JANCIS ROBINSON
LE PET’NAT PAR JANCIS ROBINSON 16,5/20!
Certifié biologique. Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Viognier. Première fermentation en levure indigène, deuxième fermentation en bouteille, non dégorgée, non filtrée, non raffinée. Leur projet pet-nat.
Couleur trouble et très légèrement pétillant. Ça sent bon comme une tranche de pain au levain frais et chaud avec une cuillère crème de citron dessus. Sec et pétillant, légèrement salé. Il a le goût du zeste de citron mariné à la maison que je garde dans mon réfrigérateur (comment ne pas gaspiller le zeste de citron …) avec ce merveilleux bord d’amertume et d’huile de saveur et d’agrumes, mais tempéré un peu par la salinité. Très amusant et tellement, très rafraîchissant. Si vous vouliez un sherry manzanilla, sans ressentir l’alcool, alors c’est votre boisson. Apportez les tapas … (TC)
Certified organic. Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Viognier. Primary fermentation with natural yeast, secondary fermentation in bottle, not disgorged, unfiltered, unfined. Their pet-nat project.
Cloudy lemon and only very lightly fizzy. Smells like a slice of fresh, warm sourdough bread with a dollop of lemon curd on top. Dry and tingling, slightly salty. It tastes like the home-pickled lemon peel I keep in my fridge (how to not waste lemon peel…) with that wonderful edge of bitterness and tang and citrus oils, but tempered a little by the saltiness and pickling. Great fun and so very, very refreshing. If you wanted a manzanilla sherry, but didn’t feel like the alcohol, then this is your drink. Bring on the boquerones… (TC)
Famille Fabre, Château de Luc Les Jumelles 2018 Corbières 16.5
Certified organic. Roussanne and Grenache Blanc with bâtonnage on fine lees.
Perfumed and just a little crack of toasted nuts on the nose. Plump golden fruit and the lazy nod of pollen-heavy flowers on a hot day, but through this weight there is the fragrance of wild sage lifting it into a honey-sweet, citrus-sharp finish. Essence of Corbières. (TC)
Famille Fabre, Domaine de Luc L’Instant Rare Viognier 2019 IGP Pays d’Oc 15,5
Certified organic.
Smells like grilled peaches sprinkled with roasted hazelnuts. Fresh and varietally correct with a nice pinch of acidity. Attractive, easy drinking. (TC) 13.5%
Drink 2020 – 2020
Famille Fabre, Grande Courtade L’Instant blanc 2019 IGP Pays d’Oc 15
Certified organic. Sauvignon Blanc.
Passion fruit and lychee on the nose, but it moves into the sharper, leaner mien of greengage and gooseberries on the palate. Straightforward, competent Sauvignon. (TC) 12.5%
Drink 2020 – 2020
Famille Fabre, Grande Courtade L’Instant Rare Chardonnay 2019 IGP Pays d’Oc 16
Certified organic.
Gentle, reserved nose; melon and the lightest of spice. Made with a really light touch, fruit, spice, acidity, all in lovely balance. Nice chewy white citrus notes laid against sweeter, fuller apple and pear fruit. Unassertive and composed. (TC) 13%
Drink 2020 – 2023
Famille Fabre, Château Coulon Éole 2019 Corbières 16,5
Certified organic.
Smells of wild, dried herbs and dusty black fruit. Intense, dark fruit wrapped in rugged, tight tannins. Garrigue and rocks. A touch of black-olive bitterness on the finish. Superb balance. You can almost feel the dry Cers wind, like tasting the heart of Corbières. (TC) 13.5%
Drink 2020 – 2024
Famille Fabre, Domaine de Luc L’Instant Rare Syrah/Viognier 2019 IGP Pays d’Oc 16
Certified organic.
Dark, sweet fruit with, as they accurately mention on the back label, a strong menthol spine. Gentle but present tannins. Fresh and ripe and simple and easy. (TC) 13%
Drink 2020 – 2021
Famille Fabre, Grande Courtade L’Instant 2019 IGP Pays d’Oc 16,5
Malbec, Syrah, Alicante Bouschet.
Juicy black-cherry-liqueur and mulberry nose. So gouleyant! Gushing with exuberant fruit, fresh, alive and lip-smackingly delicious. You could drink this like cordial! Chill for 15 minutes and have it with smoked duck and fresh blackberry and fennel salad for lunch. VGV (TC) 12.5%
Drink 2020 – 2020
€6 RRP
Famille Fabre, L’Orangerie de Luc 2019 Languedoc 16,5
Certified organic. Syrah, Grenache, Carignan.
Rich aromas of Bovril (beef extract) and candied blackberries. Really dark and sweet with a gentle stemminess. Big tannins hunkering down with the fruit but not overtaking it. Quite a bit of alcoholic heat. Cassis and bay leaf. Concentrated and dramatic and sweet, but the lovely herbs on the finish lift it off the ground. Winter wine, and needs food. (TC) 14%
Drink 2020 – 2025
Famille Fabre, Tour de Rieux L’Instant Rare Cinsault 2019 IGP Pays d’Oc 15
Certified organic.
Gamey on the nose, stewed berry fruit on the palate. Some pepper and dried thyme bringing a touch of fragrance through the lightly astringent tannins, but it could do with a bit more freshness. (TC) 13.5%
Drink 2020 – 2021
Famille Fabre, Équilibre Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 IGP Pays d’Oc 16
Certified organic. No added sulphites.
Raw blackberries on the nose. Super-ripe, super-juicy – almost tastes like blackberry liqueur rather than wine! You could just about drizzle this on your ice cream. There is a shadow of box-leaf green spice under all that fruit, but you have to look carefully for it. You could pair this with gorgonzola and I think it would be lovely with a black-pudding salad. (TC) 14.5%
Drink 2020 – 2021
Famille Fabre, Ch Fabre Gasparets 2017 Corbières-Boutenac 15,5
Certified organic. Carignan, Syrah, Mourvèdre with 12 months in French oak.
You can smell the oak. The first wine in the line-up from Fabre that has had strong oak on the nose. Coconut. Ripe, sweet, chocolate-and-cherries fruit with a coconut-ice candy character. I miss the wildness of Corbières – this tastes quite American in character. (TC) 14%
Drink 2020 – 2023
Famille Fabre, Ch Fabre Gasparets Lieu-dit La Serre 2016 Corbières-Boutenac 17
Certified organic. Vinified and aged 18 months in French oak barrels.
NHB. Rich, powerful, ripe. A big sun-drenched southern wine that is filled with the scent of dried thyme and sage and lavender on dark, lush fruit. The oak is much more integrated on this than on their 2017 Ch Fabre Gasparets Corbières-Boutenac. Altogether more balanced with more freshness, despite the ripeness and weight. Long, plush, seductive. (TC) 14.5%
Drink 2020 – 2026
Famille Fabre, Château de Luc Rosé 2019 Corbières 16
Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah blend.
Very very pale peachy pink. Certified organic. Light strawberry florals on the nose. A little peachy on the palate. Delicate. (TC) 12.5%
Drink 2020
Famille Fabre, Grande Courtade L’Instant Rosé 2019 IGP Pays d’Oc 15,5
Certified organic.
Another super-pale pink from the Fabre family. But it has guts and a depth of flavour that belies its appearance. First-of-the-summer apricots and nectarines with a lovely core of stoniness on the palate. Grippy but seamlessly integrated acidity. (TC) 12.5%
Drink 2020 – 2021