Tasting Mas des Chimères

This beautiful Sunday morning I made the 15 minute drive along Lac du Salagou to Octon to finally taste the full range of the wines of Mas des Chimères. It is a domain that combines tradition and innovation and the quality of its wines are widely recognized. It is one of the Coteaux du Languedoc domains featured in the prestigious annual book Les meilleurs vins de France and in Vins de France’s recent ranking of the 100 best red wines in Languedoc, its 2006 Terrasse du Larzac was ranked n:o 13.   Surprisingly, the domain is not covered in the large review of  Languedoc wines in the June 2009 issue of Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate but the 2005 Coteaux du Languedoc was rated 89 in the August 2008 issue.

I was happy to meet with the maestro and talented winemaker of the domain. Guilhem Dardé, who keeps his tasting room at the main square of Octon open even on Sunday mornings and he kindly explained everything (or almost) about his wines.

The vineyards are situated on the west side of Lac du Salagou and around here it is all old volcanic territory. The vines grows in terraces of  clay, schist and granite on the red slopes of decomposed basaltic slate, colored by iron which are so characteristic of the Lac du Salagou area.

The domain produces 5 red wines, 2 white ones and a rosé. It also sells wine-in-the-box and wine “en vrac”.

The L’Oeillade and Marie & Joseph cuvées are single-grape wines (cinsault and carignan respectively) made for early drinking. It is wines to drink slightly chilled and as regards food that goes well with them, Guilhelm Dardé recommends Marie & Joseph with spicy food.

The Coteaux du Languedoc red is a wine in the traditional Languedoc style, powerful and tannic. It is matured in oak and the blend is predominantly syrah and grenache (2006 70 %) together with carignan and cinsault. Like the Terrasse du Larzac red, it is a wine to drink with traditional southern food and I will try it with different dishes of lamb and herbs. The flagship Terrasse du Larzac red is similar in style but with a different blend (equal portions of syrah, grenache, mouvedre, carignan and cinsault). It is a wine to wait 2-3 years to start to drink and in a good cellar it is a wine with a long life ahead of it.

The fifth red, l’Hérétique, is a different wine. It is a merlot-dominated wine (80 %) with cabernet sauvignon and syrah making up the rest of the blend. Like the previous two, it is strong, full-bodied wine that Guilhelm Dardé considers should be drunk with “winter food”.

The two whites are also very nice wines but quite different in character. The Mas des Chimères white (Vin de pays des Coteaux du Salagou) is a blend of chazan (a hybrid of chardonnay and listan), viognier, terret-bourret and carignan which spends a month in oak barrels before being bottled. It is a fruity, round wine with a lot of taste to discover and enjoy. This is true also of the Muscat petits grains wine. It is vinified as a dry one and this gives it an interesting balance of fruitiness and sweetness. A wine for a warm summer night before the barbecue or at the end of the meal with a creamy roquefort.

After having put the wines I bought into the car and said goodbye to Guilhelm Dardé, I ended the visit with a large “café crème” on the village square enjoying the view of this charming little village to which I will return.

Walking the vineyards of Terrasses du Larzac

The annual “Circulade Vigneronne” among the vineyards of Terrasses du Larzac took place on July 4 and apparently more than one thousand people took part in it. This year, the wine walk had its start and end in the village of Saint-Felix de Lodez but it included also the village of St-Guiraud. However, most of the six stops were among the wine yards to combine the tasting of wines with wonderful views of Terrasses du Larzac.

More on the walk with photos in the “Wine walks” section of this blog.

Around the wines of Languedoc

This blog is for the love of the wines of Languedoc. It is snapshots of encounters with them in tastings, in visits to domaines and through wine fairs and wine events. The initial focus of the blog is the wines of the Terrasses du Larzac since this is close to where I live. It is part of the Coteaux du Languedoc appelation  and since 2004 the Terrasses du Larzac is recognized as a separate denomination of the AOC Coteaux du Languedoc.. There are official websites for the Languedoc AOC and for the Terrasse du Larzac wines and a  good general guide to the Coteaux du Languedoc and other Languedoc wine regions is available in English at www.thewinedoctor.com. However, its recommendations overlook many good wines.