Top producers of artisan wines of great character and individuality in the Languedoc-Roussillon region are now gaining recognition for consistent results.

Some wines from the Languedoc-Roussillon, France’s largest vineyard, are attaining the status once reserved for the produce of such traditionally prestigious appellations as Bordeaux, Burgundy and the Rhone. Illustrative examples are found among the wines that that showed up well in a widely reported blind tasting in London of midi wines along with other French wines of undisputed prestige.

The 1999 Merle aux Allouettes from Domaine Alain Chabanon, a Vin de Pays d’Oc made from 100% Merlot (a grape not permitted in southern appellation wines), scored highest in its category, while Chabanon’s Les Boissières got the top score in another flight of wines based on Grenache Noir. The Syrah-based L’Esprit de Font Caude from the same producer was not included, but could well have been as it is an equally brilliant wine, more typical of its region. These three outstanding wines cost around €20 in France.

Wine for Drinking in a Pleasure Dome

The highest scoring wine overall in the London tasting was Numéro Uno from Clot de l’Oum, a quite small new Roussillon producer. Enthusiasts who can find a bottle of this scarce wine would be well advised to buy it and drink it. While perhaps interesting to taste or talk about, it’s better for drinking and deserves to be enjoyed on its own terms, forgetting comparisons. With its opulent style, fragrant with fruits of various types, spices and herbal notes, and more than a hint of Port, this wine may not please everyone, but for some might bring to mind the “milk of Paradise” alluded to by Coleridge as he declaimed “In Xanadu did Kubla Kahn a stately pleasure dome decree.”

Saint Bart Vielles Vignes from the same producer costs a third less (around €17), and has that rarest of qualities in wines: it instantly appeals to practically everyone. It has a mineral quality with vibrant fruit flavors sometimes associated with well made wines from grapes grown on schist. At a more everyday price, the entry level wine from Clot de l’Oum, La Compagnie des Papillons (named by the winemakers’ children) still gives a very good idea of the qualities of the wines from this producer.

Winemakers with the Magic Touch

Winemakers like those mentioned above seem to have the magic touch since all their wines come out well. Here are a few more producers who have achieved a similar reputation based on consistent results. All the producers cited below make at least one appellation red priced around €12 or less (half that much in the case of L’Esprit de Automne from Borie du Maurel).

• Clos des Feés is produced by Hervé Bizeul in the charming Roussillon village of Vingrau near Tautavel. The entry level cuvee Les Sorcières is well worth seeking out. Most drinkers are extraordinarily impressed.
• In the same village, neighbor Jean Gardiés makes his simplest wine, Domaine Gardiés Les Millères, with a predominance of Grenache. It reveals the brilliance and subtle balance of his rarer bottlings.
• Jean Paux-Rosset in La Clape, a coastal region near Narbonne with its own appellation, produces a series of stunning wines at Chateau de la Negly.
• Borie de Maurel, mentioned above, is produced by Michel Escande in Félines-Minervois .

In any given vintage year a handful other Languedoc and Roussillon wines could dispute the absolute stardom of those cited here, although some are more costly. Perhaps more interesting for most wine drinkers are the scores of wines just below this level of distinction selling for around €6-12 in France. If they are not necessarily priced for everyday drinking, at least wine lovers don’t need to wait for a very special occasion to enjoy them.