Regional profile: St-Chinian plus 59 wines tasted

‘The Languedoc is a wonderful source of characterful, good-value wines and none more so than St-Chinian at the western end of this Mediterranean tract’ writes James Lawther MW.

Situated in the foothills of the Cévennes, northwest of the town of Béziers, St-Chinian offers generous, dark fruit, spice and garrigue-scented red wines that are underpinned by a refreshing mineral edge – alongside a steady proportion of rosé wines and increasing number of whites.

Quality and style vary, but low yields, an equable climate (so less vintage variation), a judicious blend of Midi grape varieties and a growing number of reliable producers have made St-Chinian an increasingly sound bet.

Scroll down for the 22 top-rated St-Chinian wines

‘St-Chinian is like a small Languedoc’ opens Gaylord Burguière, the appellation’s communications manager. ’You can find a little piece of each part of the Languedoc in the soils of St-Chinian. It’s also interesting because you can compare very easily the same grapes on different soils’, he said.

Featuring two primary and distinct terroir types – schist in the north and limestone in the south, Burguière says almost each vintage is a tale of two with the same grape varieties being picked almost two weeks apart.

‘The harvest time can be up to two week’s different with grapes on schist picked up to 15 days before those planted on limestone soils. For schist you don’t have the rain in the middle of September but the limestone soils get it which changes the vintage.’

It is for this reason the appellation has been working on a new bottle label to make this distinction easier for consumers.

Burguière said the ‘Schistes & Calcaires’ label project has taken a long time to get winemakers on board but extols the importance of being able to easily explain the difference in wine style.

‘We are perhaps the only appellation to do this but St-Chinian as a region is unusual to have these two soils affect the wines in such a way. The label is key for people to be better informed.’

History

The vine was planted in St-Chinian as early as the 8th century by Benedictine monks, and along with olives, chestnuts (for flour) and vegetables became part of an early subsistence economy. The village in fact takes its name from a canonised monk, St or ‘Santch’ Anian. The church continued to monopolise the vinous economy until the 15th century when the local nobility took over. They, in turn, were supplanted by the négociants in Béziers and Sète. The creation of a rail link to Paris in 1860 and limited damage from phylloxera kept the region buoyant until the end of the 19th century.

See all 59 St-Chinian wines from the tasting

The depression of the 1930s and two world wars changed this. The demand for cheap table wine dried up and the only way forward for low-yielding hillside regions such as St-Chinian seemed to be a more qualitative approach. A VDQS (Vin Délimité de Qualité Suppérieure) designation was created in 1951 known as Côtes de l’Orb et du Vernazobres after the two principal rivers. Then, led by the cooperatives, as ever the economic force in the region, the appellation St-Chinian was established in 1982. Twenty communes are included within it.

Mixed landscape

Today the vineyards cover some 3,100ha, producing red, rosé and (since 2005) dry white wines. These stretch from Minervois in the west to Faugères in the east.

As in the latter, the soils in the northern part of the region are principally schist, whereas to the south they are mainly clay and limestone. This is visibly discernible from the contrast in vegetation and landscape; the north defined by its dense pine, chestnut and heather-covered hills, the south by the more open rosemary and thyme-carpeted garrigue.

There is also a contrast in wine styles: the northern schist produces a fresh and finer-grained, readily accessible red, while the southern clay and limestone result in a fuller, more powerful rendering that benefits from a touch of bottle age.

Burguière explains that the red wines on schist are ‘smooth with low acidity and have smoky tobacco and coffee flavours which are approachable sooner’ while the limestone reds have ‘more acidity, red fruit flavours and more tannins so you need to wait longer before opening and drinking.’

St-Chinian at a glance:

Area under vine (2020) 3,300ha, including two crus: Roquebrun (155ha) and Berlou (61ha)

Grape varieties

Red: Grenache, Syrah and/or Mourvèdre (minimum 70%), Carignan, Cinsault (maximum 30%)

White: Grenache Blanc (minimum 30%), Marsanne, Roussanne, Vermentino (Rolle).

Additionally, Clairette, Viognier, Bourboulenc, Macabeo, Carignan Blanc permitted to a maximum 10%

Maximum yield 45hl/ha

Annual production: 110,000hl (80% red, 15% rosé, 5% white)

Producers 100 independent wine growers and nine cooperatives (67% of production)

Market sales: 75% domestic, 25% export

Grapes

Carignan, Cinsaut and Grenache were the original varieties planted in the region, but since the creation of the appellation, Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre have been more enthusiastically embraced. The make-up today is roughly Syrah 41%, Grenache 32%, Carignan 15%, Mourvèdre 7% and Cinsault 5%.

Indeed, the appellation rules now stipulate at least 60% of the blend must be made from the combination of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Lladoner, including 10% minimum for Syrah and/or Mourvèdre and minimum 20% Grenache and/or Lladoner. In addition, the proportion of Carignan and Cinsault individually must not exceed 30%.

Syrah, with its spice, violet, rose petal and dark fruit notes, has clearly been a success, particularly from the schist soils. As has Grenache with its red fruit flavours and rounded tannins, making it an ideal component for entry-level cuvées. Mourvèdre needs careful site selection and cultivation but seen at its best as part of a cuvée such as La Madura’s grand vin (30% to 40%) offers length, structure and freshness. ‘I like wines that are fresh and balanced so favour Mourvèdre and Carignan,’ says Madura’s Cyril Bourgne.

Grenache – gives red fruit and mixed spice aromas with rounded tannins

Syrah – gives intense black fruit, violet and pepper aromas and adds deep colour and structure

Mourvèdre – gives black fruit and peppery spice aromas and adds body with intense tannins

Carignan – gives strawberry fruit and spicy perfume aromas and adds structure and strong tannins that soften with age

Cinsault – adds finesse and delicate flavours

Carignan’s steady slide from grace has apparently been halted, but new plantings are limited due to the absence of government subsidies for this variety. There is the realisation, though, that it is well suited to the Midi’s hot, dry summers and when yields are lowered offers acidity, colour, spice and structure to a blend. The new (2005) cru St-Chinian-Berlou stipulates a minimum 30% and winemakers such as Jean-Marie Rimbert and Vivien Roussignol of Les Païssels embrace it wholeheartedly in their blends. Others are more sceptical. ‘I’m not particularly keen on Carignan but use the vines that are the least productive,’ says Pierre Salvestre of Domaine La Linquière.

White wine production centres around blends with a minimum of 30% Grenache Blanc with the other principal grape being either Marsanne, Roussanne or Vermentino (Rolle). Additional grape varieties can include Viognier, Clairette, Carignan Blanc, Bourboulenc, Macabeo. These wines are distinguished by their complexity of aromas comprising fresh citrus fruits with nutty aromatics and soft spices. Those from schist soils have mineral undertones and hints of aniseed.

The winemaking features that have the most bearing on style are carbonic maceration and ageing in (new) oak barrel. The former is used to soften fruit (particularly Carignan) and enhance the aromatics.

The Roquebrun cooperative is a practitioner, as are individual domaines such as La Linquière. Barrel ageing needs to be handled with care as the stamp of oak can crush the vivacity and fruit expression of these wines. Many are still aged in tank or older, larger oak, while the new oak is left to the more expensive ‘special’ cuvées that often need a bit of bottle age.

Reliable producers

In terms of production, nine cooperatives are responsible for 67% of St-Chinian’s output, a figure that has remained constant over the past 15 years. In the vanguard is the go-ahead Cave de Roquebrun, which bottles 95% of its production, exports 50% and in the UK supplies the likes of Direct Wines, Majestic and Sainsbury’s.

There is a healthy list of reliable individual growers, the more established being Borie La Vitarèle, Canet Valette, Cazal Viel, Château de Ciffre, Clos Bagatelle, Mas Champart, Milhau Lacugue, Navarre, Rimbert and Viranel.

Newer names that have been added to this list include Pierre Salvestre at La Linquière, Olivier Pascal at Les Terrasses de Gabrielle, Xavier Franssu at Mas de Cynanque, and Philippe Bordes at his eponymous domaine are all names to watch.

The tasting

Almost 60 wines were sampled for this tasting spanning the vintages 2015-2019 with one from 2009 and one from 2013. Ten white wines and five rosé completed the list.

The highest scoring wines were red but no one vintage stood out. Many from the 16, 17 and 18 vintages showed well but with the older vintages also providing ample pleasure confirming the ageability of these wines – seek these out for immediate drinkability.

There were understandable differences in red wine styles with fresh and floral flavours contrasting wild and savoury ones. Overall, the majority were juicy and succulent with a lightness of touch alongside silky smooth tannins.

‘These aren’t technical wines’ says Burguière,’they’re artisinal and traditional’, very much showcasing a sense of place.

Some offer wonderful mineral tones, that not only give flavour but also texture, while others give spicy, herbal and liquorice notes.

It’s advisable to look at the tasting notes or follow specific chateaux if you’re after a certain style – something that the new soil sticker should soon be able to help with.

For the whites, Domaine de St-Cels, Mille Etoiles, 2017 stood out for its complexity and flavour profile while two rosés; Château St-Martin des Champs Camille and Cave de St-Chinian, Raoul Ma Poule both from the 2019 vintage also deserve highlighting.

Characterful and good-value but perhaps not as easily found on shelves, these wines are certainly worth seeking out directly.

Article updated from a 2014 regional profile of St-Chinian by James Lawther MW.

See the 22 top-rated St-Chinian wines

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