Minervois

Old Carignan vines in restanques in the
famous terroir of Peyriac - Minervois

Dear wine lovers,

Learning that the 2005 title (even if I never give credit to these wine awards) of "the best world wine made out of Syrah - Grenache - Mourvèdre" had been given to a Minervois* wine, I thought it was a good opportunity to talk about these wines that I particularly enjoy in red.

This area, which is part of Languedoc - Roussillon, is located in the countryside, west of Montpellier. To enter this wine country, choose to drive through the beautiful fortified town of Carcassonne. Going north, you will feel like as if you were in Tuscany with wide-open landscapes** filled with olive trees and vines in a limestone soil. Don't forget to stop at the ancient town of Rieux if you like Roman art or Caunes for its superb abbey.

Minervois red wines are deep and rich. Most of the time, Syrah prevails but when old Carignan are found there, they can be the prominent grape. Blended with Grenache and Mourvèdre, a light barrel aging will let them soften their tannins.
If you like liquorice, you will enjoy Minervois wines. I like to say that they remind me of those black sticks that I loved as a child (and still do). These wines will go well with any kind of game meat with a thick spicy sauce. I also like them with Asian food since this sweet sensation will pair well with the sweet and sour kind of food.

One thing you should be behare of is that you might stumble upon cheap Minervois made by negociants and I strongly discourage this purchase (a good Minervois wine should cost about 15 US $). Besides the now famous Massamier-la-Mignarde that, I have to admit, I had never heard of before, the wines that I like are Château Villerambert Julien, Domaine de la Tour Boisée and Château du Donjon. Finally, and if you want to drink and sleep at the same location, go to Château de Violet , a very cozy place where there are always nice people with whom to share your wine passion for wine. And departing from there, you might run into an Old Fort village called "Lespinassière" where some of my ancestors may have come from...

Cheers,

Jean-Marc Espinasse

Any comments, edits are very welcome at contact@french-wine-a-day.com

* Listen to "Minervois"

** Landscapes = Paysages

See Minervois area on a French wine map (use enlarge icon to see it better)