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2021 Pays d’Oc Rouge “Les Vieilles Vignes de Mourvèdre”
Château La Roque
There’s nothing quite like old-vine Mourvèdre from a rugged landscape to illustrate the colorful spirit of southern France. Around the imposing vertical escarpment known as the Pic Saint Loup, abundant limestone litters the vineyard floor, balmy fragrances of garrigue herbs waft through the dry Mediterranean air, and the nearby mountains bring cool breezes that temper the intense meridional heat. Mourvèdre thrives in these conditions, yielding tooth-staining reds that capture the wildness of the Languedoc countryside like no other.
La Roque’s “Vieilles Vignes de Mourvèdre” is consistently one of the finest values we import from any region. This chewy, bone-warming red offers thick aromas of ripe black cherry and wild brush that beg for something hearty, such as an epic roast saturated with garlic and herbs. Mourvèdre of this breed is no stranger to aging, so put a few more bottles aside and see what happens.
—Anthony Lynch
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2021 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | 70% Mourvèdre, 20% Syrah, 10% Grenache |
Appellation: | IGP Pays d'Oc |
Country: | France |
Region: | Languedoc-Roussillon |
Producer: | Château La Roque |
Winemaker: | Cyriaque Rozier |
Vineyard: | 50 - 60 years, 18 ha |
Soil: | Clay, limestone scree |
Aging: | Aged in demi-muids (2,3,4, and 5 years old) for 18 months, aged in bottle for 6 months |
Farming: | Biodynamic (certified) |
Alcohol: | 14.2% |
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2022 Corbières Rouge “Réserve La Demoiselle”
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2022 Vin de France Blanc “Malvoise”
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About The Producer
Château La Roque
About The Region
Languedoc-Roussillon
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.
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Kermit once said...

Kermit once said...
For the wines that I buy I insist that the winemaker leave them whole, intact. I go into the cellars now and select specific barrels or cuvées, and I request that they be bottled without stripping them with filters or other devices. This means that many of our wines will arrive with a smudge of sediment and will throw a more important deposit as time goes by, It also means the wine will taste better.