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.
| Producer | Appellation | Colour | Score | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Domaine Binet-Jacquet, Réserve | Faugères | 2020 | 95 | With its plush black fruit, lovely acidity, and succulent and melting tannins, this brilliant wine is gleaming with promise. A sapid, delectable palate of just-ripe blueberries, and I love its herbal, juniper and white pepper nuances. Waves of acidity and stone show great ageing potential. Drinking window: 2023-2035 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de Cébène, Belle Lurette | Faugères | 2021 | 95 | Soft, silky and ever so refined in texture - a defining feature of this radiant wine - the tannins are delicious, so soft and pillowy and swept up in a tumult of juicy acidity. Youthful, stony, full-bodied and well structured, yet its beautifully poised for a bright future. Drinking window: 2025-2038 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de Cébène, Felgaria | Faugères | 2018 | 95 | This is deliciously open and relaxed, showing first its deep, savoury and herbal qualities of menthol, liquorice and tobacco leaves, before presenting its ripe black plums, violets and a sprinkling of Moroccan spices. The palate is brimming with ripe red cherries, mouthwatering and moreish but also complex and structured, with touches of pine and garrigue herbs. A true grand vin. Drinking window: 2023-2038 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de Cébène, Les Bancèls | Faugères | 2021 | 95 | A deep, sensual wine of great intensity, a strong character with a wild heart. It's savoury and meaty, but also full of ripe, juicy, bubbling bramble fruit, showing glorious freshness, acidity and presence. This vintage is in a great place, with perfect structure, concentration, lots of plum fruit, herbs, undergrowth and tight serrated tannins. A marvel. Drinking window: 2023-2035 Click to see full details | |
| Mas Cal Demoura, Les Combariolles | Terrasses du Larzac | 2021 | 95 | Beguiling, complex aromatics of plum skin, cherry stone, sage and thyme, with a light smoky touch. It's bright and alive in the mouth, with a tang of red cherry, a surge of red apple acidity. Deliciously fresh and sapid, a sublime example of what this appellation can achieve. The tannins are currently a little grippy, thought they should resolve, as its still youthful. So vibrant and juicy, utterly drinkable. Drinking window: 2023-2030 Click to see full details | |
| Mas d'Agamas, Baies Choisies | Terrasses du Larzac | 2020 | 95 | Brilliant aromatics on show here - pretty, delicate, delectable scents, a veritable potpourri of roses, violets, lavender and raspberry coulis. And it's delicious from the first mouthful, too. The purity of fruit here is amazing. Cherries and raspberries in their purest form. Succulent and juicy thanks to balancing acidity, with soft, tasty tannins giving great silkiness to the texture. There's a little dried herb flourish on the finish. The tannins are resolved, integrated and everything is in perfect harmony. Wow. Love this. It has a real lightness of touch but concentration as well. A triumph. Drinking window: 2023-2030 Click to see full details | |
| Château Maris, La Touge | Minervois (La Livinière) | 2020 | 94 | Gorgeously fragrant, freshly picked strawberries layered with bundles of fresh rosemary, mint and lemon thyme. An incredibly pure expression of fruit and wild herbs, building up to an exquisite cascade of ripe red berries. A mouthwatering wine with a real crunch on the finish, a beautiful texture and a finish laced with bitter chocolate. A real success. Drinking window: 2023-2035 Click to see full details | |
| Château Ollieux Romanis, Atal Sia | Corbières Boutenac | 2021 | 94 | A masterpiece in fruit purity, showing lots of round plummy tones, sweeping blackberry and bramble richness, black cherry depth and such elegance and poise. The ripe fruit is balanced by a slatey, mineral core and fine-grained tannins. Old-vine Carignan is the star here. Superb. Drinking window: 2024-2030 Click to see full details | |
| Clos des Reboussiers | Pic St-Loup | 2020 | 94 | Pronounced smoky bacon, dried thyme, juniper and rosemary aromas are joined by black olive tapenade and eucalyptus on the palate. It's a savoury expression at first, but the concentrated black fruit comes through with air. The tannins are woven into a fine silk, coating the mouth, and the finish is lifted by an intriguing note of blood orange. Very refined. Drinking window: 2023-2032 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Balansa, Can del Rey | Fitou | 2020 | 94 | Smoky black fruit and crushed flint aromas spill from the glass. The fruit concentration is profound, and there's a satisfying crushed strawberry fragrance which brings great aromatic complexity. Delectable ripe tannins and fresh acidity make for a moreish mouthful. Drinking window: 2023-2032 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de l'Hortus, Dit de l'Hortus Cuvée l'Ombrée | Pic St-Loup | 2020 | 94 | Aerial and radiant in aroma, pulsing with red cherry, violets, blackberry and cacao wrapped around dried sage and smoke. Juicy and tactile, velvety and smooth, this is so poised and elegant. Once you've taken one sip you're powerless to its touch. Drinking window: 2023-2028 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine des Pradels-Quartironi, Le Moineau des Glycines | St-Chinian | 2020 | 94 | Pale in colour with focused lemony, chalky aromas, bright blossom, yellow apple, macadamia and lemon zest. Concentrated and full of flavour, showing beautifully pure lemon rind, crab apple and white peach in the mouth. This has such a lovely range of pure fruit flavours, giving it intensity and complexity. Pithy, grapefruity, fresh, chalky and mineral. I love it. Schist soils, fermented with indigenous yeasts, with a short ageing on fine lees. Drinking window: 2023-2030 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine du Pas de l'Escalette, Le Grand Pas | Terrasses du Larzac | 2021 | 94 | Dark plum and black cherry aromas, with an iodine, mineral, slate/stone background note. It's incredibly floral as well, showing iris and violet, with lavender and wild thyme bursting from the glass. Powerful and concentrated, but not extracted. Intensely spicy, piquant, with searing acidity. The alcohol is perhaps a little high. Chalky, grippy tannins but they are ripe and make for a textural mouthful. Iodine, wet stones and a ferrous tang on the finish. Keep for a few years, this shows great promise and ageing potential. Drinking window: 2023-2028 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Ledogar | Corbières Boutenac | 2019 | 94 | A bold patchwork of plump black fruit, leather and spice, hemmed in by salty liquorice and grilled meat notes. Cocoa nibs and roasted coffee beans broaden out the palate, as do supple tannins, and the refreshing acidity draws out the finish. Drinking window: 2023-2032 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Ledogar, La Compagnon | Corbières Boutenac | 2020 | 94 | Generous on spice and bold on fruit, yet everything is all still in balance. Cracked black pepper and cumin meld with crunchy just-ripe blueberries, wild blackberries, sloes and juniper, a delicious infusion that's supported by elegant, fine-grained tannins and super juicy acidity. Highly successful. Drinking window: 2023-2032 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Jones, Vieilles Vignes | Fitou | 2021 | 94 | Exquisite Carignan aromas of smoked meat, charcuterie, thyme and rich black fruit introduce this Fitou, leading to a dense but approachable palate. Brimming with black cherry, dried herbs and small red berries, the tannins are silky and integrated, the finish smooth, fresh and mineral. Drinking window: 2023-2030 Click to see full details | |
| La Jasse Castel, Bleu Velours | Terrasses du Larzac | 2021 | 94 | Aerial and delicate aromas of crushed raspberries, jewels of pomegranate, damson and tomato leaf waft from the glass, a gorgeous introduction to this elegant wine. The fruit ripeness is in perfect balance with the fresh acidity, fine-grained tannins and taut mineral edge. The wine evolves in the mouth, and the lasting impression is that of intense wild thyme. Elegance, poise, concentration - this has it all. Drinking window: 2023-2028 Click to see full details | |
| Le Chemin des Rêves, La Soie | Pic St-Loup | 2021 | 94 | Impenetrable inky depth to the colour. Intense aromatics that combine rich and concentrated black fruit with crushed rocks, slate and black olive, providing a well-balanced sweet-savoury character. Long and succulent acidity, glossy in texture, really very good. Drinking window: 2024-2035 Click to see full details | |
| Mas Bruguière, La Grenadière | Pic St-Loup | 2021 | 94 | A beautiful expression of Syrah built on youthful black fruit, spanning black plums, forest berries and black olives. Smooth-textured in the mouth, like slippery crimson silk, with clean, defined lines and a mineral, stony centre. It's concentrated and tightly structured, but ever so fresh and refined. 40-year-old Syrah claims centre stage here, at 90%, and was vinified in foudres. 2021 was quite a fresh vintage in Pic St Loup, leading to high acidities and good ageing potential. This will open out with another year in bottle. Drinking window: 2024-2031 Click to see full details | |
| Mas Gabinèle, Inaccessible | Faugères | 2013 | 94 | A luminous and dazzling bouquet full of juicy plums, coffee, chocolate, leather, cedar and spice. Bright pops of cranberry and cherry emerge among the notes of garrigue and juniper. This really is delicious. It has developed extremely well and has been carried by its sweeping acidity, but I'd drink it up now. Drinking window: 2023-2025 Click to see full details | |
| Château Chênaie, Conviction | Faugères | 2021 | 93 | This wine has such an appetising profile, a delectable mouthful of cherry, Frangipane, vanilla and raspberry. It's juicy, fresh and gorgeous, a fountain of ripe strawberry and surging freshness, flowing on and on. Drinking window: 2023-2030 Click to see full details | |
| Château de Gourgazaud, Pater Familias | Minervois (La Livinière) | 2021 | 93 | A touch lighter in colour than many of the other 2021s, with a more lifted, estery aromatic profile of red apples and raspberries. The palate is bright and full of fruit flavour. The finish is long and speckled with clove spice. It does come across as quite oaky, but has a lovely ripe tannic structure. Drinking window: 2023-2035 Click to see full details | |
| Château de Lancyre, Vieilles Vignes | Pic St-Loup | 2020 | 93 | Dark and flirtatious, this wine weaves its blackberry and bramble profile smoothly through a tapestry of fresh and dried herbs, with a hem of salted liquorice. Rich and concentrated but ever so fresh, raspberry acidity and a spicy, stony streak drives through the notes of coffee cream. Drinking window: 2023-2030 Click to see full details | |
| Château Estanilles, Clos du Fou | Faugères | 2019 | 93 | Dark smoky scents, freshly cracked black pepper and mineral-laced black fruits, this is a powerful wine but still refined. There's huge energy here and sweeping acidity, gliding through the ripe red and black cherries right down to its stony core, lending balance and support. Drinking window: 2023-2029 Click to see full details | |
| Château La Liquière, Cistus | Faugères | 2021 | 93 | I'm immediately struck by aromas of orange blossom, violets, juniper and cassia. In the mouth the flavours are concentrated, distilled into a succulent concoction of tangerine rind, redcurrant, bramble and sous bois. Gorgeous. Drinking window: 2023-2029 Click to see full details | |
| Château Sainte-Eulalie, Bellezour Anima | Minervois (La Livinière) | 2021 | 93 | A touch of reduction on the first nose, and a herbal note of green tea leaves. This evolves into fresh earth and cherry skin. The palate is bold and brimming with black fruit, but it also has a firm, mineral core. The fruit concentration is tempered by a lovely spiciness and lifted on the finish by a red fruit crunch and a vaguely citrus zestiness. Refined and distinctive. Drinking window: 2023-2035 Click to see full details | |
| Clos Fantine, Cuvée Courtiol | Faugères | 2019 | 93 | A countryside hedgerow simply bursting with brambly fruit and seeping with menthol, liquorice and cade. The palate is concentrated, with huge sweeping acids and a taut tannic structure. There's some toasty, spicy hints and a core roped in iron, supported by velvety tannins. Flecks of orange emerge on the palate, it's driving and fragrant, full of energy. The finish is just a little drying, but the overall impression is soft and comforting. Drinking window: 2023-2030 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Balansa, Bel Soula | Fitou | 2021 | 93 | A little reductive on opening, but pretty red berry aromas eventually open out onto a super fresh palate, hyper textural and silky with suave tannins. A lightness and airiness pervades through the wine, a rocky core, a touch of green leaf lingers on the back palate. Drinking window: 2023-2029 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Combe Blanche, La Chandelière | Minervois (La Livinière) | 2020 | 93 | Characterised by bright droplets of red cherry fruit, this offers a breath of fresh air, crushed raspberries and a juicy, crunchy texture. Mouthwatering and delicious. Some char and vanilla lingers on the finish, but it's balanced by characterful notes of underbrush and garrigue. Drinking window: 2023-2035 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de Cébène, Ex Arena | Faugères | 2022 | 93 | Black fruited, bright and delightful, a very fluid and digest mouthful that offers length, complexity and refreshment, a great achievement. Black plums, salted currants, liquorice and wild thyme sit astride a stony, slatey core. It's full of crunchy fruit and could take a light chill. Drinking window: 2023-2030 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de Villeneuve, Fol Envie | Pic St-Loup | 2020 | 93 | Perfumed and elegant with roses and violets over black plums, sloes and bramble. Intense, structured and bold. Citrus acidity drives the wine forward in the mouth and a lean slatey note draws out the finish. The finish plays between stones, bitter plum skin and ripe fruit. Impressive and refined. Drinking window: 2023-2032 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine la Bouysse, Terrassaé | Corbières | 2022 | 93 | A pale red in the glass, this wine's aromas wash over you with fresh wild strawberries, tea leaves, tobacco and cranberries. In the mouth it's so silky, with deliciously sweet succulent fruit, tight and grippy tannins and a streak of something reen or stemmy. I love the deep spice alongside the lifted freshness. Drinking window: 2023-2032 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Plan de l'Homme, Cuvée Khi | Terrasses du Larzac | 2020 | 93 | Vivacious and bright, this is a wine that you'll just keep coming back to. Lifted raspberry aromas with hints of black tea leaves, followed by great fruit concentration on the palate and generous, flowing acidity. Well balanced and well made, bravo. Drinking window: 2023-2027 Click to see full details | |
| Le Clos du Serres, Les Maros | Terrasses du Larzac | 2021 | 93 | Lifted raspberry and red cherry spring from the glass, as well as some ripe blueberry and bramble notes. Elegant, refined aromatics jump from lavender to red apple to sage. Such an appetising mouthful, with red cherries, plums, wild strawberries and a succulent, mouthwatering finish tinged with thyme. A wine that's really focused on the freshness of the fruit, and all the better for it. Drinking window: 2023-2028 Click to see full details | |
| Le Chemin des Rêves, L'Optimiste | Pic St-Loup | 2021 | 93 | Incredibly floral aromas, the violet tones of Syrah, with enticing ripe blueberries too. Juniper and black pepper appear in the mouth and give a lovely fragrance to each mouthful. This has good concentration but is also light on its feet, crunchy, with supple tannins. Drinking window: 2023-2030 Click to see full details | |
| Le Chemin des Rêves, Guele de Loup | Pic St-Loup | 2021 | 93 | Luminous blue and black fruit profile, a cascade of forest berries and bramble mixed with smoky wisps of wood burning stove. Thyme, liquorice and menthol lend great aromatics to the palate, which is quite taut and inaccessible at the moment. Give this time to open up. Drinking window: 2024-2032 Click to see full details | |
| Les Chemins de Carabote, Les Pierres qui Chantent | Terrasses du Larzac | 2020 | 93 | Upfront aromas of just-ripe black cherries and plums, herb-encrusted raspberries, pine, smoke and toast. Racy, juicy and vibrant in the mouth, with fresh red apple succulence. Chalky tannins, but they just lend a little bite. Really drinkable. Drinking window: 2023-2028 Click to see full details | |
| Mas des Capitelles, Primus | Faugères | 2020 | 93 | Dark in colour and aroma, showing plush, deluxe notes of blueberry, blackberry and cherry. Sweet and very ripe, but it's delicious because it's tempered by silky and velvety tannins and balmy spices. Mint, thyme and juniper elongate the finish. Drinking window: 2023-2029 Click to see full details | |
| Abbaye Sylva Plana, La Closeraie | Faugères | 2021 | 92 | Lifted red fruit aromas are edged with smoke and spice. Wild strawberry freshness and juicy acidity match well with the wine's inherent sucrosity. Drinking window: 2023-2028 Click to see full details | |
| Château de Cazeneuve, Les Calcaires | Pic St-Loup | 2021 | 92 | Lively and bursting at the seams with blackberries and currants, red plums and red cherries, this runs the gamut of red and black fruit. In the mouth there's a spicy attack, with cayenne pepper and a lightly bitter, stemmy note on the finish along with fairly grippy tannins. Accomplished and elegant. Drinking window: 2023-2029 Click to see full details | |
| Château Fabre Gasparets | Corbières Boutenac | 2019 | 92 | A splendid medley of black forest fruits, currants, fresh figs and damsons. Mocha and cocoa nib complexity is developing, and the palate is plush and thick. There's a lick of alcohol on the finish, and a firm tannic structure. Drinking window: 2023-2030 Click to see full details | |
| Château La Roque, La Cupa | Pic St-Loup | 2020 | 92 | Alluring and enchantingly floral on the nose, with some lifted balsamic, orange rind and cranberry tones, bringing lovely complexity to the aromatics. It's refined and relaxed, the tannins are present but like a soft teddy bear embrace, smooth and velvety. Dark chocolate-covered raspberries elongate the finish. Drinking window: 2023-2030 Click to see full details | |
| Château Maylandie, Les Ferals | Corbières | 2022 | 92 | Lots of menthol and rosemary on the nose here, leading to a bracing palate where bramble fruit meets rocky tannins and long acidity. Juniper, thyme and rosemary characters form a garrigue cushion around the pure fruit. Drinking window: 2023-2029 Click to see full details | |
| Clos de L'Anhel, Le Lolo de L'Anhel | Corbières | 2022 | 92 | A bright and light iteration of Corbières that's light on its feet, full of cherry stone, strawberries and juicy acidity. A new window onto this area's wines, with great promise. Drinking window: 2023-2032 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Binet-Jacquet, Tradition | Faugères | 2021 | 92 | A little reticent at first, but the palate is alive with red and black fruit, soft, subtle, stony and spicy. It's savoury too, a little dry, but quite light on its feet and in body. Fresh and not boozy at all, with decanting this is open and ready now. Drinking window: 2023-2029 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de Cébène, A La Venvole | Faugères | 2022 | 92 | Squashy red and black fruit open the aromas, which flow fragrantly across the sweet-fruited, spice-dusted palate. Supple tannins make for a fine and silky sip. Drinking window: 2023-2029 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de l'Hortus, Bergerie de l'Hortus | Pic St-Loup | 2021 | 92 | Light in colour and gorgeously fragrant, this has lifted, delicate notes of dried strawberry alongside deeper nuances of liquorice, thyme and slate. It's juicy and sweet-fruited with a fine texture. Drinking window: 2023-2029 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de l'Hortus, Grande Cuvée | Pic St-Loup | 2020 | 92 | At first a little shy, the aromas soon emerge into a full spectrum of berry fruit, with blackberry and sloes to the fore. This is layered with spice and a smoky high note. A velvety texture takes those succulent berries right to the finish. Tasty, refined and understated with a fresh mineral streak. Drinking window: 2023-2030 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de Villeneuve, La Muse | Pic St-Loup | 2021 | 92 | With its light red colour and crushed rock and tea leaf aromas, this seductive wine is perfect for any occasion: a light lunch, a dinner with friends, an aperitif in the park, or a contemplative evening's sipping. In the mouth it melds pretty red fruit with a meaty undertone, a touch of spice and long juicy acidity. Drinking window: 2023-2029 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine l'Aiguelière, Velours | Terrasses du Larzac | 2020 | 92 | Strongly herb-scented, with mint, thyme, sage and pine playing against raspberry leaf and red apple. Succulent red cherries in the mouth, red apple acidity, even a touch of orange zest. There's density and ripe fruit, dusty tannins that are almost integrated, and bright strawberry lift. Drinking window: 2023-2028 Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Ollier-Taillefer, Tournée Générale | Faugères | 2022 | 92 | Bold aromas bubbling over the brim showing high-toned, estery fruit, almost carbonic and bubblegummy, like squished wild strawberries with a backdrop of darker brambly fruit. All about the primary fruit here, it sings with freshness and sweet coulis fruit. Still a fair amount of structure as the tannins are present and on the teeth. Tasty and refreshing. Drinking window: 2023-2029 Click to see full details | |
| Mas Combarèla, Lueurs d'Espar | Terrasses du Larzac | 2020 | 92 | A riper, richer nose of plums and fresh figs, and a strong scent of pine. The acidity surges and flows across the plump, squishy cherry palate. A lovely mouthful. An iodine note emerges on the finish as well, ferrous and savoury. Supple tannins. Drinking window: 2023-2028 Click to see full details | |
| Mas Conscience, La Conscience | Terrasses du Larzac | 2020 | 92 | Violets meld with with some cooked fruit on the nose, blackberry coulis, cranberry and a figgy touch. In the mouth it's dense, concentrated and full-bodied, yet there's a lot of freshness, sweeping acidity, a distinct crunchiness, making it surprisingly succulent. Spicy blueberry and vanilla finish. Drinking window: 2023-2026 Click to see full details | |
| Mas Olivier | Faugères | 2021 | 92 | Lifted aromas of little ripe red berries. There's a really appealing nature to the aromas, they're soft fruited and relaxed. Menthol and sous bois play for attention too, but it's the fruit that always bustles through and leaves in its wake a stroke of fresh acidity. It's medium-bodied, with a touch of sweet vanilla in the background. Refreshing. Drinking window: 2023-2029 Click to see full details | |
| Mas Olivier, Sélection | Faugères | 2020 | 92 | Dark in colour. The nose crosses the boundaries between primary fruit and herbs and some emerging tertiary characters with ease, showing cedar and spice, brambly fruit and strong eucalyptus and menthol notes. The palate is sensual and spicy, balanced in structure with enveloping tannins and good energy. Silky, velvet tannins are like smooth dark chocolate, with touches of coffee and chocolate powder. The oak is certainly evident, but it works well with the concentrated fruit. Vanilla, char and toast over redcurrants and jam. Drinking window: 2023-2028 Click to see full details | |
| Sarrat de Goundy, La Combe aux Louves | La Clape | 2021 | 92 | Black fruited and intense, this has aromas of black cherry compote and spicy blackberry. Plump and sumptuous, it flows nicely across the palate, is lifted by graceful acidity and braced by tasty tannins. Drinking window: 2023-2028 Click to see full details |