2022 ChevernyDomaine du Salvard
France | Loire
$22
Producers
Mille Vignes has only seven and a half hectares (nineteen acres) of vines, by choice. “I could enlarge, but the wines wouldn’t be the same,” according to vigneronne Valérie Guérin. The terroir she works in this very southernmost part of France is an amalgam of clay, limestone, and schist soils; wild scrubland scented with thyme and lavender, and perhaps the most potent force of all, the fierce Tramontagne wind.
Muscat de Rivesaltes, a local specialty, is a vin doux naturel produced when fermentation of very ripe Muscat grapes is halted midway by addition of a neutral spirit, a process known as mutage. Mille Vignes’ Muscat de Rivesaltes flaunts a ravishing perfume of infinite flowers and fruits, equally refreshing as an apéritif as it is satisfying with dessert.
—Anthony Lynch
Wine Type: | white |
Vintage: | 2013 |
Bottle Size: | 500mL |
Blend: | Muscat à petit grains |
Appellation: | Vin de Pay de l’Aude |
Country: | France |
Region: | Languedoc-Roussillon |
Producer: | Domaine Les Mille Vignes |
Winemaker: | Jacques Guérin, Valérie Guérin |
Vineyard: | 30 - 40 years |
Soil: | Limestone, Schist |
Farming: | Organic (practicing) |
Alcohol: | 16% |
Domaine Les Mille Vignes France | Languedoc-Roussillon
Domaine Les Mille Vignes France | Languedoc-Roussillon | Rivesaltes
Domaine Les Mille Vignes France | Languedoc-Roussillon | Vin de Pay de l’Aude
Domaine Les Mille Vignes France | Languedoc-Roussillon
Domaine Les Mille Vignes France | Languedoc-Roussillon
Ludovic Engelvin France | Languedoc-Roussillon | Gard
Ask wine drinkers around the world, and the word “Languedoc” is sure to elicit mixed reactions. On the one hand, the region is still strongly tied to its past as a producer of cheap, insipid bulk wine in the eyes of many consumers. On the other hand, it is the source of countless great values providing affordable everyday pleasure, with an increasing number of higher-end wines capable of rivaling the best from other parts of France.
While there’s no denying the Languedoc’s checkered history, the last two decades have seen a noticeable shift to fine wine, with an emphasis on terroir. Ambitious growers have sought out vineyard sites with poor, well draining soils in hilly zones, curbed back on irrigation and the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, and looked to balance traditional production methods with technological advancements to craft wines with elegance, balance, and a clear sense of place. Today, the overall quality and variety of wines being made in the Languedoc is as high as ever.
Shaped like a crescent hugging the Mediterranean coast, the region boasts an enormous variety of soil types and microclimates depending on elevation, exposition, and relative distance from the coastline and the cooler foothills farther inland. While the warm Mediterranean climate is conducive to the production of reds, there are world-class whites and rosés to be found as well, along with stunning dessert wines revered by connoisseurs for centuries.
Les Vignes Oubliées France | Languedoc-Roussillon | Terrasses du Larzac
Domaine Les Mille Vignes France | Languedoc-Roussillon
Domaine d’Aupilhac France | Languedoc-Roussillon | Languedoc
Château Fontanès France | Languedoc-Roussillon | Vin de Pays d’Oc
Maxime Magnon France | Languedoc-Roussillon | Corbières
Domaine Leon Barral France | Languedoc-Roussillon | Faugères
Château La Roque France | Languedoc-Roussillon | IGP Pays d'Oc
Domaine de Fontsainte France | Languedoc-Roussillon | Corbières
Ludovic Engelvin France | Languedoc-Roussillon | Vin de France
Domaine d’Aupilhac France | Languedoc-Roussillon
Château Fontanès France | Languedoc-Roussillon | Pic Saint-Loup
Domaine La Tour Vieille France | Languedoc-Roussillon | Banyuls
Great winemakers, great terroirs, there is never any hurry. And I no longer buy into this idea of “peak” maturity. Great winemakers, great terroirs, their wines offer different pleasures at different ages.
Inspiring Thirst, page 312
Drinking distilled spirits, beer, coolers, wine and other alcoholic beverages may increase cancer risk, and, during pregnancy, can cause birth defects. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov/alcohol
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