French Wine: Thoughts on the Languedoc-Roussillon

The Languedoc-Roussillon. It's an area that I've wanted to visit for a long time. Thanks to the Vendu Languedoc and Vendu Roussillon, I finally got the chance to attend. On the flight to Toulouse, France, I could hardly contain my excitement, and the week turned out way better than I expected. Here's what I learned about these wines and the region. The CIVL and CIVR put together a memorable and exciting trip. During the week, myself and 80 other media members explored the wines from these two exciting regions. The program consisted of daily lunches and dinners with producers. Here we sampled some incredible French cuisine paired with fabulous wines. There were also daily tastings which covered a lot of ground. During every day of the week, there were over 300 different wines out to taste. The afternoon consisted of field trips to different vineyards and appellations. One of the highlights was a ride through Lemieux in classic cars. Cruising through the small villages and countryside of southern France with the top down was like a dream come true. The sparkling wines of Lemieux are also noteworthy. They're well made, delicious, and affordable. If you want something unique, look out for the Blanca de Lemieux, which are made from the grape Mauzac. The Cremant de Lemieux are made with Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Pinot Noir, and Mauzac. They're more familiar for the international palate. Languedoc-Roussillon contains more than a quarter of France's vineyards. In the past, it was known as a bulk wine producing region, but there are some really exciting things coming out of the area. Sub-appellations that impressed me the most in Languedoc are Minervois à la Livignère and Corbier-Boutinac for reds. Minervois à la Livignère are dense and meaty red wines. They're GSM blends. While the Corbier-Boutinac wines were hitting my palate perfectly, they have about 30 to 50 percent carignan in them. The Corbier-Rosé wines were also impressive. I wasn't the only one who was impressed. Meg Maker of Terror Review thought so too. I think a great surprise for me today was the Eossi Corbier Rosé. I found them great freshness, beautiful pink, you know, berry flavors. Lovely wines that I really wasn't familiar with them at all. Mike Viseth from the Wine Economist also had something to say about the Rosés from Languedoc. Two other wines that I've enjoyed a lot here are Rosé wines and Sparkling wines. These are very important here. They're two of the fastest growing segments of the U.S. market. Rosé wines, led by the French but with everybody, grew by 65 percent in the U.S. last year. And both of those are good because in a typical wine shop, if you have red wines from France, the Languedoc wines, because of their the reputation that is in the past, but because of that, Languedoc wines might be at the bottom shelf or a lower shelf and not receive attention. But in the Sparkling segment and in the Rosé segment, they'll be right up at the top and it'll be there because of the good reputation, the great value of these wines and their drinkability. The reds from the Languedoc Eossi and smaller Appalachians around Montpellier also showed well. They're juicy wines with ripe tannins and red fruit flavors. Many of the wines I tasted were fantastic values and come in at under 10 euros a bottle. As for Roussillon, I'd only drank a handful of these wines before coming to the region. In the past, Shereen and I have really enjoyed wines from Gauby and Matassa. This time, I came away really impressed with the Vendue Naturale or fortified wines from Roussillon, especially Moris, Bagnoles and Riversals. The whites from Couliot also impressed me. They're mainly Grenache Blanc and Grenache Gris and are ripe with mineral flavors. Both grapes are tannic, so it's an interesting experience drinking a fresh white wine that makes your palate dry. The biggest eye-opener for me was Bagnoles. On one afternoon, we joined a group of producers high on the terraces of Couliot. They started opening their white and red Bagnoles and I was astonished. This is coming from a guy who doesn't like fortified wines normally. The white Bagnoles smells like a dry white but then surprises you with the sweetness. The reds can be extremely complex and pair great with the few chocolate dishes that we had. Wine entrepreneur and local expert Fabien Lene explained why Roussillon is such a dynamic wine region. The landscape talks about itself. Roussillon is to me one of the best regions nowadays in France because of the diversity of the grape varieties and it's pretty good for young winemakers who want to start running their own business and crafting wine because you can afford still to buy a few hectares for quite good price. I couldn't help but feel a little sad when the week ended. It was intense and jam-packed with delicious food and wine. The Languedoc-Roussillon is an area that's full of beautiful landscapes and even better wines. Like any place, it's the people that made it special. During the week, I met up with old and new friends. The days were full of laughter, whining, and dining. So here's to you Languedoc-Roussillon. I hope to be back soon.