Languedoc Reds
by Allyson Noman
2021 Languedoc Montpeyroux Rouge “Les Cocalières”
France | Languedoc-Roussillon
You know how having information ahead of time can color your perception? That did not happen here. I opened this bottle with my partner, who said, “Basalt!” right away. Then he added, “There’s a freshness of swirling water, like a natural spring.” Unlike yours truly, he had no idea that the vineyard Les Cocalières occupies a site of basalt and limestone that formerly housed an ancient lake! In addition to this impressive translation of its terroir, the bottle boasts dense, supple fruit with a signature black olive note from Syrah, the variety that makes up the majority of its blend. I added my own impressions as I continued to taste: waterfall mist / dark, hint of smoke / stones in the rain…all while realizing the wine—and maybe my partner—had just bested me at my own job.
2023 Saint-Chinian Rouge “Cebenna”
France | Languedoc-Roussillon
People often call Languedoc reds “soulful,” partly, I reckon, because they are deep—one of those delightful hopscotches of language that’s now knit into our professional jargon. By contrast, Patricia and Luc Bettoni have managed to produce a rouge that is almost breezy: silky berries and bright rhubarb that finishes with clean minerality. So simple and easy, there’s hardly more to say about it.
2022 Collioure Rouge “Puig Oriol”
France | Languedoc-Roussillon
On the opposite end of the spectrum as Cebenna, this bottling of mostly Syrah from our sole domaine in French Catalonia more than invites the qualifier soulful. Farming this vineyard, cultivated on steep terraces in formidable wind, is not for the faint of heart! It’s the kind of wine I want to drink after dusk in a cabin by the fire: full of pliant dark berries, blood orange, flint, and spice.