Jancis Robinson

Languedoc – wines to cool down with | Jancis Robinson

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Freshness may not necessarily be a cool-climate prerogative; and many vines are doing just fine as temperatures rise. 

Climate change is complex, multi-faceted and may not look like what we we think it looks like. This is becoming increasingly obvious to me in the wines that I taste. The one-dimensional story that is being broadly rolled out is that marginal wine regions are becoming cool-climate wine regions, cool climates are moving into the moderate zones, moderate becomes warm, warm becomes hot, hot climates stop making wine. Hence, England the new Champagne, Norway the new England, Burgundy – perhaps – the new Rhône?

In the Languedoc, freshness heroes include Domaine Begude, Famille Fabre, Aubert et Mathieu, Mas Combarèla and Mas des Brousses.

Famille Fabre, Château de Luc Les Jumelles 2020 Corbières

Full bottle 1,272 g. Certified Ecocert organic. Roussanne and Grenache Blanc vinified on fine lees.
Thyme, gorse and hawthorn blossom. Pears, grainy pear-skin texture, granite dust. An elegant, quietly composed, beautifully rendered expression of white Corbières. Fine acidity leading to a long, sure finish. (TC)

13.5%

Drink

2022

–

2024

Famille Fabre, Grande Courtade L’Instant Rare Chardonnay 2021 IGP Pays d’Oc

Full bottle 1,151 g. Certified Ecocert organic. 
Dry and clean with a little bit of oak-tasting spice but not a great deal of fruit. A bit short. I’d go for the Grande Courtade Alvarinho and Sauvignon Blanc over this. (TC)

13%

Drink

2022

–

2023

Famille Fabre, Ch Fabre Gasparets Parcelle Rare Les Amouries Rosé 2020 Corbières

Full bottle 1,389 g.
Rose-hip pink and I am just loving the grip, earthiness, vitality and bold expression of this rosé. This is cracking delicious! Guava and rose petals, paprika and then into a cool, long, tongue-tip lick of wet iron and cold pebbles. There is a frisson of wasabi, and something refreshing that reminds me of cucumber slices in cold water. But above all else, this grippy little rosé has sass. (TC)

12.5%

Drink

2022

–

2025
17

Famille Fabre, Grande Courtade L’Instant Rosé 2021 IGP Pays d’Oc

Full bottle 1,221 g. Clear glass. Certified Ecocert organic. 
Tastes like a slice of watermelon dipped in white pepper and sour cream and sprinkled with chopped lovage. Delicious. A dab of residual sugar, I suspect, but it works. Good length. It was absolutely superb with Butlers’ Kidderton Ash goat’s cheese. (TC)

12.5%

Drink

2022

–

2023
16.5

Famille Fabre, Château de Luc Les Jumelles 2021 Languedoc

Full bottle 1,221 g. Clear glass. Certified Ecocert organic. 
Smells like strawberry yogurt with fresh basil leaves and sorrel. A delicate woodsy note threading through light, pithy raspberry fruit. Peach skin, a sliver of guava, soft greens. Tiny sprinkle of pepper on the finish. So refreshing! (TC)

12.5%

Drink

2022

–

2023
16

Famille Fabre, Tour de Rieux L’Instant Rare Cinsault 2021 IGP Pays d’Oc

Full bottle 1,157 g. Certified Ecocert organic. No added sulphites.
Pale red. Classic raw-beef, bloody Cinsault on the nose. Slate dust and sour cherries, rust and sumac. Slip-slide tannins, like tight red-leather trousers. Cinsault at its most raw, tousled, unplugged. Chill and drink with a cheeky chilli! (TC)

13.5%

Drink

2022

–

2023
16

Famille Fabre, Grande Courtade L’Instant 2021 IGP Pays d’Oc

Full bottle 1,281 g. In conversion to organic certification. Malbec and Syrah blend.
Fresh, dark, rose-petal-scented fruit. Maraschino cherries in syrup. Friendly, generous and open with a crack of black pepper, the black sweetness of mulberries, the bitter green of pine needles and a crack of black pepper. (TC)

12.5%

Drink

2022

–

2026
16