Languedoc-Roussillon v Southern Rhône: Top wines compared

This is a wine that shows great vibrancy and depth. The nose is slightly reticent but profound with dark fruit and spice and a smoky, reductive edge. The palate is suave and broad but harmonious, the tannins rounded and the fruit pure. There's also innate freshness. The fruit comes from once abandoned parcels at 400 metres that Olivier Jullien has reworked over the last 15 years. The wine is aged for 12-18 months in 600-litre demi-muids.

Vieilles Vignes means just that, the majority of the fruit from vines planted in 1920 and 1965. Pale red hue with a hint of evolution. The wine is busy and fresh on the nose with menthol-eucalyptus moving to herbal notes and a dash of cassis. The palate is ripe but perfectly pitched with mellow tannins, a stony, vinous edge and complexity as it unfolds.

This was only released for sale in March 2019 following ten years maturation in tank (and a small percentage in foudres). The brick colour shows its visible evolution. The nose is open and expressive with prune, leather and spice notes. The same aromatics follow on the palate with an additional tobacco note. It's clearly a mature wine but there's lovely freshness, a dry finish and enough tannic bite to suggest it still has staying power.

A wine that is both gourmand and refined. It has ripe, creamy, berry fruit with a touch of spice. The palate is rich on attack then follows through with plenty of reserve. The tannins are plentiful but honed. This is a wine that is well within itself (the alcohol unobtrusive), a pleasure now but with the capacity to age. It is produced from 50-80 year-old vines and aged for 18 months in 600-litre demi-muids.

The majority Grenache is 60 to over 100 years-old providing the wine with complexity and depth. It has a garnet hue, refined berry fruit nose with a hint of herb, menthol and blackcurrant. The southern sunshine is clear on the palate but there's a stony terroir note and the finish is clean and fresh. There's a firm but fine structure and plenty of reserve. The wine was aged in oak foudres for 24 months.

The terroir (quaternary terrace with large stones) and old vines (90 years) are apparent in this wine. It has subtle aromatics with a stony, mineral, garrigue edge that leave a fresh sensation. The palate is rich but with a firm tannic base behind, good length and grip on the finish combined with a glow of alcohol. It shows complexity and will age. Vinification in concrete vats and ageing in oak barrels for 12 months then 12 months in bottle.

This is again very much a terroir wine, the stony character evident in the aromatics and flavour. The nose is slightly reticent with a garrigue, herb nuance, the palate then showing that stony, pebble-sucking texture and taste. There's a touch of sweetness to the fruit which adds another dimension and the finish is clean and long. The fruit comes from a single plot and the wine is aged in tank and 600-litre demi-muids for 12-18 months.

The wine shows a particular elegance proving that the Languedoc can do refinement. It has attractive berry fruit and spice aromatics and flavour with just a hint of oak. The fruit is pure and the tannins are finely honed, the overall impression one of harmony and balance. The refreshment factor is also present. The wine is vinified using native yeasts and aged for 24 months in one and two year-old oak barrels.

The pale brick colour gives the impression of a wine in an advanced state of maturity but the nose is fresh and youthful with lifted red berry fruit. The earthy, herbal, garrigue notes on the palate are a little more mature but the supple fruit and tension shows you the wine can hold. The finish is clean and precise. Elegance again prevails.

The nose is ripe and solar with a jammy, raisined edge. The palate, though, is fresh and expressive of the terroir with stony, mineral and herbal notes. The tannins are firm and present but refined, the finish dry with a slight glow of alcohol. There's ageing potential here. Maturation was in French oak foudres (20-22 months). The wine also contains 5% of 'other' varieties (Cinsault, Clairette, etc.).

The wine has a Mediterranean feel but also a certain finesse. The colour shows some evolution, the nose providing notes of leather, prune and herbs. The palate is round, plush and refined with fine tannins, some freshness and a clean, dry finish. It's drinking well now. Maturation was in tank, the wine spending 49 months before bottling.

Beautifully fresh, lifted and disarming on the nose, you react with a smile without thinking, like with so many of the best 2016s. At this stage there's liquorice, a little black pepper and some floral overtones alongside a little grilled toast. It's full-bodied, you feel the sun in the wine, and it's so concentrated. Tannins are wonderfully glossy and fine, the wine is saturated with them, they coat your mouth. Long finish with real persistence. Perfectly balanced, utterly harmonious, this will be a panoramic Châteauneuf when it's ready. Not overblown or overextracted - perfectly pitched.

This has an expressive nose with notes of blackcurrant and spice (liquorice). The palate is ripe, supple and fragrant, again with blackcurrant notes on the finish. The tannins are finely honed. It definitely has a refined edge but appears light in structure. The wine also contains 5% Counoise, Muscardin and Vaccarèse and is matured for 12-15 months in oak foudres.

Rich and modern in style, La Torre has generous red and dark fruit with a twist of herb. The solar ripeness also gives it a definite Mediterranean feel. There appears to be a touch of oak but it is well integrated. The finish is long. It's a well-made wine with medium ageing potential. The vines are grown on schist and clay soils and the wine matured for 18 months in 600-litre demi-muids.

This wine is quite a charmer with a nose that is lifted and bright, displaying red berry and spice (pepper) aromas. The Syrah component seems significant at this stage. The palate is fruit-driven and expressive with a come hither feel and coffee bean note. The tannins are fine and integrated - this will provide attractive early drinking but I'm less sure about the long haul. It was produced from vines grown on a northwest facing vineyard at 350 metres and aged in barrel and tank.

The deep, crimson-purple colour announces the tenor. This is a big, bold wine of a more international flavour than terroir driven at this stage. There's plenty of creamy oak with cassis notes on the nose while the palate is full, plush and round, the ripeness and glow of alcohol giving a port-like nuance. The tannins are finely honed and will provide a structure for mid-term ageing. The wine, which also includes some Carignan, was aged for 12 months in French oak barrels.

The oak is integrated but still present in this wine and, along with the fruit, offers dark pastel fruit and cassis notes in a slightly exaggerated manner. The palate is round, juicy and aromatic with finely etched tannins and an agreeable freshness. It's a well-made wine but lacks some regional character. The wine spent 12 months ageing (including the malolactic fermentation) in oak barrel.

This has a pale garnet hue and aromatic expression with prune, olive and herbal notes. The dominance of Grenache provides a sweet-fruited attack and supple mid-palate, the tannins finely honed. There's a touch of alcohol on the finish. It's a complete wine but could step up in complexity. The wine also includes 6% of 'other' grape varieties (Cinsault, Counoise, Vaccarèse, Terret noir, Picpoul noir, Muscardin).

This old-vine cuvée of Grenache is a powerhouse wine and is marked by its solar nature. The aromatics are very much currant, cassis and spice, the palate ripe and full but firm with a robust tannic frame. Ageing (9 months) took place in concrete vat. The alcohol is not obtrusive in tasting.

This is very much an understated wine, the colour pale garnet, the aromatics a mix of red fruit, olive, herb and spice. The palate appears juicy and refined but low-key with a svelte-like tannic backbone. There's immediate drinkability (the alcohol not disturbing) but probably ageing potential also. There are some other grape varieties, including Mourvèdre, co-planted with the Grenache. The parcels were planted in 1900 and 1949.

The nose is lifted and spicy with a herbal twist and just a hint of oak. The palate has depth and restraint and feels a little backward giving the impression there is more to come. It's a solid wine, if lacking a little in relief. Grenache and Cinsault complete the blend in this wine which was aged for 12 months in demi-muids (a portion new) and foudres and then 7 months in tank.

This is a concentrated wine with plenty of extract but I found the tannins just too drying and chewy on the finish. The alcohol shows as well, otherwise, there's depth at the core, cassis and herb aromatics and sweetness and volume on the palate. Could be it just needs time. Maturation (18 months) was in four year old demi-muids.

The wine starts well with attractive berry fruit and spice aromatics but then a gamey note intervenes which suggests a touch of brettanomyces spoilage. The tannins, too, are rather drying and aggressive on the finish.

You'll have to be tolerant of a high level of brettanomyces spoilage to appreciate this wine. There's a base of dark fruit but the gamey-animal notes are really marked and the tannins chewy and tough on the finish. Funky is certainly the word.