Road Reports

Pic St. Loup is home to some of the northern Languedoc's best producers, many of which are starting to find there way to the USA via smaller, boutique importers, like Kermit Lynch (Chateau LaRoque), Jeffrey Davies (Mas Bruguiere, Cazeneuve, Lancyre), Eric Solomon (L'Hortus) and others.

The quality, consistency and aging ability of these wines is mind-boggling. Ten years or more is expected, and now with more modern production and vinification, the wines can equal the best Rhones.

Made from similar grapes and many of similar age, the Languedoc reds from Pic. St. Loup have a very Bordeaux like texture and smoothness when young, unlike the Rhones which define rustic in French winemaking. That may explain why the local cooperative, Cooperative Coteaux du Pic is doing so well with their new Merlot and Cabernet wines, including a sensational Merlot aged in foudre's, the small oak barrels.

It is amazing how much across the board consistency, regional flavor and local terroir characteristics show through from all the producers. Wines from Pic St. Loup are keepers, and their food friendliness along with their distinctive style makes them worthy additions to any collection.

Mas Bruguiere

Along the road to lunch, I dropped in to Mas Bruguiere and Domain de l'Hortus without any notice. Literally right next door to one another, Mas Bruguiere, which is imported by Jeffrey Davies, is one of the true family owned wineries. Their wines are heralded throughout France, steadily winning Gold Medals. They sell all they produce and are regularly found on lists of restaurants near and far.

They only have one wine to pour at this time, the 1998 "Les Grenadiere." It is a blend of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre which is aged in small oak barrels, thus it is "Fut du Chene." Its structure, complexity and youthfulness shows that it can easily age ten years or more, developing complexity along the way. A major hit of berries starts you off with this almost opaque black/purple wine. On first taste you sense the roundness, richness and depth of the blend. The oak is almost non-existent. Layers of cherries, herbs, spicy black pepper, blueberry, tar, and coffee are all right there. "Les Grenadiere" offers a smooth tannic backbone, with rich round fruit and a very soft gentle finish.

Domaine de L'Hortus

Just down the lane is Domaine de L'Hortus. Their wines have been showing up in the USA since the 1993 vintage at least, and have always been a great value. With two reds and a white available to taste, all the soon to ship 1998's I took the opportunity to taste them, literally right outside the vat with the winemaker.

1998 Domaine de L'Hortus, Grand Cuvee Blanc. This is a wine to run out and buy as soon as it reaches the shores. A blend of Chardonnay and Viognier, it possesses a very bright golden color, and despite only being in the bottle a few weeks, it is already showing great depth and length. The honey, citrus and clove like nose give one a great indication of what to expect in the future. On the palate the wine is still closed, but what can be tasted is such densely packed ripe fruit, tropical flavors of limes, mint, steely lemons, honey and anise, it only indicates that the wine will only improve with time in the bottle.

1998 Bergerie de l'Hortus is the Cuvee Classique. The winery changed the name on the label to distinguish the basic cuvee from the Grand Cuvee (see below). Made from 50% Syrah, 35% Grenache and 15% Mourvedre, the 1998 vintage is a supple wine with a bright purple robe. It is deeply extracted and shows very well. It is packed with brambly fruit, terroir and easy to tolerate tannins. On the palate black cherries, tar and black berries first show through. As it rolls around your mouth, the regal richness of black currants, plums and blueberries, along with some coffee are most evident. This is a wine to purchase by the case.

1997 Domain de l'Hortus Grand Cuvee is the house's top red wine. Made from a blend of 45% Mourvedre, 40% Syrah and 15% Grenache the wine is still a baby. It is so much in character with the 1993 I had last week showing great consistency on the part of the winemaker. This though is much finer wine, as the 97 vintage was a much more lean vintage. The bottle shows that in any year, a great producer can turn out a great wine.

The texture is almost Bordeaux like, while the flavor and bouquet is true Pic St. Loup. As young as it is, the level of fruit, the evolution and the flavors are already striking. Rich blueberry, blackberry and raspberry fruit are very forward. It is an elegant wine that will need about three years to fully develop, but its so very precocious this wine may give you a hard time to keep away from them and not drink them young.

Following lunch at Auberge du Saugras, I stopped at two other producers imported by Jeffrey Davies, Chateau de Lancyre and Chateau de Cazeneuve.

Chateau de Lancyre

Lancyre, which is just south of Lauret, in the town of Valflaunes makes two reds, two whites and a single rose. The wines are of very good quality, limited in availability and always refreshing.

1998 La Rouviere Blanc is a blend of equal parts Rousanne and Viognier. It has a rich pineapple aroma, kiwi, lemon, lime and citrus on the nose. On the palate tart kiwi fruit, apples, pears, apricots, melons and papaya come through. It has a really long finish with hints of anise and licorice.

1998 Grande Cuvee is also a blend of Rousanne and Viognier, but unlike the La Rouviere it sees time in the barrel. It is very tight, with exceptionally young fruit, melons, apricots, pears and apples. This wine needs time to evolve. It ends with touches of caramel and butterscotch on the finish.

1998 Vin Rose is a blend of Grenache and Syrah. A light pink color, it is already rounded and fully developed. Packed with raspberry fruit, green spice, peppermint, spearmint and blueberries, this is one of the better rose wines I've had this trip.

1998 Clos du Combes is a blend of young Syrah and Grenache. This is a full throttle in your facebistro or café' wine. You immediately get a big hit of Syrah when you first take a whiff of the wine. It is dark purple in color, with blueberries, limestone tart cranberry, and hints of crenshaw and watermelon on the finish. Not a wine full of finesse, it ends with a bit of a hot streak.

1998 Vielle Vignes is also a blend of Syrah and Grenache, but from the older vines. The color is a very dark black purple, with super deep extraction. Right now the wine is tight, needing time to fully develop. There is some Garrigue spice, a bit of tart fruit, and of course the oak. It has berries, cherries and plums, and can be drunk in the next two years or aged five to seven quite easily.

1997 Grand Cuvee is a blend of Mourvedre, Syrah and Grenache. Loaded with Garrigue spice, you get it all at first whiff along with the scent of fresh blueberry pie. Possessing a deep purple color, the wine still shows its youthfulness and oak barrel aging. The wine flavors evoke sensations of rounded berries, plums and black currants. The Grand Cuvee has a good finish already and shows that of the three reds it is the best wine to age, likely 10-15 years or so.

Chateau de Cazeneuve

Next up is Chateau de Cazeneuve. The property is just across the lane from my hotel so it becomes the last stop of the day. Sadly Mr. Leenhardt greets me with apologies. He has no wine to sell. What a good problem to have. A total of 500 cases are shipped each year the USA, but the high quality, small crop in 98 means higher prices and half the quantity for retailers and distributors the world over.

Leenhardt is very friendly and recalls my 1997 visit, by saying "San Diego." We talk about the scarcity of his wines on the west coast, the exciting California Syrah producers like Andrew Murray, Adam Tomlach, and Bob Lindquist and the problems with small crops and the demands his importers all have placed on him.

The 1998 Blanc, a blend of 60% Rousanne, 20% Grenache Blanc and 20% Viognier has been in the bottle since July. Leenhardt thinks it is still to young and needs a good 6-8 more months in the bottle. It has great aging ability, but now it is very closed with only the limestone, rich ripe peaches and chalky fruit coming though.

The 1997 Les Calcaires is the new name for his Classique wine, one of three reds he poured today of the four he produces. Made from 70% Syrah, 20% Mourvedre and 10% Carignan the wine has been in the bottle since March. It is a super well-made wine that is already showing great elegance and fine structure. Stone fruit, blackberries, cassis, plums and papaya fruit all precede the long finish.

1997 La Roc de Mates is the new name for the Grand Cuvee a blend of 90% Syrah and the remainder Grenache and Mourvedre. This wine is pure opaque inky black purple. It is a Syrah masters tour de force that will easily stand up to any Hermitage or St. Joseph. The pepper, black fruit and cherries are already present on the nose, and when you taste the wine you get loads of blueberry, cherry, blackberry, black currants, plums and cassis fruit. The long dazzling finish is tremendous, and Leenhardt thinks it is easily a ten- year wine.

1997 La Sang de Calvaire (The stones of the cross) is his new wine, made only in select years. It is one hundred percent Mourvedre and fans of Tempier or LaRoque will want to hunt down this wine. It has already spent 18 months in oak and the result is very impressive for a first time wine. Black pepper, black berries, raspberry fruit, chalky soil comes through in with some robust terroir and herbal aromas without being green. Its loaded with a soft creamy rich middle that will remind Philadelphians of a Tastykake without the crust. The ending is tremendous, with layer upon layer of black plums and cherries. This wine is an impressive new effort from on of the Languedoc's true masters.

We then went into the very cool cave where Leenhardt makes and stores his wine to try the 1998's. The La Roc de Mates is 80% Syrah and 20% Mourvedre. It has been in barrels for nine months and comes out of the fife already black. Surprisingly it is very soft for such a young wine that has been seeing the oak for the time it has. When it arrives, this is a wine to seek out for it's depth, complexity and finesse are not readily found. The wine delivers wonderful flavors of plums, black currants, blueberries, wild cherries and spice. Sensational.

1998 Young Vines Syrah is a new wine for Chateau de Cazeneuve. AOC rules require vines to be six years old before they end production can be classified Pic. St. Loup so the 1998 release will be Vin D'Pays. Leenhardt says this wine will spend six more months in barrel, but already it seems he has another well-structured and balanced wine on his hands. The wine is reminiscent of Alquier of Faugere's Jaune Vignes, being very forward, rich and deep, while offering lighter Garrigue aromas and the typical blueberry/black pepper and spice flavors on the palate.

Overall, the producers of Pic St. Loup, of which there are many more, are showing a great sense of dedication and desire to make world-class wines. Soon, we will move from the Chateaus to the Cooperative and a major tasting of the wines from the Cooperative Coteaux du Pic, but that is for another report.

Andy