Loving Languedoc

Last week, Sylvain Fadat from the Domaine d’Aupilhac paid us what I thought was going to be a normal visit at W.I.N.E. It was anything but.

The 2000 Coteaux du Languedoc Rouge “Montpeyroux,” the 1995 Vin de Pays de l’Herault Rouge “Les Servieres” and the 2002 Couteaux du Languedoc Blanc “Les Cocalieres,” that he brought with him were nothing short of extraordinary.

Fadat himself was reserved and modest in his presentation. I, on the other hand, could barely contain myself. Each wine had aged remarkably well and every one was a stand out: elegant, balanced, each one with it’s own character, delicious examples of local grapes and a tribute to the terroir and the vigneron.

I immediately grabbed the 2012 Vin de Pays de l’Herault Rouge “Les Servieres” and the 2011 Couteaux du Languedoc Blanc “Les Cocalieres” for W.I.N.E. Should you purchase these wines now, I would urge you to let them rest, in the same way we do to allow them to reach their optimal drinking period.

“Les Servieres” comes from a vineyard planted in 1900 where the soil is a combination of marl clay and limestone, which together with the exposure and altitude of the vines gives the wine a fresher, almost transparent crystal quality.

“Les Cocalieres” comes from a single vineyard that sits on an ancient volcano: Syrah, Mouvedre and Grenache spend 15 months in big oak barrels producing a beautiful, velvety fruitiness.

Our wine guru, Jean-Emmanuel Simond (or JES as he is known to most of us) is very good friends with Fadat. “His wines have never been better,” he told me when I spoke to him later that day. “I hope you got some for the shop.”

The Domaine d’Aupilhac is in Montpeyroux, about 36 kilometres north-west of Montpellier. Fadat’s family has been producing wine for five centuries. Three generations ago, at the end of the 19^th century, they began producing wine at Aupilhac and distributing it throughout France. Today, the farming is certified organic and grapes are harvested by hand. All the wines are bottled at the domaine and are unfiltered. Fadat believes that the work done in the vineyards has far more influence on a wine’s quality that what happens in the cave.

I would tend to agree with him. Cheers! Randall

2012 Vin de Pays de l’Herault Rouge “Les Servieres” -- $36

2011 Couteaux du Languedoc Blanc “Les Cocalieres” -- $49