Road Reports

Domaine de Baubiac

Collectors and fans of Languedoc wines know the name of importer Jeffrey Davies. He spends countless hours on the wine roads of France finding undiscovered producers and brings them with great personal effort to the American market. His portfolio is rich in producers from Pic St. Loup and for good reason. They are making some of the best full bodied, undervalued red wines anywhere in Europe.

The 1998 vintage as previously noted is a runaway smash, but unfortunately the smaller yields means less wine and higher prices.

One producer in Davies portfolio worth seeking out for of the Coteaux du Languedoc Pic St. Loup reds I've tasted the past three days, Domaine de Baubiac is producing the best of the 1998's for drinking in the next 3-5 years.

Up until 1990 the family grew grapes and turned them over to the local cooperative in Corconne. In 1991 they began to make their own wines. Growing all the AOC varietals plus Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Viognier gives them lots of grapes to work with.

The 1998 Vin d'Pay d'Oc Viognier is a florist shop in a bottle. The wonderful bouquet of spring flowers, honeysuckle, lavender, rose petals and orchids is breathtaking. The taste of the wine is equally impressive, with Asian spice, peaches and dried apricots.

The 1998 Vin d'Pay d'Oc Merlot offers excellent structure and is full of violets and cherries on the nose. First taste gives you an abundance of cherry and black currants. Still young I would expect this wine to only get better in the next 6-12 months and age a good 2-3 years.

The 1996 Vin d'Pay d'Oc Merlot was sold in the USA and may still be on some store shelves. It is much fruitier and softer than the 98, showing similar characteristics of cherry, black currants, but with more Garrigue spice and a touch of blueberries in the finish.

But the wine I am most excited about is the 1998 Coteaux du Languedoc. I was fortunate to taste three successive vintages with the winemaker, starting with the 1996. Normally one tastes youngest to oldest, but knowing the 98 vintage characteristics it was better to go the otherway, for fear of dissapointment.

The 1996 as in the succeeding vintages is a blend of 50% Mourvedre, 40% Syrah and 10% Grenache. It spends 8 months in the barrel when it is then blended with wine that has spent a similar amount of time in the couve. It opens with a typical Languedoc Garrigue bouquet, and blue berry fruit. On the palate the jammy blackberries from the Mourvedre show up, before the blueberry from the Syrah takes over. Very nice, well made and showing a lot of subtlees.

The 1997 Coteaux du Languedoc showed a deeper nose, had a very black purple color, but was lighter and more restrained on the palate. It had the same Garrigue spice on the nose and a similar taste. This wine is best drunk now.

But the star of the day and of the past three days was the 1998 Coteaux du Languedoc. The wine is incredible. From the first whiff all the way through the tasting process, this was the first wine I did not spit out (save for the wines with meals or at Cazeneuve from across the lane). I wanted more. It is deep, almost black purple in color. The nose gives only a hint of what is in store, and since it is only in the bottle two months, the wood is still evident, but only slightly. Sure it has the Garrigue spice. Yes it has blueberries. Of course ithas blackberries, but it is the elegance, the finesse, the length, the dazzling mid palate of raspberries, plums, black cherries, cassis, tar, black pepper, papaya, watermelon and other fruit that makes this wine a delight. Retailers who buy from Davies string of distributors would be wise to ask for this wine now. It is in short supply, but will move fast once people try it. Sensational.

Andy