The steep slopes of Limoux are in plain view of the Pyrenees and their magnificent terroir is especially kind to white varietals, particularly Vermentino (aka Rolle), Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, the last of which dominates this blend and adds creamy complexity to a citric core, courtesy of an element which has been barrel-fermented. 
Simon Field MW - Wine Buyer, June 2017

Fruits of the 2016 vintage, which was so much kinder in the South of France than elsewhere, our blend this year marries plots of Merlot from varying altitudes, together with uplifting Syrah and ripe, generous Grenache. Finely crafted, and reassuringly gregarious, the wine is impressively structured and beautifully made.
Simon Field MW - Wine Buyer, June 2017

The 2013 Domaine de Lansac Chardonnay is redolent of apple blossom, honeysuckle, fennel, and grapefruit; it offers luscious, mouth-filling flavours with invigorating salty and herbal accents; and finishes with remarkably persistent mineral notes.

This domaine produces first-class wines at absurdly low prices. Brothers Jean-Yves and Pierre-André are the sixth generation of Ournacs to produce wines here. Like other growers in the area, they have progressively replanted their vineyards over the last 15 years, replacing many traditional varieties with Syrah, Chardonnay and Viognier.

This is one of the nicest Viogniers we know, away from the variety’s Rhône heartland. It retains Viognier’s apricot and peach stone notes, but adds a cool stone dimension that lifts the wine away from any heaviness. This isn’t complex but is immediately delicious and a little bit different too.

In the valley beneath the eponymous Pic of St Loup, the soils have a little more alluvium and clay. The wines do not lack for charm, however. Nor indeed for complexity, as the following blend will demonstrate; 30% Roussanne, 20% Sauvignon Blanc, 20% Viognier, 10% Sauvignon Gris, 10% Chardonnay, 5% Petit Manseng and 5% Bourboulenc. You are probably wishing that you hadn’t asked! Elevage is reassuringly simple after all that; in stainless steel. The young wine is dominated by fresh nettly Sauvignon aromas but complexity and texture certainly inform the palate, where one detects greengage, verbena, spice and hints of white pepper. An excellent aperitif, when all is said and done.
Simon Field MW, Wine Buyer

The finest producer in the Roussillon, Domaine Gauby continues to make extraordinary wines, with père Gerard and fils Lionel , one bearish the other Giacometti thin, making an inspiring team.. This cuvée is a blend of Carignan, Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre, grown on eponymous limestone and vinified in old unobtrusive wood. Pure and finely textured, the wine marries blue and red fruit and has a subtle herbal afterglow.
Simon Field, MW - Wine Buyer

Mas Champart’s Pays d’Oc white (previously called Monts de la Grage) is a fascinating blend of ancestral Languedoc varieties, Terret (80 percent) and Grenache Gris (20 percent), the former from 110-year-old vines, its meagre progeny picked late and then vinified in large wooden vats.
The wine is appropriately different, with hints of salinity underscoring a mid-palate profile, which is dominated by grapefruit, quince and poached pear. Notes of honey and spice are also evidenced and the finish is powerful; an unusual but most impressive example. Exactly the kind of wine, all too seldom unearthed, which shows off the rich diversity of the heritage of the Languedoc.

A blend of 60 percent Carignan, 35 percent Syrah, five percent Grenache Noir, 60 percent of the wine is aged in oak (40 percent in 500-litre demi-muids and 20 percent in wooden vats). Red berry fruits dominate the nose with layers of complexity added with hints of spice, mint and black olives. Firm, grainy tannins are balanced against a silky texture on the palate and crisp acidity.

The old vines in question here are made up of 40% Grenache, 30% Carignan, 10% Mourvèdre, 20% Syrah and their ages range from 25 to over 100 years. The wine is fermented in large concreter vat and matured in foudre for fifteen months.

2011 was a cooler year than some and the wine has silky composure, fine balanced acidity and impressive length.

Simon Field MW – Wine Buyer

‘Old vines’ is a somewhat nebulous term, but the Carignan vines that provide 35% of this blend are unequivocally long in the tooth – planted up to 125 years ago. The remainder of the blend is Grenache (a mere 55 years-old), Mourvèdre and Syrah, which have been cultivated bio-dynamically since 2001. Like all the domain’s wines, Vieilles Vignes Rouge is bottled un-fined and unfiltered in order to capture as much as possible of its exceptional provenance.
The 2012 is redolent of the hillsides of Roussillon: aromas of garrigue and fresh black fruit. Black fruit dominates the palate, supported by firm tannins. The finish is long and confident.
Will Heslop - Buying Department

Decomposed marine deposits and fossils, squeezed between the sea, the Pyrenees and the hills of Corbières, make up the every particular landscape of the Gauby Empire in the heart of Roussillon.  60 year old Grenache Blanc and Grenache Gris stand as bush vines and are farmed at parsimonious yields of 15 hl/ha, then barrel fermented and matured in 50% new and 50% one-year old barrels.

The result is an extraordinary elixir; textured, rich and nutty, but with a shard of pure acidity haunting its core adding freshness to the fascinating mid-palate notes of orange, gingerbread and beeswax.

Simon Field MW – Wine Buyer

All wines are unique but some are more unique than others. Domaine Gauby’s La Roque Blanc has few peers among the white wines of Roussillon or anywhere else. Whole bunches of Muscat Blanc à Petit Grains and Muscat of Alexandria macerate for between ten and twenty days – an eternity in the context of white winemaking. Fermentation relies exclusively on indigenous yeasts.
The result is an astonishing array of aromas, including honeysuckle, orange blossom and fresh lemons; honed to a long, precise finish.
Will Heslop - Buying Department

What is so special about the 2007 and how can one possibly tell at such an early stage? These wines are, after all, the ne plus ulta of vins de garde, their longevity fed by the sinewy yet silky Cab. Sauvignon tannins and an undertow of spice, mineral and dark, dark fruit. All these are present and correct, but it is the sheer quality of fruit that is even more manifest than usual, its beguiling and seductive sweetness now in a youthful stand-off with the darker deeper notes, but promising more by way of complexity and potential than we have the right to expect at this stage. This is the signature of a great estate in a superlative vintage.
(Simon Field MW, BBR Buyer)

2011 was relatively-speaking a cooler year in the Aniane Valley, and the wine has greater freshness than sometimes, greater purity and perhaps a greater sense of terroir. The fruit ripened nicely, if later, and the tannins are finely drawn, not for a moment forsaking the virtues of balance, structure and length. Small grapes with thick skins are reliable qualitative precursors, it seems.
 
The Cabernet dominates, as always, with the supporting cast made up of Malbec, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Tannat, Pinot Noir, Neboilo, Dolcetto and Tempranillo to name but a few. Peonies, wild berries, sousbois and spice (the wines has seen 16 months of new barrique) are the dominant notes at present; but the precise descriptors will evolve as much as the wine over time, taking on even greater complexity and harmony.
Simon Field MW, Berrys' Southern France Buyer


The dominant Cabernet Sauvignon in this blend leads to lovely rich dark fruits and a pleasing sense of style. However, for me the real interest comes from the other varietals that are blended with this, they add real interest to the palate, with meaty, smoky characters coming through and a powerful structure that clearly indicates this will age very well indeed. Mas de Daumas Gassac is a wine with a big reputation and in 2011 it clearly demonstrates why it is in such demand!
Matthew Tipping, Fine Wine Sales Manager - 29-Nov-2012

Made from a beguiling blend of Viognier, Chardonnay, Petit Manseng and Chenin Blanc this wine is nothing if not complex. This complexity does not come form the intervention of oak, rather from the blending of these wonderfully different varieties, all united in the ripeness of underlying fruit and quality of the raw material. The nose is beautifully scented, with guava and acacia, hints of lemon grass and a gentle whiff of crème brûlée; the palate is harmoniously rendered, seamlessly integrated fruit and sweetness, with tropical hints of Mediterranean indulgence buttressed by a firm mineral foundation, and the promise of a lengthy evolution.
(Simon Field MW, BBR Buyer)

Mas De Daumas Gassac is the brainchild of Aimé Guibert, oneologist Emile Peynaud, and geologist Henri Enjalbert.  Described famously as 'The First Growth of the Languedoc' by Hugh Johnson, Mas de Daumas, despite its flattering imitators, remains unique, primarily because its red wine is dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon.

The estate planted its first vines in 1974, in the unique and gentle climate of Aniane just to the north-west of Montpellier.  Here they identified a combination of Burgundian terroir and an extraordinary micro-climate, dominated by gentle garrigue slopes and cool underground springs.  This is now considered the finest terroir in the South of France, and led to the challenge to reproduce the quality of the best Châteaux of Médoc in the Languedoc.

Many of the leading Languedoc estates have now established themselves here, but it was Mas De Daumas Gassac who pioneered the production of world-class wine in the region, and can still be considered its finest producer.

When Aimé Guibert retired the gauntlet passed to his sons Samuel and Roman, who have proved more than a match for the challenge.

Upon appearance, The 2014 Mas de Daumas Gassac Rouge displays a deep ruby core with a purple hue. The dominating Cabernet Sauvignon fruit is evident on the nose with aromas of ripe blackcurrants and bramble, amongst black rose petal, smoke, and a lick of liquorice. An immediate richness of black fruit greets you on the palate, which is carried through to the back of the mouth across a velvety texture. All components are working together, the tannins are long and fine yet providing a neat framework, alcohol is modestly low and allows the purity of the blackcurrant and red plum fruit to shine through, balanced with a cleansing acidity. Leaving a clean and lasting finish with a touch of bitter chocolate. 13% alcohol. Drinking 2017 – 2022+.
Chris Lamb, Private Account Manager

Domaine de Trévallon is located in the medieval town of Les Baux-de-Provence, 30km due south of Avignon, relatively close to the Southern Rhône, but, whereas Châteauneuf-du-Pape glories in heady Grenache and brooding Mourvèdre, Trévallon is an equal partnership of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. Cabernet has found a natural homestead in the relative altitude of the slopes of the Alpilles, its generous black fruit core held in counterpoint by the purity and focus of the Syrah.

An idiosyncratic wine, with mint, dark chocolate, eucalyptus, and ripe blackcurrant and blackcurrant leaf on the nose. The palate is superbly balanced, with reams of ripe cassis fruit, full-bodied, but fresh and lively. It has a precision and elegance one would not expect from a Southern French wine. The tannins are ripe and chalky, which is a nice foil to the ripe fruit palate.

The magic of Eloi Durbach’s Mediterranean vineyard stems not only from the natural beauty of the Beaux-de-Provence setting, with its gentle rolling hills and aromas of scrub, thyme and rosemary, not only from its romantic genesis and on-going connections with the bohemian world of painting and sculpture, but also from the simple philosophy which has informed the winemaking itself. Eschewing the dictates of Appellation Contrôleé and no friend of techniques such as destemming, filtration or the use of cultured yeasts, Eloi has ploughed on ( probably with a horse) and built a reputation for this wonderful wine with labels drawn by his late father, each subtly different , each designed to capture something of the essence of the vintage in question.

A propos, the 2010 is an outstanding example and therefore logically will merit a label which captures the colours and contours of a perfect season. The wine repays the compliment; the blend is divided equally between Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, the former lending an elegant Palladian structure, the later bright arboreal colour…..or in wine speak, firm but finely-etched tannins and a measured density of fruit, with blackberry and black cherry to the fore, and behind that hints of bay laurel and distant autumnal bonfires. The achievement of interloping Cabernet Sauvignon into these warm Provençal vineyards has been significant, and has no better illustration than the 2010 vintage.