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Pic St Loup report 2023: Latest releases tasted
‘The wines are enticing, fragrant, with great aromatic finesse,’ says Natalie Earl, as she assesses the most recent vintages and gives her verdict on the resulting wines.
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.
Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the top Pic St Loup wines from 2020 & 2021
2020
The cellar at Château La Roque, with a range of different ageing vessels.
(Image credit: Decanter / Natalie Earl)
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.
Anne-Lise Fraisse-Florac (left) of Domaine de Villeneuve, who is gradually handing over to her daughter Victorine (right).
(Image credit: Decanter / Natalie Earl)
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.
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:
Domaine de Villeneuve, Prestige Rosé, Pic St-Loup, Languedoc, France 2021
My wines
A darker hue here. Bold and flavoursome, this has peach flesh, cranberry and raspberry fruit layered with a light savoury, nutty, pastry character. The finish...
Bergerie du Capucin, Dame Jeanne Rosé, Pic St-Loup, Languedoc, France 2022
My wines
Citrus peel springs from the glass before evolving into a more red-fruited profile. Full of flavour, mouthcoating and oily in texture, with a zesty orange...
Le Chemin des Rêves, Abracadabra Rosé, Pic St-Loup, Languedoc, France 2022
My wines
A little subdued, with careful notes of grapefruit and lemon rind, just-ripe peach and almond. It's more like a white in profile, with persistent acidity...
Clos des Reboussiers, Pic St-Loup, Languedoc, France 2020
My wines
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...
Domaine de l'Hortus, Le Dit de l'Hortus l'Ombrée, Pic St-Loup, Languedoc, France 2020
My wines
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,...
Le Chemin des Rêves, La Soie, Pic St-Loup, Languedoc, France 2021
My wines
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...
Mas Bruguière, La Grenadière, Pic St-Loup, Languedoc, France 2021
My wines
A beautiful expression of Syrah built on youthful black fruit, spanning black plums, forest berries and black olives. Textured like crimson silk, with clean, defined...
Château de Lancyre, Vieilles Vignes, Pic St-Loup, Languedoc, France 2020
My wines
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...
Domaine de Villeneuve, Fol Envie, Pic St-Loup, Languedoc, France 2020
My wines
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...
Le Chemin des Rêves, L'Optimiste, Pic St-Loup, Languedoc, France 2021
My wines
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...
Le Chemin des Rêves, Gueule de Loup, Pic St-Loup, Languedoc, France 2021
My wines
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...
Château La Roque, La Cupa, Pic St-Loup, Languedoc, France 2020
My wines
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...
Domaine de l'Hortus, Bergerie de l'Hortus, Pic St-Loup, Languedoc, France 2021
My wines
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...
Château de Lascaux, Carra Rouge, Pic St-Loup, Languedoc, France 2021
My wines
Aromatic and bright, full of freshly squished raspberries, raspberry pip and plump red cherries, gradually moving deeper down into darker fruit and cedar wood, earth...
Regional Editor for France & Sustainability Editor
Natalie is Decanter's France editor, commissioning and writing content on French wines (excluding Bordeaux) across print and digital. She writes Decanter's coverage of Languedoc wines, as well as a monthly magazine column, The Ethical Drinker, which unpicks the thorny topic of sustainability in wine. She joined Decanter in 2016.
