2019 Vin de France Muscatellu “Morta Maió” Non MutéAntoine-Marie Arena
France | Corsica
$57
Producers
by Tom Wolf
2021 Pays d’Oc Cabernet Sauvignon “Les Traverses”
Château Fontanès France | Languedoc-Roussillon | Vin de Pays d’Oc
Cabernet Sauvignon is best known for making suave and courtly wines in Napa and Bordeaux, the best of which are renowned for their class and longevity. However, this red—the only wine we import made from 100% Cabernet—comes not from the left bank of Bordeaux but from Pic Saint-Loup in the Languedoc. Accordingly, it produces a very different bottle of wine, a country quaffer that is so lithe, pure, and unadorned you’ll have finished the bottle before even considering such matters as complexity, ageability, or anything else serious.
Cyriaque Rozier, who makes this cuvée from fifty-year-old vines, is perhaps the ultimate expert of the Pic Saint-Loup appellation; he not only runs his own domaine, Château Fontanès, but also manages the nearby Château La Roque. As with his other wines, this rouge is a product of the appellation through and through, but because Cabernet is not included in Pic Saint-Loup’s authorized grape varieties, this bottle can only be classified as an IGP “Pays d’Oc.” Why does this matter? It does insofar as it lowers the price, leaving us with one of the best values in our entire portfolio and perhaps the best Cabernet value in the world.
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2021 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Cabernet Sauvignon |
Appellation: | Vin de Pays d’Oc |
Country: | France |
Region: | Languedoc-Roussillon |
Producer: | Château Fontanès |
Winemaker: | Cyriaque Rozier |
Vineyard: | Planted in 1970, 5 ha |
Soil: | Clay, Limestone, Marl |
Farming: | Organic (practicing) |
Alcohol: | 14.2% |
Château Fontanès France | Languedoc-Roussillon | Vin de Pays d’Oc
Château Fontanès France | Languedoc-Roussillon | Pic Saint-Loup
Mas Champart France | Languedoc-Roussillon | Saint-Chinian
Domaine La Tour Vieille France | Languedoc-Roussillon | Collioure
Domaine Les Mille Vignes France | Languedoc-Roussillon
Mas Champart France | Languedoc-Roussillon | Saint-Chinian
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.
Domaine La Tour Vieille France | Languedoc-Roussillon | Collioure
Domaine La Tour Vieille France | Languedoc-Roussillon | Banyuls
Domaine d’Aupilhac France | Languedoc-Roussillon | Languedoc
Domaine Leon Barral France | Languedoc-Roussillon | Faugères
Château Fontanès France | Languedoc-Roussillon | Pic Saint-Loup
Mas Champart France | Languedoc-Roussillon | Saint-Chinian
Domaine d’Aupilhac France | Languedoc-Roussillon
Domaine Les Mille Vignes France | Languedoc-Roussillon | Vin de Pay de l’Aude
Domaine Les Mille Vignes France | Languedoc-Roussillon
Domaine d’Aupilhac France | Languedoc-Roussillon
Domaine Les Mille Vignes France | Languedoc-Roussillon | Rivesaltes
Domaine d’Aupilhac France | Languedoc-Roussillon | Languedoc
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
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