Cult Wines from the SOUTH of FRANCE

The story behind how I received the wines for this tasting is a bit crazy, but more on that later.

Finally, I get to have a look into one of the most misunderstood but important parts of the wine world: the South of France. The South of France is complicated. On the one hand, the wine industry in Languedoc-Roussillon suffered over the last few decades. A focus on quantity over quality led to massive overproduction, which in turn led to large-scale vine-pulling schemes in order to reduce output and stabilize prices. On the other hand, there was a strong push towards quality by some pioneers going back at least 50 years. These pioneers worked hard, looking for the best terroir of the South, using grape varieties from the South while also experimenting with varieties from further up North. They managed to put certain areas onto the map and transition the industry from mainly producing generic vin to producing high-quality AOC wines. A hotbed for this move towards quality is the region around Aniane, a town in the Hérault region west of Montpellier. Some of the producers from there have now achieved cult status, and their wines sell at very high prices. Getting to that level, however, wasn't easy. Some of the struggles those producers had to go through were documented in the brilliant movie *Mondovino*. The classic quote "Le vin est un terroir" is from one of the protagonists of the movie and the former, now deceased, owner of Mas de Daumas Gassac. In the movie, he's depicted as this independent vigneron battling the growing influence of the Mondavi family from the US, who at the time was trying to establish a winery on wild land in the neighborhood of Mas de Daumas Gassac. But well before *Mondovino*, Aimé Guibert started a movement of producers in Southern France trying to focus on the production of really high-end wines, and we're going to taste some of the best examples here in this video. And on top of that, they are all aged, so we're going to taste them mature. So let's dive in!

We buy almost all of the wines I taste on YouTube, but sometimes producers send me samples in the hopes that I'm going to review them on my channel, but I usually decline. This shipment was special, though. First of all, it arrived in a broken wooden box, and one of the bottles was smashed in transit. But when I looked closer at the bottles, I realized that they were wines from some of the best estates in Southern France: Super-cult greats Mas de Daumas Gassac, La Clare, and also Mas Jullien. And on top of that, all of those wines were mature. The reds were all from the 2008 vintage, and the whites were from the 2014 and 2015 vintages. In the box was also a very kind letter from the owner of La Clare, Rob, who is not just the owner of La Clare but also a very talented musician who produced some of the music for *The Matrix* movies and has worked with artists like Youssou N'Dour and Moby. Search for "Club to Death" after you watch this video to listen to some of his most iconic work. But now, let's taste this amazing collection from the South of France. In order to understand what makes them special, so I'm starting off with the 2015 Mas Jullien Blanc, which is actually classified as an IGP from the AOP region. The wine is usually a blend of Roussanne, Grenache Blanc, Viognier, and Clairin Blanc, and it comes from older vines that produce really concentrated fruit. The grapes are planted on different parcels, and many of them have fairly chalky soils, which tends to be good for producing more elegant white wines. It is fermented in barrels and then aged in barrels in order to add some aromatic complexity—some of those smoky, nutty notes—but also just allow a little bit of oxygen into the wine in order to, kind of, yeah, make it appear a little bit more complex on the nose and maybe even rounder on the palate. I found it really interesting to taste these wines aged because people often don't associate the South of France with producing age-worthy wines, but there's quite a lot of potential there, even for the white wines. That can—some of them can age—I mean, not all of them, obviously. The best ones can age for a long time, and as they age, they develop those golden notes. So this is kind of, yeah, golden, honey-colored, and it looks…looks pretty…oh no. Okay, this…this sucks. But the bottle is corked, so this cork failed us all, and the wine is spoiled. It doesn't happen very often on this channel that I have a corked wine in the lineup, but it's just such a shame, especially with a wine that was aged for 10 years, and…and now we just have to toss it because it's…because of this…this thing here. Shame on you! Shame on you, cork! I'll…I'll throw you extra far…oh no, I'm actually not going to throw you at all, just to show how badly you behaved. So we are moving on to the next one, which is the 2014 La Clare Blanc, which is a blend of Viognier, Roussanne, Marsanne, and in some vintages Clairette. So let's hope that this is not spoiled. Fingers crossed! Smells okay. So let's see. The color here is kind of similar to the previous one; it's golden and pure, and there's no cork. The soil at La Clare is mainly clay and pebbles, and they do use barrels for the fermentation and maturation of the white wine. You get some of that spice on the nose, but in general, this is actually a fairly delicate wine in terms of flavor. The grape varieties Roussanne and Marsanne don't usually have a lot of aroma, so the wines get more waxy and really interesting. I…I really love that style. The Viognier tends to be much more aromatic, much more bright in flavor, adding some of this orange character. But yeah, Viognier and Marsanne—it's…it's just…they are just different. So there are notes of ripe apple; there's a little bit of caramel flavor coming through as well; there are some of those waxy notes—not super pungent, but really deep and complex; there's also a little bit of dustiness there, which is quite interesting. So that's quite a lot going on, even though the flavors are not super intense. The texture of this wine—I mean, it's just oily, rich, grippy, but still fresh. I mean, this is definitely not a light wine—14 and 1/2% of alcohol—but it retains some freshness and that bitterness, that slight grip. The tannins from the white grapes just kind of make this taste really delicious—not fat, even though it's quite unctuous and rich. I mean, yeah, this is just right in its drinking window. It's a special style of wine; I don't think everyone loves this because…because it's just not fruity; it's more waxy and wild, but I really like that style, and…and that grip and that texture is just super delicious. I'm so glad that the cork didn't fail us. So I'll let this one fly. Not bad! This is absolutely delicious, and I'm going to rate this 94 points. I think it's a complex wine—not something for everyone. If you're into fruity, light white wines, this is not for you, but if you want to explore and taste white wines with more of that wildness and more of that richness, then this is definitely for you. So we're moving on to the next wine, which is the 2015 Mas de Daumas Gassac. The winery that kickstarted it all, and this is also an IGP from the Languedoc region—13% of alcohol, so fairly low in alcohol. This is a pretty wild blend: 27% Picpoul, 25% Viognier, 16% Chenin, 15% Chardonnay, and then there's 7% of unspecified, rare varieties—whatever that might actually mean. Their soils are chalky, and they say that the vines grow in a cooler microclimate. I…I usually prefer the white Mas de Daumas Gassac to the red; I just think the whites are a little bit more exciting, and I also really like this really wild, kind of weird blend of different grape varieties. I actually once worked with one of the sons of Aimé Guibert, Bazil Guibert, and yeah, he was…he was kind of…yeah, he had some similarities to Aimé, I think, because they are both kind of wild, creative kind of people. Um, but anyways, let's…let's taste this wine. So for this wine, the grapes were harvested manually, and then they were fermented in stainless steel and matured in stainless steel. So there's no oak here; it's just focused on the fruit. It's interesting to see how this wine has aged because usually, I mean, if you age a wine in barrel or mature wine in barrel pre-bottling, it just becomes more age-worthy, and this was just in stainless steel. So let's see whether it's still…whether it's still any good. So this is also pretty golden in color, and that's another thing: if you mature wine in barrels, the wine tends to get a little darker in color, a little bit more golden if it's a white wine. So…so this one didn't get that, but if you mature it in bottle for long enough, it will also get a little golden, and you actually, in the end, have pretty much the same color here as you had in the previous wines that were aged in oak. On the nose, this is opening up beautifully. In the beginning, it was really muted, but in the glass, it just kind of starts showing more and more, and you get more different kinds of flavors. You have some apple, pear character; there's also some flowery notes there; there's also an aroma of ginger, a little bit of spice. So it's actually really complex, and there are very…there are multiple layers here. This is also kind of interesting because…uh, there's some sugar there; it has 12 g of residual sugar, and you can definitely feel that there's quite a lot of creaminess there. It doesn't feel heavy, but it's…it's definitely off-dry. So you're…just such a weird and wonderful style of wine. I think this mix of different grape varieties, this approach to winemaking, residual sugar…so it's all kind of…kind of wild, but…but it does work in this wine, and the…the sweetness is…the sweetness is certainly not heavy. I mean, there's also again that kind of tannic grip, good acidity—I mean, not a lot of acidity, but…but good acidity—so…so there is balance there, and this is…this is super interesting. However, I don't think this has the same depth and complexity as the previous one. I think this is quite fun and interesting, but it's just not at the same quality level. I'm going to rate this 90 points—a really interesting, exciting one, and it's great to see that it's still very much there, but yeah, it just doesn't have the same depth and complexity. The last white wine we're going to taste is the 2014 Domaine de la Mordorée, which is kind of an iconic cult wine from the region. The white is in high demand, and there's just a very small amount of it—I read around about 1,000 bottles per year—so this retails for hundreds of euros per bottle, and yeah, I'm excited to…to taste it and see whether it's worth that kind of money. This is a blend of Roussanne, Marsanne, and Chardonnay from chalky soils. The grapes are hand-harvested, and then they are fermented in barrels or demi-muids—slightly larger oak vessels—and aged for 24 months before bottling. You can't even really find ratings for this wine—I mean, not for this vintage, anyways—and the ones I found online were for older vintages, so…so yeah, it's…it's something special that I'm going to share with you, and thanks to Rob, I get to share that with you. So thanks, Rob, in the first place. Let's just hope this is not corked; that would…that would suck. I mean, imagine that! Smells good! Holy cow! This is…this is golden! I mean, look at that color! This…this is really, really golden; it's almost amber in color. So…so this definitely smells quite delicious. I mean, you have some notes of apricot, some notes of vanilla from the oak, but it actually smells like apricot tart. So you have candied apricots; there's also a little bit of aroma of dough, which also has something to do with the contact with the lees. So there's some creaminess there, some yeastiness, and this is really well-balanced. I mean, the oak is there, but there's also fruit, so…so I'm…I'm excited! Wow! On the palate, there's a lot happening right now. This is…I mean, people think South of France, so they think high-alcohol wines, but this is 13 and 1/2% alcohol, and it doesn't feel hot alcoholic; it has alcohol, but it has this creaminess, great freshness, again, quite a lot of ripe…those flavors of apricots and…and dough, and a lot of length, intensity. So this is a really complete wine, and it…it's beautiful at this stage of its development. This is really amazing stuff! I…I completely…I'm blown away by it! I mean, it's a bit of a shame that this is not produced in large enough quantities so that this is actually available in your market. You probably…well, there might be something available there, but it's very expensive, but it's just such a beautiful, delicious white. So I'm going to rate this 99 points. It's close to perfection in my opinion; it's…it's just really, really great for what it is, but yeah, there's just maybe a touch missing. Maybe I'm a bit too strict with it, but…but yeah, I'm going to go 99 points. Absolutely delicious wine! Man, these wines really make me want to go to the South of France and explore that region in more detail. And when I go there, I'll take the sponsor of this episode with me: NordVPN. NordVPN allows me to travel safely as I get to browse the internet protected from threats, censorship, and surveillance, even at airports, hotels, and train stations. Nord also allows me to access content from around the world, bypass geo-restrictions, and enjoy fast internet speeds, no matter where I am. On my future trip to Languedoc, I might want to kick back, relax, and watch some of my favorite German TV shows. With Nord, I can just change my virtual location and access media that is only available in Germany, for example, and not in France. NordVPN's plans cover all of my devices—my PC, laptop, tablet, phone—under one plan, ensuring that all of them are safe, no matter which one I use. NordVPN is offering a special deal to my viewers, including a 30-day money-back guarantee. So go to the description and click on the link in order to get a discount and a free month of NordVPN, and surf safer today. Thank you, NordVPN, for sponsoring this video. And now let's get back to…to the wines. So now let's taste the 2008 Mas Jullien. Mas Jullien was founded in 1985, so they are also one of the early pioneers of the region, and let's hope that the cork doesn't fail me this time. The wine was bottled under the Terrasses du Larzac AOC. This is a beautiful region; I've been there. It's kind of wild and wonderful; you find quite a lot of this garrigue, the undergrowth that is really aromatic, and yeah, just a beautiful, wild place—a beautiful, wild part of the South of France. The reds here are based on Carignan, Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre—the typical Southern French grape varieties. The 2008 is mainly Carignan and Mourvèdre with some Grenache and Syrah in the mix, and yeah, let's…let's see how it tastes. Still looks fairly young; I mean, there's not a lot of browning here; it's kind of cloudy, a little bit, because it's probably not really filtered and maybe not even fined, but yeah, it's…it's fairly ruby at its core. So under the nose, this is quite beautiful. There's lots of blackberry, cassis flavor; there's also a little bit of olive tapenade character; there's also a little bit of bread, in my opinion, but not in a pronounced way. So you get some of those earthy, leathery characters here, but they are pretty well integrated in the spectrum of different flavors, so it's…it's…it's actually adding something to the wine—this…this funkiness, this wildness. There's also this kind of peatiness, reminding me a little bit of Islay whisky, and so there's a lot going on here. On the palate, this is grippy, quite fresh, linear. So there's a lot of length here; it doesn't sit on the palate like…it's not big and fat; it's kind of grippy and wild, and yeah, really, really well-made. Again, 13.5% of alcohol, so not a lot of alcohol, and…um…lots of freshness and structure. This is quite delicious, and I think it's still fairly young. I mean, this is close to 20 years old now, but…but it doesn't feel old at all. I think this definitely has another 10 years in it. I'm going to rate this 93 points. I think it's a really well-made wine; it lacks a little bit of weight and mid-palate density, I think, but…uh…the aromatic complexity is quite beautiful. Also really, really nice red, and this is actually, out of the range that I'm tasting, probably the most affordable wine. So let's move on to the 2008 La Clare, from the Terrasses du Larzac AOC. This winery is easily the youngest in the lineup; it was founded in 2004, but it already has a pretty great reputation. It was called one of the best estates in France by *The Wine Advocate*, so let's…let's open this baby up. So the red wine is based on Syrah with some Grenache in it as well, and yeah, this is again a little bigger—14 and 1/2% of alcohol—a little richer in style. So this is super dark! I mean, look at that color! It's deep…deep…deep. So…um…a little bit of garnet on the rim, but…but it's actually still very dark; it looks still pretty young. Wow! So you definitely smell the Syrah here; it's kind of dark blackberries, blueberries, and there's this olive tapenade character again, and then there's quite a lot of pepper—black pepper notes—quite intense, and…and yeah, really impressive. On the palate, this is really juicy, rich, and intense. The tannins are really fine-grained; there's also good freshness there; a lot of stuff going on on my…my tongue right now; there's also a little bit of minty and herbaceous notes coming through. So this is really complex, and I think it's really singing right now. I mean, I haven't tasted the red ever before, but…um…this feels like it's right in its drinking window. Syrah after bottling is often times in the beginning quite fruity and approachable, and then it drops off for a while and comes back later on and shows more of those…uh…tertiary, complex flavors, and I think this is kind of right now in this drinking window—in the second window—where it just opens up and becomes more…more complex. So I'm going to rate this 95 points. This is a bold and rich style, but it also has depth and complexity and structure, so I think it's really complete in a way, and quite a delicious…quite a delicious wine. All right, let's move on to the 2008 Mas de Daumas Gassac, which is classified as a Vin de Pays, and this is a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% of other varieties. The wine was aged in oak, and they write on the back label that you can drink this wine on the fruit after 3 to 5 years, then at maturity after 10 to 15 years, and at majesty after 15 to 20 years of aging. So if my math doesn't fail me, this should be at majesty level now. So let's…let's see whether it's…whether it's majestic. I always found it quite interesting that Mas de Daumas Gassac, as a pioneer in the region, was really traditionally focused on Cabernet Sauvignon, while all of the neighbors are actually more into the traditionally Southern grape varieties. And I think actually the trend is more towards going for the…yeah, the varietals that were home in that region previously, and Cabernet Sauvignon actually doesn't play as much of a role in the region anymore. But when Mas de Daumas Gassac was established in the 70s, it was just…yeah, Bordeaux was kind of the iconic region that people looked at for inspiration. You can see that as well in Tuscany, for example, where the Super Tuscans were kind of built around a Bordeaux model. So I think Mas de Daumas Gassac back then placed their bet on Cabernet Sauvignon, and now they…they still…still kind of using that grape variety because it's there and it's part of their identity. It is, however, kind of ironic that they had this big moment in *Mondovino* battling against the globalization of wine while actually focusing on a grape variety that represents globalization more than any other. Cabernet Sauvignon is kind of planted everywhere, and everywhere people make wine from Cabernet Sauvignon following similar recipes as well, but of course, this has a Southern identity. But let's…let's taste it first, shall we? So the wine definitely has more brown color pigments, and it's also lighter in color than the previous wine for sure. On the nose, this also shows some more spice notes; there's a little bit of cinnamon in addition to kind of the blackberry, cassis flavors; there's also a little bit of leathery character coming through, so it's more tertiary in aroma for sure. On the palate, this is actually quite lean and fresh—13.3% of alcohol. The tannins are polished and round, but there's also some acidity there; it's not a heavy wine at all; it feels more kind of light. I'm not sure whether this is actually right now in its majestic phase; I think it's maybe getting a little old, so I'd say this is in the drink-up phase, but it's still…it's still there; I mean, it's not gone, but…but I don't think it has long legs anymore. So I'm going to rate this 90 points. I think it's a good wine; it has some complexity and quite a lot of freshness, but it doesn't really have the depth and balance and complexity of the previous ones. So let's finish this tasting with this one: the 2008 Gramenon. Gramenon was established in 1989 and has quite the reputation; it's a real cult wine with a cult following. This would retail for €200 plus, so it's expensive, but yeah…well, it's expensive because it produces great quality, as we've seen with the white, but now let's find out whether the red…red is at a similar level. So the reds are based on Syrah, Mourvèdre, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Counoise, and they have nine hectares of vineyards planted to red varieties. So this is also released as Vin de Pays because they use some Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend, but it's usually just a very small fraction of the blend, so it's not…not dominating. So here we also have quite a bit of brown color; it's quite garnet towards the rim, not super concentrated in color, more…yeah…more brickish in color. On the nose, you definitely get some tertiary character, but also a lot of fruit: there are notes of strawberries, red currants, black currants; there's also a little bit of balsamic flavor, so it's really complex, and it changes all the time. The Syrah flavor also comes through quite well; you get some of this black olive aroma again, a little bit of pepperiness, but not too much, but it's just…it's just quite a…quite a complex wine. Wow! And the palate…this is explosive! I mean, the tannins are grippy, but ripe, and there's a lot of body there. The alcohol is at 14%, but it just feels very round and rich on the palate, but also fresh. I mean, there's balance there. Wow! Beautiful! This definitely feels like the most baroque wine in the lineup, but it's beautiful because it also has kind of freshness, balance. So there's a lot going on there; it also feels quite evolved, but not past its drinking window. I would say it's more towards the end of its drinking window, but drinking still really beautifully. So this is also great stuff. This almost reminds me a little bit of tawny Port; it feels like there's some sweetness there, even though I don't think there's sugar there, but this lusciousness is…is quite…quite special. So I'm going to rate this 97 points—uh…delicious wine as well, but the white, for me, was even better. This was a special tasting, so thanks to Rob for opening a cellar and kind of sending those wines to me, because they were really fascinating, really eye-opening, really interesting to taste. I think the whole lineup—apart from this one, obviously, which was corked, so it's not really the wine's fault—was absolutely delicious. It kind of showed that there's a lot of diversity here in terms of styles, but a lot of authenticity as well. So different producers really trying to get something special out of their vineyard sites, and it also proved that in order to find cult wines, you don't have to go to the most famous regions. You find some cult wines that are quite deserving in the South of France, too. My two favorites were the Gramenon, for sure, but I also thought that the Mas de Daumas Gassac wines have quite a lot of quirkiness, wildness; they are quite interesting. La Clare—absolutely delicious wines—and maybe still a little bit under the radar. And I mean, I can't judge the corked wine, but the Mas Jullien was also really delicious, structured, really crunchy red wine that has a lot of aging potential. So thank you for watching. I hope you enjoyed this video. If you did, then please like it down here; subscribe to my channel if you haven't done so already. My question of the day is: What do you think about the wines from Languedoc? Have you had some exciting wines from there? Let me know down below in the comments. But whatever you do, stay thirsty!