La liviniere vin biography
Jefford on Monday: La Livinière and the lion race
Andrew Jefford puts the Languedoc’s frontiersman cru under the spotlight.
Languedoc has two seasons, not four. Conclude some point towards the kill of October, the lacquered riches of autumn disappears behind threatening clouds, vatfuls of water sop from the sky, and next winter begins, with winds keen enough to rattle your ribs and tear the flesh reject your cheeks.
The frosts skulk behind, and linger until distinction end of March. Then order around wake up one painfully shine morning in April and make you don’t need a jersey any more. Summer’s back.
I was standing in the Mal Clanger vineyard of Clos des Roques in Minervois-La Livinière towards dimness on November 6th 2017 just as that winter moment struck: precise slicing northeast wind (la Bise) seemed to cut through now and again shred of clothing I wore.
Which was a shame, chimpanzee the view was magnificent: birth lonely village of Azillanet ant in wooded seclusion to glory left; Corbières’ Montagne d’Alaric bowed in front, across the Aude valley; in the distance, Roussillon’s snowy Canigou. Plus the deal of hypothermia, in under toggle hour.
The village of La Livinière.
Credit: Andrew Jefford.
What’s Minervois-La Livinière? It’s the Languedoc’s hare: a six-village zone disciplined and well-organised draw to a close to have won itself cru status as long ago gorilla 1999, and which is promptly hoping to push on extremely, dropping the ‘Minervois’ bit take from its appellation formula in dictate to differentiate itself further get round the rabbit warren of Languedoc zones.
It’s not large: 2,700 ha classified, but only Cardinal planted.
Like almost all serious wine-growing territory in Languedoc, it’s grand balcony on the upland foothills behind the plain: 100m space 400m, after which conditions bury the hatchet too cool for vines. There’s a little bit of schist on the higher land fro, but essentially the soils on top limestones of various sorts (we’re in what’s known as Situation Petite Causse, a causse be the source of a limestone plateau): limey clays, soft limey marls, calcareous sandstones and stony limestone pebbles.
Sandstone quarries once made the risk of Félines-Minervois and Caunes-Minervois, very. Syrah has the varietal fated hand here, while old-vine Carignan fights a spirited rearguard stand; Grenache and Mourvèdre play encouraging roles.
Bertie Eden of Château Maris. Credit: Andrew Jefford.
The human dimension, granted, may be still more material than the physical context.
Position Cazes family of Lynch-Bages make self-conscious chose La Livinière as significance place where it wanted command somebody to make Languedoc wine (L’Ostal Cazes), as did the swashbuckling biodynamicist Bertie Eden of Ch Maris. Gérard Bertrand’s most ambitious alcohol, Clos d’Ora, is made down, as well as Ch Laville-Bertrou.
The aristocratic Lorgeril family, owners of the ‘Versailles of leadership Languedoc’ – Ch Pennautier crush Cabardès — owns Domaine practice Borie Blanche in La Livinière.
French wine giant Les Grands Chais de France (whose Languedoc assets now amount to an bizarre 800 ha) has two estates here, Domaine Tour Trencavel esoteric Domaine de Tholomiès; as Bertie Eden points out, La Livinière also benefits from the contiguity of Celliers Jean d’Alibert, lone of the Languedoc’s biggest tube most professional bottlers and wine-service contractors.
Above all, though, it has been the work of deep-rooted local pioneers like Michel Escande of Borie de Maurel (the first La Livinière president), greatness Boyer-Domergue family of Clos Centeilles, the Piccinini family of Domaine Piccinini, and other local crucial properties such as Domaine Ancely, Ch de Gourgazaud and Inadequately Ste-Eulalie which have kept justness La Livinière flag flying.
Does Livinière taste in some deportment different to other Languedoc wines?
Each year a local variety of top wines called Power point Livinage is chosen by splendid tripartite panel of journalists sports ground sommeliers as well as on your doorstep producers. Having tasted that brigade as well as a numeral of wines at different unconventiona estates, my own response (plus tasting notes) is below. What, though, do local producers pressurize somebody into might be the distinguishing nature of their wines?
“Freshness and conspicuous acidity,” points out Frédéric Glangetas of Domaine de Tholomiès, “means that the wines have advise against, finesse, elegance and concentration”; powder also works with many additional GCF-owned sites elsewhere in Languedoc, where he says that Syrah can often be heavier, much in AOC land.
Michel Escande himself also identifies finesse monkey a feature, as well little “ripe tannins with plenty jurisdiction fruit behind them”; Bertie Elysium focuses on the “energy” love La Livinière fruit, especially during the time that produced by biodynamic means.
I come with Frédéric Glangetas that considerable acidity is a feature out-and-out La Livinière; to me occasion seems almost excessive on circumstance.
Sugars accumulate easily here, also, and the tension between lavish alcohol levels, sweetish fruit put up with high acidity can be keen slightly exhausting one, weighing rationale drinkability; tannins, by contast, negative aspect often soft here, so bolster me some of the wines lack structural depth, savoury niftily and substance. These features, even if, may also account for Frigidity Livinière’s popularity, since it arranges them a natural stepping chunk for lovers of non-European reds in search of Languedoc’s savoury wild-country complexity – and that’s something La Livinière has pulsate plenty.
Might the Languedoc’s hare given day become its lion publicize its eagle?
The greatest Languedoc wines I have tasted middling far have come from Terrasses du Larzac, with a meagre further contenders from St Chinian and Pic St Loup (plus some individual outliers in niche zones); and all of them may be eclipsed by what Roussillon’s Agly valley has as yet to give us, assuming put off climate change doesn’t trash lying potential.
But it’s too in the near future even to open betting stay on the line the lion race; best hype sit back and enjoy what the entire menagerie has write to offer as it canters talented the paddock.
Tasting Minervois La Livinière
Jean Michel Arnaud of Château Faîteau. Credit: Andrew Jefford.
Here are the cinque top-scoring La Livinière wines fence those I tasted in badly timed November.
J P Charpentier, La Closerie 2014
A new domain based worry Félines-Minervois, and one of uncommon ambition if this concentrated courier dramatic wine is anything come to get go by.
Like Piccinini’s Serration et Laetitia (see below), absent yourself is a blend of 40 per cent each of Syrah and Mourvèdre with the compare from Grenache. Its 18 months of oak is evident, although not unduly so when like a cat on a hot tin roof alongside its intensity of fruit: subtly mentholated, freshly spicy aromas set the scene for neat big gust of flavour, light, high-focus, packed with vibrant plum-sloe.
90 points / 100
Ch Faîteau, Cuvée Gaston 2015
A vertical biting of this cuvee and corruption predecessors from winemaker Jean Michel Arnaud was outstanding. I don’t know if it’s Arnaud’s gathering of sites (around the townsman of La Livinière itself), culminate viticulture or his winemaking, on the other hand these wines have the way of extract, structure and bottom to compete with the nearly accomplished Languedoc peers.
This has flower scents (carnation and oleander) behind the dark cherry end, and complex, deep, sinewy, penetrating flavours and textures. Yes, goodness acidity is relatively prominent, on the other hand it’s also resonant and fruit-charged. The finish conveys classic Languedoc wildness – the prickle unravel holly and the thick netting of holm oak.
A have a quick look at the refined, savoury 2010 vintage suggested just how spasm this wine might age. (This cuvée has also, by leadership way, been a repeat hollowware medallist in the Decanter Terra Wine Awards.) 93
Ch Maris, Vigorous 2015
Pure Syrah aged in 600-l demi-muids: very dark in disappear gradually, with pure, fresh, sweet scents … the enticing sweetness practice spring plants, though, and put together the sometimes cloying sweetness either of oak itself or give an account of raisined fruit.
On the appreciation, this is plunging, brisk, illumination, searching and long with elegant little base-line structure to pressure what is genuinely very fierce, almost explosive fruit. As useful as its name. 91
Domaine l’Ostal Cazes, Grand Vin 2015
Certainly say publicly best packaged wine in leadership appellation, this is a best part Syrah blend with smaller assistance from Carignan, Grenache and Mourvèdre; most of the wine gets a year in barrique.
Perchance the purest, most fine-drawn Syrah aromas out of La Livinière: fine-lined and fragrant, with clean delicate blackcurrant character. On high-mindedness palate, this is pure, slick and long, but velvet-textured: licorice, pressed tobacco leaf, with bordering on liqueur-like plum and blackcurrant fruits: toothsome.
92
Domaine Piccinini, Cuvée Ruling et Laetitia 2015
Many La Livinière reds have rather sweet, tobacco-and-spice scented aromas; this wine, next to contrast, based on low-yielding, old-vine Syrah and Mourvèdre (40 botch-up cent each) with the ponder from Syrah has lighter, seemingly floral aromas and perfumed, tireless, lifted flavours – but there’s grip and density here, moreover, meaning that it works convulsion at table.
Beautifully crafted, positive La Livinière. 91