugères 2022 – 90 points

Domaine de Cébène, Ex Arena, Faugères 2022 – 93 points

Château Chênaie, Conviction, Faugères 2021 – 93 points

Mas Olivier, Sélection, Faugères 2020 – 92 points

Top producers to look out for

Domaine Binet-Jacquet

A biodynamic domaine of 9ha set up by Pierre Jacquet and Olivier Binet, planted completely anew, with their first harvest in 2005. They sourced massal selection vines of Grenache and Carignan from Priorat and Syrah from the Rhône.

Domaine de Cébène

Brigitte Chevalier has forged a path within this small Languedoc appellation and has become well known for producing wines of great finesse. Her wines are structured, with satin tannins and a profound sweet succulence that’s impossible to resist.

Domaine Ollier-Taillefer

Run by brother and sister Luc and Françoise Ollier, this is an organic domaine of 36ha that offers excellent consistency in its range of wines.

Mas Lou

A young domaine with 8ha between 200m and 300m, lively and fresh wines, one to watch.

See the Languedoc report 2023 homepage

Tasting notes and scores for the top Faugères latest releases:

The wines below are listed by score.

Related articles

• Top 10 Languedoc wineries to visit
• Alsace Grand Cru vintage report: 2020 & 2021
• Corbières Reds: Panel tasting results

St-Chinian 2021 vintage rating: 4 / 5

St-Chinian 2020 vintage rating: 4.5 / 5

If there’s one thing to remember about St-Chinian (beyond the fact that its reds, and increasingly whites, are of exceptional quality), it would be the two terroir heavyweights of the appellation: schist vs limestone. More or less divided in two, schist dominates in the northwest and limestone in the southeast.

Broadly speaking, the wines from schist soils are more accessible early on, with distinct coffee bean and roasted characters and fine tannins, whereas those from limestone soils have a denser tannic structure yet good freshness.

White wines were added to the St-Chinian appellation in 2004, but they remain a relative rarity – only 5% of production is white. There’s great promise for St-Chinian whites though; Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Marsanne, Rolle, Carignan Blanc, Clairette and Viognier form the painter’s palette. Many of the whites have seen some oak, are well structured and tend towards opulence. Rolle lends its lovely floral fragrance, Grenache Blanc brings bitter stoniness. When all is in balance, a fresh and chalky, rocky structure is engraved with rich notes of nut oil and preserved lemons, and it’s really quite captivating. Paring back on overt oak might give these wines even more definition.

Out of the dichotomy of its two terroirs St-Chinian emerges as a high-quality appellation making characterful wines worthy of attention, and the most recent vintages support this. However, as consumers look towards lighter, fresher wines with lower alcohol, some of the over-extracted, overtly oaked examples that are still being produced may not prove popular.

See the Languedoc report 2023 homepage

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the top St-Chinian wines from 2020 & 2021

2020

The growing season

Following a mild winter and fairly warm spring, rain arrived in May and brought with it problems of disease in the vines. Yves Falmet, of Domaine Terres Falmet in the south of the appellation, recalls that there was ‘strong mildew pressure’. Overall, though, this was a very good vintage, with a hot summer producing good ripeness and well-balanced wines.

Whites

There are a few 2020 whites on the market now, but most have moved onto 2021s. The 2020s tasted showed the ripeness and heat of the vintage, with good concentration and fruit complexity.

Reds

The 2020 reds are excellent, with supple berry fruit, lots of spice, deep charred characters and really succulent acidity. They’re drinking very well now. That being said, some still tend towards over-extraction and jamminess. This is likely a stylistic choice though, with some wines feeling a little old-fashioned.

See the Languedoc latest releases score tables:

All top-scoring wines

All top-scoring white wines

All top-scoring red wines

See notes and scores for all St-Chinian latest releases rated

2021

The growing season

‘Spring frosts meant that maturity arrived late, and there was a small yield,’ says Thierry Navarre of his eponymous domaine in the town of Roquebrun, in the northern, schist-dominant part of the appellation. 

The frosts were fairly localised though, and due to the extremely varied topography of the entire St-Chinian growing area, those with vines on slopes avoided the worst of it.

Falmet has vines on a north-facing outcrop of limestone, ‘some nearby vineyards were impacted by the frost, but as my vines are on a slope, the cold air stays at the bottom, my vines weren’t really affected,’ he says. The fact that he also prunes particularly late means that the vines had not yet gone through budbreak by the time the frost arrived.

Whites

Overall the 2021 whites really impressed. Delicate, floral, with great intensity of citrus fruit and lots of textural complexity.

A quick note on the 2022 whites, many of which are now on the market: these need a little more time in bottle; they’re plush, luscious and a little waxy.

Reds

Where the whites excelled, the reds didn’t quite meet the same heights. 2021 reds had hefty tannins, which appear a little spiky in some of the wines. There seems to be enough ripeness, though, so they should soften in time.

Idividual appellation analysis:

Limoux | Corbières & Minervois | Faugères | Picpoul de Pinet | Terrasses de Larzac | Pic St Loup | La Clape

Top-scoring wines

White

Domaine des Pradels-Quartironi, Le Moineau des Glycines, St-Chinian 2020 – 94 points

Red

Thierry Navarre, Ribeyrenc, St-Chinian 2021 – 94 points

Thierry Navarre, Le Laouzil, St-Chinian 2021 – 94 points

Terres Falmet, L’Ivresse des Cimes, St-Chinian 2021 – 94 points

Top five value wines

Domaine La Linquière, Fleur de Lin, St-Chinian 2021 – 93 points

Les Vignobles Foncalieu, Petit Paradis, St-Chinian 2022 – 88 points

Cave de Roquebrun, Les Fiefs d’Aupenac, St-Chinian 2020 – 93 points

Clos la Rivière, St-Chinian 2019 – 93 points

Clos Bagatelle, Sentiers de Bagatelle, Colline, St-Chinian 2020 – 90 points

Top five producers to look out for

Domaine de Pech Ménel

A domaine run by sisters Elisabeth and Marie-Françoise Poux whose wines show the elegance and ageability of St-Chinian reds.

Domaine des Pradels-Quartironi

An organic family domaine in the north of the appellation, I was particularly impressed by the white, which offers great value for money.

Domaine La Linquière

A domaine of 25ha, it was the white that took my breath away here, Rolle and Grenache Blanc in a delicate blend of crushed rocks and apple blossom.

Domaine Terres Falmet

Vines on the north face of a steep limestone slope, which looks more like a landscape found in Burgundy or Champagne. Grapes are harvested ultra ripe, macerations are long, the wines are structured yet poised, with good freshness and character. As well as a top-class St-Chinian cuvée, owner and winemaker Yves Falmet makes a number of single-variety wines, giving Aramon, Carignan, Mourvèdre and Cinsault their time in the spotlight.

Thierry Navarre

Based in the picturesque town of Roquebrun, Thierry Navarre followed in the footsteps of his grandfather and father, who were also ‘des hommes de la terre’ (men of the earth), he says. From the early days he has been a proponent of ancient local varieties, such as Rivairenc.

See the Languedoc report 2023 homepage

Tasting notes and scores for the top St-Chinian latest releases:

The wines below are listed by score.

Related articles

• Top 10 Languedoc wineries to visit
• Alsace Grand Cru vintage report: 2020 & 2021
• Corbières Reds: Panel tasting results

Inside the November 2023 issue of Decanter magazine:

FEATURES

• Winter party wines: 25 at £20 or under This great-value selection, handpicked by the Decanter team, is guaranteed to get the party started
• NV redefined Tom Hewson on why the non-vintage category has never been more exciting
• Ten reasons to rediscover Languedoc Natalie Earl urges us to rethink this vibrant and diverse region, and picks some top buys
• Weingut Willi Schaefer Clive Pursehouse visits one of the great, historic names of Mosel Riesling
• The wines of Lebanon Rupert Joy visited top estates in this beautiful and historic country, before the outbreak of hostilities in the region
• Vintage preview: Paso Robles 2021 Brianne Cohen picks her favorite reds from a near-perfect vintage
• Ontario Chardonnay Look beyond icewine to the area’s cool-climate Chardonnays, says Tina Gellie

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• Wine wisdom Expert tips to help you on your journey through wine

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• Distilled Spirits, cocktails, insight – plus five of the best sloe gins
• Best after-dinner drinks Julie Sheppard introduces the many options to round off your meal

GOOD LIVING

• Travel: Cognac – a wine lover’s guide Alicia Miller advises on the best places to visit, stay and eat in prime Charente spirits country
• Perfect pairing Ongle steak with green peppercorn sauce A surprising match for this Tom Kerridge Pub Kitchen recipe

BUYING GUIDE

• Editors’ picks Recent tasting highlights from Decanter staff
• Panel tasting: Pinot Noir – Americas Our tasting of New World Pinot Noir was so big that we had to split it over two issues. Here, the first half
• Panel tasting: Galician whites Discover the delicious whites of northwest Spain, beyond Albariño
• Expert’s choice: Moulis & Listrac Georgie Hindle picks 18 great buys from this value hunting ground
• Weekday wines 25 top wines under £20 chosen by the Decanter team
• Weekend wines Priced £20-£50, seven standout buys to impress

COLLECTORS

• Marketwatch investment news Auction updates; what’s on the radar; the boom in rare whiskies

REGULAR

• Meet the experts Decanter ‘s authors
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• Andrew Jefford’s column Adventures in Canada’s Prince Edward County, Pinot and beyond
• Hugh Johnson’s column My ongoing love affair with claret
• Guest column: Elaine Chukan Brown Can the term ‘fine wine’ extend to mead and sake?
• DWWA 2023 highlights: Unearthing Ribera del Duero Fifteen top performers
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Inside Decanter’s Italy guide

• Welcome Why not explore Italy’s wine regions from their nearby city hubs, suggests James Button
• Meet the Decanter experts Our experienced international team of contributors on Italian wine
• City guide: Turin The first capital of unified Italy, by Sarah Lane
• Piedmont’s up-and-comers Michaela Morris meets 10 producers bringing fresh ideas into the region
• Timarasso: Piedmont’s new flagship whit and A former workhorse grape variety has been reborn as the foundation of one of Italy’s greatest new white wines, says Tiziano Gaia
• Expert’s choice: Franciacorta Federico Moccia recommends 18 personal favorites from Lombardy’s premium sparkling wine region
• City guide: Trento A delightful city nestled among the mountains – Sarah Lane
• Friuli: skin-contact wine epicenter Filippo Magnani uncovers the new (old) wines being made in the region
• Soave revolution Labels can now specify a production zone name, but is it a good thing, asks Tom Hyland
• City guide: Florence Tuscany’s Renaissance masterpiece – Sarah Lane
• Brunello di Montalcino To drink, cellar, or invest – a guide to the Tuscan classic, with Aldo Fiordelli
• The lesser-known Tuscany James Button looks beyond the region’s big names to reveal its alternative styles
• City guide: Rome A capital city full of history, wherever you look – Sarah Lane
• Regional profile: Abruzzo This region and its wines should be better known, insists Alessandra Piubello
• City guide: Naples The buzzy (and volcanic) city, by Carla Capalbo
• Regional profile: Puglia Forget the jammy reds of old, writes Raffaele Mosca. These days it’s about terroir
• Discover Campania Anthony Rose picks 12 to enjoy from the southwest
• City guide: Catania Sicily’s second largest city is a Baroque wonder CC
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Picpoul de Pinet 2022 vintage rating: 4.5 / 5

An electrifying, savoury scent meets my nostrils as I wind down the car window: wet rocks, mossy greenness, a briny tang; it’s the smell of the sea. I can’t see it yet, all I can see are neat rows of trellised vines blurring past, on a flat expanse of pale, clayey-looking soils. I know it’s there though, I can sense it.

We are driving along the edge of the Étang de Thau, a large lagoon, behind which the Picpoul de Pinet vineyard area spreads over 1,550ha. Being a coastal, Mediterranean climate, rainfall is low, winters are mild and sea mists and breezes play an important role in getting the vines just enough moisture.

The 2021 and 2022 vintages were markedly different in climate terms. Most of what is available on the market now, however, is from 2022, with only three 2021s shown at the tasting, all of which were Patience cuvées but none of which scored particularly high.

See the Languedoc report 2023 homepage

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the top Picpoul de Pinet wines from 2022

2021

The growing season

The 2021 April frosts were certainly felt here. Claude Jourdan, winemaker at Domaine Félines Jourdan, says that the frost had a huge impact on ‘20% of the vineyard area’.

This was followed by a humid spring and summer, and it was hard work maintaining healthy vines.

Whites

The three 2021s on show were all Patience cuvées: a new style of Picpoul that the appellation is developping. Its main focus is to show that Picpoul de Pinet wines have the potential to age, yet somewhat counterintuitively the three 2021 Patience wines on show were less attractive that the 2022 Patience cuvées shown.

The younger Patience cuvées were in fact the best in the entire tasting, which actually suggests that this new style, which uses grapes harvested at higher maturity and often sees longer lees ageing, should be enjoyed when young. That being said, the 2021 vintage could be somewhat of an anomaly due to such difficult conditions.

Too few 2021s were tasted to give an accurate rating for this vintage.

See the Languedoc latest releases score tables:

All top-scoring wines

All top-scoring white wines

All top-scoring red wines

See all Picpoul de Pinet latest releases rated

2022

The growing season

From the beginning of June, there was ‘exceptional drought and intense heat,’ says Jourdan. Nonetheless, yields were normal, especially in light of the 2021 losses.

Whites

Despite the heat and drought, the 2022s are particularly delicious, showing lots of fruit concentration. I was surprised by the richness of these wines, the opulence and sometimes tropical fruit profile, but always balanced by that characterful zestiness. Most, but not all, had good succulence and that irresistible breezy salinity.

Individual appellation analysis:

Limoux | Corbières & Minervois | St-Chinian | Faugères | Terrasses du Larzac | Pic St Loup | La Clape

Top-scoring wines

Château Petit Roubié, L’O Sur Lie Patience, Picpoul de Pinet 2022 – 94 points

Les Vignerons de Florensac, Florès Le Picpoul de Pinet Patience, Picpoul de Pinet 2019 – 94 points

Domaine de Castelnau, Vignoble Muret, Picpoul de Pinet 2022 – 93 points

Château de Pinet, Cuvée des Comtesses, Picpoul de Pinet 2022 – 92 points

Château Petit Roubié, Picpoul de Pinet 2022 – 92 points

Top five value wines

Château Petit Roubié, L’O Sur Lie Patience, Picpoul de Pinet 2022– 92 points

Château Petit Roubié, Picpoul de Pinet 2022 – 92 points

Domaine Belle Mare, Classique, Picpoul de Pinet 2022 – 92 points

Font-Mars, Picpoul de Pinet 2022 – 92 points

Domaine Félines-Jourdan, Picpoul de Pinet 2022 – 91 points

Top producers to look out for

Domaine Félines Jourdan

A family domaine with 100ha of vines, mostly (50ha) of Piquepoul but also a number of other vareties, such as Roussanne and Viognier, which are made under the AP Languedoc and IGP labels.

Les Vignerons de Florensac

A cooperative winery in the village of Florensac with around 70 growers.

Domaine de Font-Mars

A domaine of 55ha based in the town of Mèze, making one main Picpoul de Pinet cuvée, a 100% Viognier and a rosé.

Domaine de Petit Roubié

An organic domaine with 80ha and a huge range of wines, many of which are single-variety IGP wines.

See the Languedoc report 2023 homepage

Tasting notes and scores for the top Picpoul de Pinet latest releases:

The wines below are listed by score.

Related articles

• Top 10 Languedoc wineries to visit
• Alsace Grand Cru vintage report: 2020 & 2021
• Corbières Reds: Panel tasting results

Corbières & Minervois 2022 vintage rating: 4 / 5

Corbières & Minervois 2021 vintage rating: 3 / 5

Despite the rumbling autoroute that forges east-west through its heart and the sea of towering wind turbines that stand like sentinels, Corbières is still a wild, roughhewn landscape, a lumpy and scraggy expanse of vines and garrigue.

It’s a huge appellation: by far the largest in the Languedoc both in terms of production (around 270,000hl per year) and area under vine (8,300ha). As Rosemary George MW says in her 2018 book Wines of the Languedoc, ‘the particularity of Corbières is the diversity of its terroir, for both soil, which is mainly clay limestone, and climate, ranging from Oceanic in the far west to a warm Mediterranean climate on the coast.’

This diversity is a strength (varieties and blends differ significantly depending on location, and Carignan is of particular note), but also a weakness (despite its size and potential, it has only come up with one cru, Boutenac).

Corbières’ neighbour Minervois abuts the Montagne Noire on its northern flank, and also has just one cru – La Livinière.

See the Languedoc report 2023 homepage

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the top Corbières & Minervois wines from 2022 & 2021

2021

The growing season

After a mild winter and spring, April frosts hit many areas of the Corbières with merciless force. ‘In some plots, including Syrah, Cinsault, Grenaches Blanc and Gris and some Carignan, we lost 80% to frost,’ says Xavier Ledogar, owner and winemaker at Domaine Ledogar, ‘we had a tiny crop.’ 

It was a common occurance across the appellation: ‘We had a terrible frost on 8 April which lasted three weeks,’ says Clémence Fabre, export manager at Famille Fabre, ‘we lost 80% of the crop across our five domaines.’

‘We couldn’t make all of our cuvées,’ says Fabre, ‘it was the smallest volumes we’d ever made. My father went back through three generations of archives and there has never been frost so bad and so late in the year. The government allowed us to buy in bunches of grapes and vinify them.’

Such catastrophic loss at an outfit with five domaines across multiple different terroirs is alarming. ‘In general, given we have domaines in different areas, we normally come off ok when there is disease pressure or episodes of frost, but this time it was across the board,’ says Fabre.

After losing 50% of his crop in 2021, Maxime Magnon decided to buy vines in a completely different terroir, 20km away around Peyriac-de-Mer, ‘in order to diversify in terms of terroir, not to have everything so close together,’ he says. In theory this insurance policy minimises risk – but as 2021 shows, it doesn’t work every time.

‘It’s a heavy atmosphere, being a paysan, with such climate pressure,’ says Magnon.

Some areas also had rain around harvest time, which ‘caused a slow down in ripening,’ says Céline Peyre of Domaine Balansa.

The Minervois was affected by the frosts too, reducing yield, and temperatures in the summer were slightly cooler than usual. Yet the climate in the Minervois is less extreme than the Corbières, the winds somewhat tempered by the Montagne Noire, the frost somewhat less severe.

Whites

Those that had enough grapes left to make wine were rewarded with good concentraion. Some 2021 whites had a lovely rich expression of citrus fruit, and the best show some opulent honeysuckle florals alongisde a stony, mineral core.

Reds

Corbières

Like the whites, some of the 2021 reds have impressed. Some of the higher-scoring wines have high percentages of Carignan, and some of the best wines have achieved full-bodied bramble characters and a nice succulence. Some show slightly pokey alcohol.

Minervois

The majority of the Minervois wines tasted for this report were from the cru La Livinière. Due to ageing requirements (until at least the 15 October of the year following the vintage), most La Livinière wines being released are 2021 and 2020. Despite the challenges of 2021, the quality is good, and the wines, especially from La Livinière, have a seductive aromatic profile, good concentration and length.

Languedoc latest releases homepage

2022

The growing season

In stark contrast to 2021, the 2022 growing season flipped the coin. ‘We were worried because the frost of 2021 had been so strong that it might affect the next year’s harvest,’ says Fabre, ‘but in fact it was the most beautiful harvest of the last 50 years, in volume and quality.’

It was a hot year overall, with periods of drought in some areas, but the vines had good water reserves thanks to a fairly wet preceding autumn and winter. After such small yields in 2021, Domaine Ledogar found itself with an enormous crop. Nature has its ways of balancing things out.

‘It was a fairly easy year, generous. It was hot but there wasn’t a heatwave. We really are living in the extremes,’ says Fabre.

Whites

Despite the relative ease of the 2022 vintage compared to 2021, the wines haven’t achieved huge depth and aren’t as exuberant as one might think, due to such high yields. However, the top-scoring wines have a fleshy ripeness, a keen line of minerality, good acidity, and a noticeable structure in the mouth.

Reds

The reds in 2022 have a slightly lighter character, both in body and in fruit profile. Some offer fragrant strawberry, menthol and rosemary notes combined with a fairly taut structure. Others are more plummy, rich, with a somewhat rustic tannic structure.

The two vintages are very different, the wines offering differing profiles due to such stark variation during the growing season. 2021 may surprise with its longevity, while 2022 will most likely be slightly less long-lived.

Though most are consumed when young, the wines of this region offer intriguing possibilities for ageing, especially the wines from the crus of Boutenac in Corbières and La Livinière in Minervois. The 2008 Chimère Rouge from Famille Fabre’s Château de Gasparets is an excellent example, a window into how these wines can age when everything is in harmony.

See all Corbières & Minervois latest releases rated

See the Languedoc latest releases score tables:

All top-scoring wines

All top-scoring white wines

All top-scoring red wines

Top-scoring wines

White

Maxime Magnon, La Bégou, Corbières 2022 – 95 points

Domaine Pierre Bories, Le Blanc, Corbières 2021 – 93 points

Château La Baronne, Les Chemins, Corbières 2022 – 93 points

Château Ollieux Romanis, Prestige Blanc, Corbières 2021 – 93 points

Red

Château Ollieux Romanis, Atal Sia, Corbières Boutenac 2021 – 94 points

Domaine la Bouysse, Terrassaé, Corbières 2022 – 93 points

Château Sainte-Eulalie Bellezour Anima Minervois La Livinière 2021 – 93 points

Domaine Combe Blanche, La Chandelière, Minervois La Livinière 2020 – 93 points

Top five value wines

Domaine Py, Troisième Cuvée, Corbieres 2022 – 91 points

Château Beauregard Mirouze, Campana, Corbières 2022 – 90 points

Clos de L’Anhel, Le Lolo de L’Anhel, Corbières 2022 – 92 points

Domaine Combe Blanche, La Chandelière, Minervois La Livinière 2020 – 93 points

Château Maris, La Touge, Minervois La Livinière 2020 – 94 points

Individual appellation analysis:

Limoux | La Clape | St-Chinian | Faugères | Picpoul de Pinet | Terrasses du Larzac | Pic St Loup

Top five producers to look out for

Maxime Magnon, Corbières

A Burgundy native, Maxime Magnon started his own domaine in the Corbières in 2002 after working in Beaujolais with Marcel Lapierre. He now makes sought-after wines from predominantly very old vines (80-120 years old) that have great finesse and a lightness of touch.

Domaine Ledogar, Corbières

Xavier and Mathieu took over the family domaine in 1997, stopped selling the grapes to the local cooperative, and soon converted to organics and then biodynamics. Characterful wines.

Château Beauregard Mirouze, Corbières

A domaine that’s newly on my radar, this is a young husband and wife team who have taken over the family estate, converting to organics in 2010 and biodynamics in 2018. One to watch.

Domaine la Bouysse, Corbières

A new discovery, a family affair. Both white and red 2022s impressed. One to seek out.

Château Maris, Minervois

A good example of making biodynamic wine at some scale, this domaine has made great leaps in pushing forward on sustainable viticulture and was one of the first European vineyards to obtain BCorp certification.

See the Languedoc report 2023 homepage

Tasting notes and scores for the top Corbières & Minervois latest releases:

The wines below are listed by style then score, starting with the highest scoring Corbières followed by the highest scoring Minervois.

Related articles

• Top 10 Languedoc wineries to visit
• Alsace Grand Cru vintage report: 2020 & 2021
• Corbières Reds: Panel tasting results

Limoux 2022 vintage rating: 4 / 5

Limoux 2021 vintage rating: 3.5 / 5

The wines of Limoux stand somewhat apart from many of the other wines of Languedoc; the use of Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Merlot and Cabernet Franc seems at odds to the use of Mediterranean varieties like Carignan, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre elsewhere.

But the reality is that the climate here is different; it’s cooler and wetter, less baked by the southern sun. Mediterranean varieties would have a tough time of ripening. Driving south from warm, dry, windy Carcassonne, the clouds descend and the air becomes more moist. Both Atlantic and Mediterranean climatic influences are felt here.

See the Languedoc report 2023 homepage

Four distinct terroirs have been identified in the Limoux area:

Terroir Méditerranéen – to the northeast of the town of Limoux and the closest area to the Mediterranean sea, this is the warmest of the four terroirs, with sea breezes, an altitude of 100m-200m, and an average of 650mm rainfall per year, with the earliest harvest.

Terroir d’Autun – just to the southeast of Limoux, this has the least amount of average rainfall per year at 570mm, and is warmer and drier.

Terroir Océanique – to the west of Limoux, this terroir has the highest average annual rainfall at 780mm. Altitude rises from 200m-300m, and it’s a more temperate and humid climate, with Atlantic influence as opposed to Mediterranean.

Terroir Haute Vallée – the highest and coolest of the four terroirs, with high average annural rainfall at 750mm. Altitude can reach over 300m, in the foothills of the Pyrenees.

Figures obtainted from the Sydicat des Vins AOC de Limoux

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the top Limoux wines from 2021 & 2022

See all Limoux latest releases rated

2021

The growing season

Spring brought widespread frost across much of France and pockets of vineyards in Limoux were affected. James Kinglake, owner of Domaine Begude, says the ‘frost at the end of April…decimated our lower, less windy vineyards’. However, other areas were spared the worst of the damage.

Where other Languedoc regions then experienced very dry conditions into summer, much of Limoux was subject to a warm and wet June and July, with a few summer storms. August remained relatively cool, with more rainfall, which in some cases delayed ripening.

The cooler, higher reaches of the Haute Vallée de l’Aude in the south of the appellation experienced a mostly cool vintage, ‘there was enough water and temperatures were sufficiently fresh to maintain a nice balance between maturity and acidity,’ says Camille Fort of Domaine de Mouscaillo. Geneviève and Gilles Azam of Les Hautes Terres, also in the Haute Vallée de l’Aude, say that 2021 is ‘elegant and discreet,’ but stress that both 2021 and 2022 are both ‘very atypical vintages which really show how the climate is changing’.

Sparklings

Limoux sparkling wines have deep historical roots: production dates back to Roman times, and with the range of styles made they are some of the most interesting and enjoyable sparklings to drink outside of Champagne.

Both vintage and non-vintage sparklings were tasted for this report. Because Crémant can only be bottled after 1 December following the harvest and must then rest on its lees for nine months, most of the vintage wines on show right now are 2021 and 2020, although some opt for longer ageing.

The two top-scoring sparklings were both Crémants from 2020, showing good concentration of ripe fruit and a wonderfully creamy mousse. The Blanquettes made from 100% Mauzac scored better than those with even a small percentage of Chardonnay and Chenin.

Whites

Still whites from Limoux have been allowed within the appellation since 1959, so I’m always surprised that they’re not more well known. A particularity of Limoux still whites is that they must be aged in barrels. These can be new, old, small or large. Even though the use of new oak has been scaled back in recent years, some wines, both white and red for that matter, are still marked by oak characteristics, which can detract from the purity and freshness of the fruit. The best have used oak fastidiously, to give texture and an integrated toasty, honeyed, grilled complexity without an intrusive oak profile.

Mauzac was the original pin-up grape for white Limoux, and Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc weren’t authorised until 1993. Nowadays all three are used in blends or as single variety wines – another rare particularity in Languedoc.

Chardonnay has become popular in this region over the years, not least because it’s easy for consumers to pronounce but also because it’s recognisable and therefore popular on export markets. However, even in this cooler part of the Languedoc, it seems that Chardonnay might be having problems. ‘Chardonnay is suffering enormously from climate change,’ say the Azams, and Kingslake says that Chardonnay yields in 2021 were low.

Overall the still white 2021s show a pure, crystalline fruit profile and good acidity, and I like their lean citrus seam.

Reds

The reds of Limoux, introduced into the appellation in 2004, must include between 45% and 70% of Merlot and at least 20% of Malbec, Syrah and/or Grenache, with Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon allowed as secondary varieties.

The rain and cooler temperatures of 2021 have produced some slightly green wines. The Domaine de Baronarques Grand Vin Rouge 2021 did have great depth of cassis fruit, but also some tight and drying tannins.

There is potential for Limoux reds however it does feel that many haven’t quite found their groove, and oak is still liberally applied.

See the Languedoc latest releases score tables:

All top-scoring wines

All top-scoring white wines

All top-scoring red wines

2022

The growing season

In contrast to 2021, the 2022 vintage was much warmer and drier. ‘We had no rain from mid-May until the very end of August,’ says Kinglake.

As a result, ‘the harvest was early,’ says Camille Fort, ‘and there’s a little more fat than in 2021’.

Rain at the end of August provided the vines with much-needed refreshment. At Domaine Begude it ‘prompted the vines in to ripening correctly and we picked a few days after the downpour,’ says Kinglake.

Whites

My highest-scoring white 2022s were Chenin Blanc / Chardonnay blends, which showed lovely bright florals and fresh, pure citrus fruit.

Many of the 2022 single-variety Chardonnays are rich and generous, with soft, creamy opulence that comes as much from oak as from the ripe fruit of the vintage.

Give them another six to 12 months in bottle to open up. Most will also offer good ageing potential.

The local Mauzac variety, which is prone to oxidation, does well with careful handling and I find its apple scents incredibly enticing, but its unique character can easily be obscured. Sadly there aren’t many producers making 100% Mauzac still whites, but those from Domaine de Mouscaillo and Domaine du Grès Vaillant are particularly charming, with some of Mauzac’s typical apple profile but also a good grating of citrus zest and balancing acidity.

Individual appellation analysis:

Corbières & Minervois | La Clape | St-Chinian | Faugères | Picpoul de Pinet | Terrasses de Larzac | Pic St Loup

Top-scoring wines

Sparkling

Antech, Cuvée Eugenie Brut, Crémant de Limoux 2020 – 92 points

Domaine de Mouscaillo, Brut Nature, Crémant de Limoux 2020 – 92 points

White

Les Hautes Terres, Louis, Limoux 2022 – 93 points

Château de Gaure, Limoux 2021 – 93 points

Red

Domaine de Baronarques, Grand Vin Rouge, Limoux 2021 – 90 points

Top five value wines

Clos Teisseire, Vue Sur Ciel, Haute Vallée de l’Aude 2022 – 92 points

Domaine Rosier, Cuvée Ma Maison, Blanquette de Limoux 2021 – 91 points

Domaine J Laurens Clos des Demoiselles Brut Crémant de Limoux 2021 – 90 points

Domaine Begude, L’Etoile, Limoux 2022 – 92 points

Plô Roucarels, La Petite Rive, Haute Vallée de l’Aude 2022 – 90 points

Top five producers to look out for

Clos Teisseire

Leaving a nursing job behind to retrain as a winemaker, Laetitia took over this domaine from her father-in-law when he retired in 2016. Lots of promise here, one to watch.

Domaine de Mouscaillo

A new generation takes the reins here in young winemakers Thomas and Camille Fort. Quoting the likes of Agrapart and xxx as inspirations, this duo look set to take this long-standing family domaine to new heights.

Domaine du Grès Vaillant

A new project lead by the young Aigline de Causans and Laurent Maffeïs since 2017, Domaine du Grès Vaillant has eight hectares of vines among 70ha of woodland and meadow.

Domaine J Laurens

Sparkling specialists and creators of fine, elegant, excellent value bubbles.

Les Hautes Terres

A true reference point not only in Limoux but in the whole of Languedoc for organic wines of great purit, precision and aromatic complexity.

See the Languedoc report 2023 homepage

Tasting notes and scores for the top 30 Limoux latest releases:

The wines below are listed by style then by score.

Related articles

• Champagne alternatives for the festive season
• Champagne vs Crémant sparkling wine: What’s the difference?
• Crémant de Bourgogne: Burgundy’s hidden sparkling gems

Languedoc 2022 vintage rating: 4.5 / 5

Languedoc 2021 vintage rating: 3.5 / 5

Even after tasting over 900 wines and spending many hours visiting the region, it is still somewhat difficult to draw solid conclusions about the latest vintages in Languedoc. This is due to a number of reasons.

Firstly, depending on each appellation’s regulations and the length of ageing a producer decides on, there’s no single vintage to assess without excluding a good chunk of wines. This, coupled with the fact that I wanted to showcase wines that were already bottled and available right now, means that the wines recommended range across a number of vintages, but are for the most part from 2022, 2021 and some from 2020.

Secondly, despite speaking directly to producers, visiting vineyards, and tasting the wines, it’s difficult to know exactly how a vintage played out unless you were on the ground during the growing season and saw the health and quality of the fruit as it was harvested. While press releases often paint a shiny picture, and producers often fall on the ‘despite the challenges the fruit quality is excellent’ line, the reality isn’t always so rosy.

Thirdly, recent vintages in Languedoc have seen incredibly varied weather conditions, not only from appellation to appellation, but as granular as village to village.

See the Languedoc report 2023 homepage

Individual appellation analysis:

Limoux | Corbières & Minervois | La Clape | St-Chinian | Faugères | Picpoul de Pinet | Terrasses du Larzac | Pic St Loup

Vintages currently on the market by appellation:

Limoux: 2022 & 2021

Corbières: 2022 & 2021

Minervois: 2021 & 2020

La Clape: 2022 & 2021

St Chinian: 2021 & 2020

Faugères: 2021 & 2020

Picpoul de Pinet: 2022 & 2021

Terrasses du Larzac: 2021 & 2020

Pic St Loup: 2021 & 2020

See the Languedoc latest releases score tables:

All top-scoring wines

All top-scoring white wines

All top-scoring red wines

This report covers a selection of key Languedoc appellations, and where relevant IGP and Vin de France wines have been included, but not tasted as widely.

Vintage conditions

If forced to generalise, 2022 was a hot, dry vintage in Languedoc, while 2021 was marked by ferocious April frosts and a cooler season, and yields were very small across most of the region.

The reality is more complex – Limoux, for example, escaped much of the 2021 frost damage, although still experienced an overall cooler vintage.

For those that still have it on the market, 2020 was another hot and dry year, and is widely regarded as one of the best in recent times across many appellations.

Top-scoring wines by appellation:

Limoux:

Sparkling

Antech, Cuvée Eugenie Brut, Crémant de Limoux 2020 – 92 points

Domaine de Mousacaillo, Brut Nature, Crémant de Limoux 2020 – 92 points

White

Les Hautes Terres, Louis, Limoux 2022 – 93 points

Château de Gaure, Limoux 2021 – 93 points

Red

Domaine de Baronarques, Grand Vin Rouge, Limoux 2021 – 90 points

Corbières & Minervois:

White

Maxime Magnon, La Bégou, Corbières 2022 – 95 points

Domaine Pierre Bories, Le Blanc, Corbières 2021 – 93 points

Château La Baronne, Les Chemins, Corbières 2022 – 93 points

Château Ollieux Romanis, Prestige Blanc, Corbières 2021 – 93 points

Red

Château Ollieux Romanis, Atal Sia, Corbières Boutenac 2021 – 94 points

Domaine la Bouysse, Terrassaé, Corbières 2022 – 93 points

Château Sainte-Eulalie, Bellezour Anima Minervois, La Livinière 2021 – 93 points

Domaine Combe Blanche, La Chandelière, Minervois La Livinière 2020 – 93 points

La Clape

White

Château Pech Redon, Epervier Blanc, La Clape 2022 – 93 points

Château Rouquette sur Mer, Cuvée Arpege, La Clape 2022 – 92 points

Red

Sarrat de Goundy, La Combe aux Louves, La Clape 2021 – 92 points

Château L’Hospitalet, Grand Vin, La Clape 2021 – 91 points

Château Pech Redon, Epervier, La Clape 2020 – 91 points

Sarrat de Goundy, La Planteur, La Clape 2021 – 91 points

St Chinian

White

Domaine des Pradels-Quartironi, Le Moineau des Glycines, St-Chinian 2020 – 94 points

Red

Thierry Navarre, Ribeyrenc, St-Chinian 2021 – 94 points

Thierry Navarre, Le Laouzil, St-Chinian 2021 – 94 points

Terres Falmet, L’Ivresse des Cimes, St-Chinian 2021 – 94 points

Faugères

White

Domaine Ollier-Taillefer, Allegro, Faugères 2022 – 93 points

Red

Domaine de Cébène, Belle Lurette, Faugères 2021 – 95 points

Domaine Binet-Jacquet, Réserve, Faugères 2020 – 95 points

Picpoul de Pinet

White

Château Petit Roubié, L’O Sur Lie Patience, Picpoul de Pinet 2022 – 94 points

Les Vignerons de Florensac, Florès Le Picpoul de Pinet Patience, Picpoul de Pinet 2019 – 94 points

Terrasses du Larzac

Red

Mas d’Agamas, Baies Choisies, Terrasses du Larzac 2020 – 95 points

Mas Cal Demoura, Les Combariolles, Terrasses du Larzac, 2021 – 95 points

La Jasse Castel, Bleu Velours, Terrasses du Larzac 2021 – 94 points

Domaine du Pas de l’Escalette, Le Grand Pas, Terrasses du Larzac 2021 – 94 points

Pic St Loup

Red

Clos des Reboussiers, Pic St-Loup 2020 – 94 points

Domaine de l’Hortus, Le Dit de l’Hortus l’Ombrée, Pic St-Loup 2020 – 94 points

Le Chemin des Rêves, La Soie, Pic St-Loup 2021 – 94 points

Mas Bruguière, La Grenadière, Pic St-Loup 2021 – 94 points

Producers to look out for by appellation

Limoux

Clos Teisseire, Domaine de Mouscaillo, Domaine du Grès Vaillant, Domaine J Laurens, Les Hautes Terres

Corbières & Minervois

Château Beauregard Mirouze, Château Maris, Domaine Ledogar, Domaine la Bouysse, Maxime Magnon

La Clape

Château Les Bugadelles, Château Pech Redon, Château Rouquette sur Mer, Combes des Ducs, Sarrat de Goundy

St Chinian

Domaine de Pech Ménel, Domaine des Pradels-Quartironi, Domaine La Linquière, Terres Falmet, Thierry Navarre

Faugères

Domaine Binet-Jacquet, Domaine de Cébène, Domaine Ollier-Taillefer, Mas Gabinèle, Mas Lou

Picpoul de Pinet

Château Petit Roubié, Domaine Félines-Jourdan, Font-Mars, Les Vignerons de Florensac

Terrasses du Larzac

Domaine du Pas de l’Escalette, Le Clos du Serres, Les Vignes Oubliées, Mas Conscience, Mas d’Agamas

Pic St Loup

Domaine de L’Hortus, Domaine de Villeneuve, Le Chemin des Rêves, Mas Bruguière

See the Languedoc report 2023 homepage

See also – individual appellation analysis:

Limoux | Corbières & Minervois | La Clape | St Chinian | Faugères | Picpoul de Pinet | Terrasses du Larzac | Pic St Loup

Languedoc top-scoring wines:

The majority of the wines for this report were tasted blind. Below they are listed in score order.

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Read Decanter's France editor Natalie Earl's analysis on the latest release wines from across the Languedoc, plus see all the wine tasting notes and scores.

LANGUEDOC LATEST RELEASES: OVERVIEW

INDIVIDUAL APPELLATION REPORTS

LANGUEDOC REPORT 2023 BEST VALUE PICKS:

SEE ALL LANGUEDOC LATEST RELEASE SCORE TABLES:

After tasting more than 900 wines from across the Languedoc, Natalie Earl gives her verdict on the most recent releases, mostly 2022, 2021 and 2020, from the key appellations.

Here we present a quick and easy way to see tasting notes and scores for the 56 Languedoc red wines that scored 92 points and above.

Wines are listed in score order.

See also

Languedoc latest release report: Overview

Other score tables:

Languedoc report score table: White wines

Languedoc report score table: All top wines

After tasting more than 900 wines from across the Languedoc, Natalie Earl gives her verdict on the most recent releases, mostly 2022, 2021 and 2020, from the key appellations.

Here we present a quick and easy way to see tasting notes and scores for the 33 Languedoc white wines that scored 92 points and above.

Wines are listed in score order.

See also

Languedoc latest release report: Overview

Other score tables:

Languedoc report score table: Red wines

Languedoc report score table: All top wines

After tasting more than 900 wines from across the Languedoc, Natalie Earl gives her verdict on the most recent releases, mostly 2022, 2021 and 2020, from the key appellations.

Here we present a quick and easy way to see tasting notes and scores for all 67 Languedoc wines that scored 93 points and above.

Wines are listed in score order.

See also

Languedoc latest release report: Overview

Other score tables:

Languedoc report score table: White wines

Languedoc report score table: Red wines

In 1999, an unlikely love story was kindled. Baron Eric de Rothschild of Lafite-Rothschild felt a coup de coeur – a sudden passion – for a property in Languedoc’s Corbières: Château d’Aussières (170 hectares of vines amid 600ha of garrigue and mountain forest).

The matchmaker was the French bank Crédit Agricole. ‘My father,’ says Saskia de Rothschild, Baron Eric’s 36-year-old daughter and today the president of Domaines Barons de Rothschild, ‘is very much someone who works in the spirit of intuition and coups du coeur. It’s his way of handling things. He fell in love with the rough kind of nature there and its extraordinary, atypical potential.’

Scroll down to see Andrew Jefford’s tasting notes and scores for six Château d’Aussières wines

It’s an intriguing site – likely much older as a vineyard than Lafite itself. Lafite (according to Jane Anson’s thoroughly researched Bordeaux Legends) was first planted with vines between 1670 and 1680. Aussières, by contrast, lies within easy reach of the first Roman colony in Gaul: Colonia Narbo Martius, founded 1500 years earlier, in 118 BCE. It was Narbonne (the colony’s modern name) which revealed to the Romans just how well-suited Gaul was to viticulture.

Narbonne’s rapid vineyard development underscored, too, the Gaulish thirst for wine: the competition between Italian exporters and local producers was soon intense, and provoked legislative intervention from Rome. The 5th-century Gallo-Roman aristocrat, poet and bishop Sidonius Apollinaris, visiting a villa near present-day d’Aussières, praised the fields, watercourse, vineyards and olive groves with which it was surrounded.

Further centuries of pre-Lafite viticulture followed. Aussières lies underneath the Massif de Fontfroide in a long, secluded, funnel-shaped valley of enormous appeal to shy yet canny monastic eyes; the Abbaye de Fontfroide was founded in 1093. Initially a Benedictine monastery, it became Cistercian between 1144 and 1145 before eventually becoming ‘national property’ at the time of the French Revolution. This magnificent building still exists, its size and grandeur attesting in part to its agricultural wealth.

Jean de Roquefeuil, the former director of Château Rieussec and, since March 2023, Château d’Aussière’s new director, considers that his new charge ‘must have been a significant part of the Fontfroide farmland’ – and a quick look at the map shows why. The Abbey itself is nestled away in a secluded retreat inside the Massif, surrounded by high hills, while the main swathe of productive lands in the Fontfroide valley stretches from Aussières off to the southwest via St Julien de Septime. The main route to Narbonne, too, passes Aussières.

Indeed nowadays the A61 – the Autoroute des Deux Mers linking Narbonne and the Mediterranean to the Atlantic – provides most of the estate’s northern boundary, its traffic all too clearly visible from the vineyards. Why didn’t Domaines Barons de Rothschild plant trees to screen it? ‘We did,’ said Jean de Roquefeuil. ‘But they broadened the motorway and tore them all down.’ More tree planting is planned.

In the 19th and early part of the 20th century, Aussières was a hamlet, with a little school, chapel, laundry and communal dining room: there’s plenty of space, and a substantial group of buildings which were in poor shape when Baron Eric bought the property. Potential for vineyard tourism facilities? Perhaps. Since purchase, though, the Rothschilds have concentrated on production. An astonishing 2.5 million bottles of wine a year left Aussières prior to COVID, and Jean hopes to exceed 2 million again this year. Unlike its Bordeaux cousins, Aussières has a bottling line. Château l’Evangile bottles for two days a year; Aussières sometimes bottles twice a week. This makes Aussières one of the most significant wineries in Corbières, though much of its wine is IGP. ‘We have the chance here not just to make great wine,’ says Jean de Roquefeuil, ‘but to make thirst-quenching wine, too.’

How important is the Corbières identity to Aussières, and will much be made of this when the Château d’Aussières 2019 is finally launched as part of the 2023 September releases on to the Place de Bordeaux? Jean says that the team is conscious of its Corbières identity, and points out that Aymeric Izard, the director-before-last who was running the estate when I visited in 2016, was a local (indeed Izard’s father is the long-time mayor of Villeneuve-lès-Corbières).

Being a contributing part of an appellation is a concern of Saskia de Rothschild’s. ‘We’re Corbières,’ says Jean, ‘but above all we’re Fontfroide, our little valley’ – thereby drawing attention to the fact that the valley is a much cooler location than most of Corbières. ‘We’re blocked off to the south by the Massif and much more open to the north, to the wind which comes down from Carcassonne. It’s almost always 2 to 3°C cooler here than elsewhere in Corbières.’ Indeed this is a site where Grenache actually struggles to ripen satisfactorily. Long-term cellarmaster Mathieu Mocquet has only harvested in August once, and immediately stopped because of rain; the harvest (by machine except for those Carignan bunches destined for carbonic maceration) usually finishes in October. The site can be vulnerable to frost: d’Aussières lost 70% of its crop in 2021.

Given that Aussières is already distributed globally, I wondered what practical difference having the top wine sold through La Place was going to make. Jean gave me two answers, the second of which was unexpected. ‘It will help distinguish the grand vin from the rest of the range. It will also give us the chance to refocus a bit on the local market.’ Aussières at present is rarely seen on sale in Languedoc, since this is not a key market for Domaines Barons de Rothschild’s existing distribution channels, but La Place sells extensively within France as well as on export markets, and the wine will now be there for all professional buyers (supermarkets included) to source if wished. Interestingly, the labels have been updated; you can no longer see a link (via script, illustration and five-arrow motif) with Lafite, Duhart et al. The new version features illustrations by Saskia’s mother, Beatrice.