Château Capitoul, IGP Pays d’Oc, France 2021, £9, The Co-op Such has been the justified trepidation about wildfires in southern France this summer, with soaring temperatures and tinderbox leaves covering the forest floors, local authorities across the region had taken the very sensible decision to outlaw any outside cookery, especially, barbecues, when I visited in late July. No such problem in the UK in this thus-far limply damp summer, of course, and it’s a mildly consoling irony for chilly Britons that, should we ever get a weekend clear enough for a barbecue, southern French reds are among the best candidates to drink with smoky grilled meat. There’s something, certainly, about the grape varieties that the vignerons of Provence and the Languedoc-Roussillon use either alone or, more usually, as a blend, that,make for fundamentally savoury, herbal, spicy, brambly fruited combination wines that work so well with, say, rosemary and garlic-marinated, spit-roasted lamb. And in the juicy, youthful case of Château Capitoul, is fantastic value for money, too.
Domaine Gayda Altre Cami Grenache Noir, IGP Pays d’Oc, France 2020, £26.99, Cambridge Wine Merchants The Château Capitoul brings together syrah, grenache and carignan, but each of them works on its own. A recent standout syrah from this vast winemaking region is the aptly named Domaine les Yeuses Syrah Les Epices, IGP Pays d’Oc 2020 (£12.95, South Down Cellars) which has the classic Languedoc syrah combination of freshly milled black pepper spice and aniseed-infused berries and currants. Much of the best grenache in southern France, meanwhile, is found in the Pyrenean lands of the Roussillon towards the border with Spain, a part of France with a strong Catalan feel, hence the name of the gorgeous grenache that is Altre Cami (which means ‘another path’ in Catalan), a pure, polished, fragrant expression in both the 2020 and (just released) 2021 vintages.
Calmel & Joseph Carignan, IGP Côtes du Brian, Languedoc, France 2021, £13, Shaftesbury Wines Until recently, carignan was considered the least impressive of this classic Languedoc-Roussillon trio, a grape variety that owed its popularity in the region’s vineyards to its easy productivity rather than its taste. Its recent revival is based on the many old – often very old – vines that produce lower yields of much more balanced and concentrated fruit, which are now responsible for some of the region’s most characterful bottles. Among my recent favourites is a bottling from the reliable firm of Calmel & Joseph. It comes from Côtes du Brian, a little-known corner of the Languedoc which, to English ears of a certain generation, sounds like it could be a pastiche appellation in a Monty Python sketch, but which has created a wine with a wonderfully refreshing mix of spice, earth and bright just-ripe blackberry juiciness.
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