Exploring the Minervois region of Languedoc, south France

When I arrived in the Midi in 2002 I came with the oversimplification that Languedoc-Roussillon had a few brave Modernistes who had started planting Cabernet, Merlot, Chardonnay - and in one case Pinot Noir - whilst the regional AOC’s churned out millions of litres of Chateau Plonk that you bought through a gasoline filler into your 5 litre vrac.

Partly it’s true, but the new plantings (mostly labelled Vin de Pays d’Oc) are not yet sending shudders through Latour and Lafite whereas a handful of the traditional growers in Corbieres, Minervois, Faugères, are coming close.

The Minervois extends from Caune in the west to Capestang in the east with the river Aude as its southern boundary, separating it from Corbieres. Minervois is named for the village of Minerve with its Cathar castle but the Corbieres is a range of hills. By common consent the finest Minervois are made around the village of La Liviniere and are identified as such (AOC Minervois La Liviniere) and one of the creme of La Liviniere is Chateau Gourgazaud.

The Chateau itself would put to shame many of the famous growths of Bordeaux. It’s an old one, showing up on maps of the 17th Century, and since 1973 has been in the hands of the Piquet-Tibource family. Gourgazaud has consistently won awards at the main two annual festivals that matter – Paris and Macon. Everyday samplings and sales are handled by Celine in the tasting room which, appropriately, is below ground in the cellars surrounded by oak barrels. These barrels are used for three or four years and then sold on – probably to the American Bourbon distillers of Kentucky and Tennessee.

The Minervois AOC allows just six cépages – Carignan, Cinsault, Grenache, Mouvedre, Syrah and Terret - but Gourgazaud plants only two, Mouvedre and Syrah. Of their several bottlings with these grapes two stand out – the Cuvée Mathilde (€5.30) and the Réserve (€7.50), the latter being aged in oak for 12 months. I have a couple of bottles left of the excellent Réserve 2001 but recently bought a carton of the 2003 which promises to be equally good.

At the eastern end of the Minervois, in the small village of Aigne, is Domaine Saint Luchaire owned and run by M. Yves Bru. Yves Bru is what in France is called Un Numero – with his beret and moustache he is straight out of ‘Allo ‘Allo and could be the proprietor of Les Deux Magots in Paris. But he makes great wine. In the Bordeaux he would be classed as a “garagiste” although the term is not much used in the Midi. M. Bru’s cave is 30m around the corner from the main restaurant of the village and it is here that everything happens.

His Clos de Mathieu isn’t his most expensive wine but its elegance and full fruit is matched by the merest hint of oak. Like most of the “hill” Minervois as opposed to the “flats” it relies on the Syrah grape fortified with Carignan.
I managed to snap up M. Bru’s last two cartons of the 2001 last week and am eagerly waiting for a taste of the 2002. Each vintage spends six months in oak and 2-3 years in steel.

- Geoff Taylor