CHATEAU ETANG DES COLOMBES

CHATEAU ETANG DES COLOMBES – 11200 Lezignan-Corbières

The first time I came in contact with this wine-yard was because of their very fancy rosé-bottles. They are of that kind many people save and have for decoration. Some restaurants use the empty bottles to serve ordinary water as they are so decorative.

I have also several times been drinking their top red cuvé – Bois de Dames and appreciated it very much. The other day our neighbors served us the last bottle from the year 2000 and I opened it with few expectations – it is a 13 years old wine for 10 euros. It was excellent with, typically enough for an old Corbières, tastes of chocolate and tobacco and also quite a lot of soft tannins left.

At a restaurant yesterday I ordered their traditional white wine made from Grenache blanc, Bourboulenc and Maccabeu. It was fruity and dry as a good not oaked wine should be.

Today I went to the wine-yard and bought one case of each. Despite it is just 15 minutes from my home it was my first visit. If I had not tried the wines before I might however not have bought any red. The wine I was given to taste came from a bottle that had been open for four days and was not at its best. The salesperson obviously did not think I would notice the difference.  When I commented on it he was quite embarrassed.

WEB: http://www.etangdescolombes.com

DOMAINE CHATEAU PIERRE GUILLAUME

 DOMAINE CHATEAU PIERRE GUILLAUME - 1 Montée du Château, 11200 Tournissan

We jumped into this vine-yard by accident. We were in the little village Tournissan just south of Carcasson and it was lunch time. We saw this signe from a wine producer who also offered food. The little restaurant was located just beneath Château Pierre Guillaume. It was just a small caveau with a few tables and a little garden with a view that could be more exiting.

Exciting was however the owner who came out and told us about his restaurant enthusiastically. He had started a cooperation with a young star chef that prepared a selection of gourmet dishes in advance as "sous vide". The only thing they did in the restaurant was to heat it up, present it and serve a selected glass of their own wine production to every dish.

The food and wine was excellent and the service could not be more friendly. We enjoyed it and returned a couple of weeks later to buy some of his excellent wine and have lunch. We were esoecially impressed by the Pinot Noire, but the other wines were also excelent.


WEB: http://www.belcaire-pyrenees.com/article-36689104.html
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CHATEAU OLLIEUX ROMANIS

CHATEAU OLLIEUX ROMANIS - Route départementale 613, 11200 Montsére

This vine-yard is much diversified. Besides making wine of absolutely highest quality they arrange a number of different activities, like art exhibitions, music-nights and it is also possible to stay the night in the gite.

The production of wine is mainly AOP Corbières, with the prestige wine Atal Sia of AOP Corbières Boutenac. Another prestige wine is Cuvèe d’Or that we have tried a case of and found absolutely exceptional, but a little on the expensive side. They also produce white and rose-wine and a few designers wine under Vdp d’Oc.

If you have opportunity it might be a good idea to join one of their events and taste their wine together with buffet food. They also sell wine from the caveau at those occasions. 

WEB: http://www.ollieux.com
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DOMAINE DE MARTINOLLES

DOMAINE DE MARTINOLLES - 11250 Saint – Hilaire

This is a producer of the ancient sparkling wine Blanquette de Limoux, which actually is the oldest sparkling wine in France and produced in a more original way than champagne. Besides sparkling wine they produce still wine of high quality, especially white wine, but also red of AOP Limoux. Besides the traditional Blanquette de Limoux they produce Crémant de Limoux and on Méthode Ancestrale.

We came in contact with this vine-yard and their sparkling wine in the 90s when we imported wine to Sweden from the area. Their Crémant de Limoux, which we had offered to the Swedish state monopoly Systembolaget, won a blind test and was accepted to be sold in the shops around the country. The most prestigious wine reviewers in Sweden elected this wine to be the best buy at the time. Because of later discovered corruption in Systembolaget, that we did not wanted to take part in, it however never got the success as it should have.

It is also possible to stay over-night in the gite.

Wine maker and owner: Jean-Marc Vergnes
WEB: http://www.martinolles.com/

CHATEAUX DU VIEUX PARC

CHATEAUX DU VIEUX PARC – 1 ave Vignerons, 11200 Conilhac-Corbières

As most of the vine-yards in the area Château du Vieux Parc  is concentrated on red wine of AOP Corbières. They also produce one white and one rosé under this classification and a red Vdp Hautrive.

We first came in contact with this vine-yard in the 90s when we were wine importers and we still visit them occasionally to get a case or two of their wine. In the next door gourmet restaurant L’Auberge Côte Jardin it is a natural thing for us to choose wine from them with our meal. Our favorite wine is the top quality Cuvée Selection, but all the wines are excellent.

 An unusual thing is that this producer offers wine of older harvests for you to buy. Normally you can only buy the wine that has just been bottled and have to mature it yourself. Here you can get a bottle that is already matured to your taste, open it up as soon you get home and drink it with your meal.

The wine-shop is situated in the castle in the dead center of the little village Conilhac-Corbières surrounded by a park. If you happens to visit the yearly November jazz festival in the village, where you can enjoy world star artist – do not forget to get there a little early and visit the château to get a few cases of the lovely wine.

Owner and wine-maker: Louis et Claudine Panis
WEB: http:// www.chateau-viewparc.com

L’ABBAYE DE FONTFROIDE

L’ABBAYE DE FONTFROIDE – Rd 613, 11100 Narbonne

This place is so much more than a wine producer and a wine shop. Prepare for a whole day trip and take a guided tour of the old monastery from 1093 or just walk around in the relaxing park. You might want to take a more demanding hike in the lovely environment or do some shopping in the gift-shop. A must is to have lunch in the beautiful restaurant - La Table de Fontfroide - whose historic predecessors have been serving food to travelers since the end of the 11^th century. To test the wine from the vine-yard together with the magnificent food is the best way to know what you want to take home afterwards.

The wine shop offers four red wines of AOP Corbières, and three white and one rosé of the same appellation. They also have one white and one rosé of Vdp d’Oc. A very interesting and pleasant wine is their Muscat sec, which is not really dry – they themselves call it “moêlleux”, which is sweetish and very fruity. They sell it in half liter bottles and it is perfect with “foie gras”, with blue cheese or as an aperitif.

Their wines have names that fit the historic heritage, like Deo Gratias (Thank God), which is the top cuvee, Laudamus (praising), Ocellus (little eye) and Frère Convers (a monastic title).

In the church concerts and plays are organized and in the beautiful monastery they arrange flower exhibitions and a lot of other interesting event through the year.

WEB: http://www.fontfroide.com
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LA CAVE DE GRUISSAN

LA CAVE DE GRUISSAN - Avenue de la Douane, 11430 Gruissan

Cave de Gruissan is not a place where you buy wine to save in your cellar for years. Still we go there regularly to get a few cases. Our favorite is a sparkling wine for a very good price. It comes in a well-designed bottle and is actually very good and absolutely perfect for a kir royal.

The cave has a good selection of nice rosé-wines and also good white. These are the kind of nice wines you can buy for everydays consumption as they are very affordable and well made. The cave also sell bag-in-box and you can bring your own container and fill it up with table-wine just as they did it in the old days.

They produce wine of AOP Corbières and AOP Coteaux du Languedoc La Clape but also a number of variety wines with appellation IPG Aude and IGP Pays Cathare. They also have a selection of sweet and half-sweet wine, but their Mousseux  blanc is really why we go there regularly.

WEB: http://www.cavedegruissan.com
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CDD

CDD - 6113 rte de Narbonne, 11204 Lezignan-Corbières

Just outside Lezignan-Corbières on the road to Narbonne you find CDD, which is mainly a giant wine-shop. You can however find a good selection of other local products here and quite a good selection of gifts.

The selection is very large, from very inexpensive bottles up to the best the region can offer. The bottles are nicely displayed with relevant information. It is a self-service shop, but you can get help and taste the wine you are interested in. The focus is on wine from Corbières, Minervois, Fitou and the surrounding areas, but the selection of wines from the rest of Languedoc is substantial and growing all the time.

WEB: http://www.cdd11.com/

CHATEAU L’HOSPITALET

CHATEAU L’HOSPITALET - Route de Narbonne Plage, 11100 Narbonne 

The Swedish alcohol monopoly pretends that Languedoc wines does not exist at all, with one exception. If you talk to the wine expert in the large shops of Systembolaget and mention Chateau l’Hospitalet and Gerard Bertrand, their eyes start sparkling and they get an almost religious look in their faces. The American wine magazine Wine Enthusiast have awarded Gerard Bertrand to be the best European wine maker 2012. 

The vine-yard is located in the mountains of La Clape, between Narbonne and Narbonne Plage. The vine-yard lies beautifully in a sea of vine along the most beautiful winding road to the sea. The La Clape mountains have quite a few top quality vine-yards and the prizes on their prestige wines are rather high. 

Château l’Hospitalet rents or owns land in many places around in Languedoc and can therefore offer wines of many different types (AOP). You can taste and buy wine from a number of areas within Languedoc here. The prize range I between a few euros per bottle for variety wines up to plus 40 euros for designer’s wines like Cigalus, La Forge and Viala. If you choose to buy older, more mature, bottles the prize can be still much higher.

Château l’Hospitalet is much more than a vine-yard and a wine-shop. They have a very good restaurant, a hotel and a number of small shops rented out to artists and others. They also arrange very interesting art exhibitions with painting, photography and sculpture and also jazz-concert with food and wine.

Nobelvin 2013: Vid Nobelmiddagen 2013 serverades Château l’Hospitalet La Reserve Rouge 2011, Coteaux du Languedoc la Clape

WEB: http://www.chateau-lhospitalet.com/

CHÂTEAU LA VOULTE GASPARETS

CHÂTEAU la VOULTE GASPARETS - Gasparets, 11200 Boutenac

I believe this is the most famous vine-yard that produces the, since 2005, new AOP Corbières Boutenac. It is in the commune of Boutenac in the little village Gasparets. They only produce four wines, two red, one white and one rosé. Romain Pauc is the top quality red and is classified as AOP Corbières Boutenac. The rest of the wines are traditional AOP Corbières. AOP Corbières Boutenac wines are produced under the most strict rules. The yield is today in average 54 hl/ha, but in the top wine it is not more than about half of this. Irrigation of the grapes is not allowed. There are also strict rules and time limits from the moment the hand harvested grapes are picket until they reach the press. The major grape is Carignan, that at the time was regarded a cheap grape for volume, but with limitation of yield and new methods it has turned into a high quality grape that produces very powerful wine to keep for many years. Other grapes that are allowed in limited amount in Boutenac wines are Grenach noir, Syrah and Mourvadre. La Volte Gasparets only uses their 100 years old plants of Carignan as a base to produce Romain Pauc.

The secret however with Boutenac wine is the terroir (soil). There are streaks of former sea-soil with lots of large sea-polished sea stones that form the terroir of Boutenac. It is a wonder that anything can grow in something so barren. The terroir is very much identical to what you can find in Château Neuf du Pape in the Rhône Valley. It is only on the field with this soil one is allowed to produce Boutenac wines – the rest becomes ordinary AOP Corbières. 

If you do not like to spend the little less than 20 euros for their top wine the other wines are also excellent. The red Cuvee Reserve is a high quality traditional AOP Corbières picked from plants that are 50 years old. The white is fruity and pleasant both with food and for aperitif on the balcony and the rosé is regarded among our friend as one of the better in the area.

The tasting facilities and the storing rooms are magnificent so it is worth wile to go there and sample and buy the wine. They however have a limitation of buying the top quality Romain Pauc – only a box of six per visitor. This wine comes in a nice wooden box with print on, which is good as you can save it for 10 years plus without any problems and you should let it mature for at least five years after the year printed on the bottle. This however goes for all top quality Boutenac wines.

WEB: http://www.lavoultegasparets.com