Languedoc Wines tasted Sept 23 at Parts & Labour

The Date and Time: Monday, September 23, 2013  11AM to 3 PM

The Event: Presentation on Languedoc wines and tasting, with food pairing.

The Venue: Parts & Labour, Queen West

The Target Audience: sommeliers and select media.

The Availability/Catalogue: most wines are from Ontario agents of the LCBO, although two (as noted below) were from the SAQ.

The Quote/Background: Matthew Stubbs, MW, who lives in Languedoc, led the seminar presentation and answered questions. We did not do Roussillon, just the Languedoc appellations. The terroir is very dry, windy, and with lots of sunshine. There are 236,000 Ha of vineyards, down from over 400,000 a quarter of a century ago. There are 30,000 winegrowers, 2500 private domains, and 300 co-ops. The AOP wines represent about 22% of the total, with IGP being 64% and the balance Vins de Pays. In 1990, 29 million Hl of wine was made; in 2010, that number was down to 11 million Hl. But the quality, of course, has risen since most of the pulled up vines were minor varieties not capable of more than plain wine.

The Wines: We had 13 wines, including one sparkler. There was one sweet wine.

 

**** BEST -- Four Stars (91+ in Quality/Price Rating terms):

-Mas de l'Oncle AOP Languedoc Pic Saint Loup Cuvee Emy Rose 2012, $23.95 Private Order Living Vine

-Lorgeril Chateau de Pennautier AOP Cabardes Terroirs d'Altitude 2009, $16.95 Vintages

-Mas Belles Eaux AOP Languedoc Les Coteaux 2008, $27.95 Private Order Lifford

 

***1/2 BETTER -- Three and a Half Stars (88 – 90 in Quality/Price Rating terms):

-Domaine Roque Sestiere AOP Corbieres Carte Noire White 2011, $18 Private Order Vinifera

-Chateau Prieure Borde Rouge AOP Corbieres Rubellis 2011, $16 Private Order Small Winemakers

-Gerard Bertrand AOP Minervois 2010, $17.95 Vintages

-Chateau Maris AOP Minervois La Liviniere Les Combes 2009, $22.95 Vintages

-Clos Bagatelle AOP Muscat de Saint Jean de Minervois 2010, 500 mL $18.25 SAQ.

 

*** GOOD -- Three Stars (85 – 87 in Quality/Price Rating terms):

-Antech Cremant de Limoux AOP Cuvee Expression 2010, $20 SAQ

-Domaine des Lauriers AOP Picpoul de Pinet Prestige 2011, $13.95 Vintages

-Chateau de Gourgazaud AOP Minervois 2011, $12.95 LCBO

-Clos Bagatelle AOP Saint-Chinians Cuvee Tradition 2011, $16.50 Private Order Vinifera

-Domaine le Clos du Serres AOP Languedoc Terrasses du Larzac La Blaca 2011, $24.95 Vintages

 

The Food: we had eight courses, which included a cheesecake for which one wine here was appropriate. The food was served course by course, and each represented at least 40% of a main dish equivalent – there was a lot of food. We went up to get our own wines, as appropriate. I tried only a few as most of the wines were food friendly anyway. There was an excellent raw scallop, and excellent roasted mackerel (sardine size) with grilled red cabbage, whopping duck breast slices with celery root, chicken breast with Brussels sprouts and potatoes, quail breast with chanterelle and kale, pork shoulder with corn, and then hanger steak (mine was tough).

The Downside: not many questions were asked, which was surprising.

The Upside: a chance to taste those Languedoc wines in the Ontario market.

The Contact Person: marion.roy@sopexa.com

The Event's Marketing Effectiveness and Execution (numerical grade): 90.

Chimo!  www.deantudor.com