Ordinaire no more

Juicy news from France's wine frontier

Uncorked by David Marglin

The wine world, like fashion and music, goes through phases. Right now, what's hot are "New World- style" wines, namely, those where the fruit is very forward (meaning fruit flavors are the first thing you taste).

In general, fruit-forward wines are approachable at a much younger age than more traditional wines, often requiring only a year or two in the bottle before being eminently drinkable. Surprisingly, however, many of the best values in New World-style wines are being grown in the heart of the Old World -- namely France, Italy, and Spain.

For my money, one of the most surprising regions in France right now is its southernmost: the Languedoc-Roussillon (pronounced long-uh-dock rue-see-own), which straddles the Mediterranean just above Spain. Languedoc-Roussillon's reputation for producing plonk has kept it in relative obscurity -- though it's responsible for almost a third of all the wine produced in France, it didn't merit a listing in Oz Clarke's wonderful Encyclopedia of Wine, published in 1994. The wines produced in the region -- vin de pays d'oc -- were boring table wines, musty-tasting and often made mainly with obscure varietals such as carignan, cinsaut, grenache, macabeo, and malvoisie. (Until the 1970s, in fact, winegrowers were prohibited by law from planting the noble varieties -- cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, pinot noir, and the like.)

The region's identification with vin ordinaire is a bit of a historical accident. Wine has been made in Languedoc-Roussillon for thousands of years; the region, in fact, included the first Roman capital of Gaul. But because there were no chateaux, and because of an archaic winemaking system based on co-ops, there was never a premium put on making good wine. Under the system, the more grapes a farmer grew (up to about the maximum legal yield of approximately 18 tons per acre), the more money he made -- and since the wine wasn't much good to begin with, the goal was, as one winemaker put it, to get it from vine to wine as cheaply as possible. To make the wine, co-ops used concrete fermentation tanks, often unclean, rather than oak barrels.

Now, thanks in large part to the efforts of a local wine producer named Robert Skalli and a Texan named Martin Simkoff, Languedoc-Roussillon growers have begun to grow the familiar noble varietals and to keep their yields down. Keeping yields down makes for better fruit. With better fruit available, winemakers are stepping up to the challenge of making well-balanced, fruity, enjoyable wines for under $10 a pop.

The potential of the region has attracted many high-spirited and creative winemakers from the New World, including Chris Tietje, who was in Boston recently for the local launch of his Scaramouche wines, and Jack Jelenko, another Californian who makes the very upscale Bois du Renard wines. Jelenko contracts with the growers to buy the total output of entire vineyards, allowing them to keep their yields low; by law, one of the region's two dozen co-ops must then crush the fruit into juice, which Jelenko contracts to buy from them.

Because of the area's heritage, Jelenko says, the French government has had to step in and aggressively start buying back land from the growers so that they won't continue to overplant the soil. His partner, an Australian grower and winemaker named Michael Goundrey, has been living in the Languedoc area for several years now, and in addition to overseeing the grape-growing for Bois du Renard wines, he has been educating other growers about modern techniques for hedging, trellising, and pruning. While great fruit and new techniques do not always lead to great wine (the Chateau Gres Saint Paul 1995 is an example of a Languedoc-Roussillon wine utterly lacking in subtlety, with a pungent and musky aftertaste), the potential for this overlooked area to step up and compete with New World wines on their own terms is enormous.

Given its extraordinary progress over the past few years, Languedoc-Roussillon likely won't continue to be overlooked. Rumor has it that California giant Mondavi is investing in land there. So before the world rushes in, check out France's wine frontier for yourself.

** Scaramouche 1996 Chardonnay ($6.99, Bauer Wines, Marty's Liquors). Round and bold, with lots of melon. Add a hint of pineapple and some buttermilk texture, and you have yourself a light and refreshing wine. Rumor has it the soon-to-be-released 1997 is even better. Also try the syrah (**1/2).

**1/2 Chateau Pech Redon Coteaux Du Languedoc 1994 ($10.95, Merchants Wine & Spirits). A red with loads of vanilla and cherries and chocolate -- a sort of fudge-sundae wine (but don't drink it with dessert). Hard to find the 1994, which has softened considerably compared to the more readily available 1995.

*** Villa Annes 1995 Caramany (Cotes Du Roussillon) ($14.95, Merchants). Grown in the foothills of the Pyrenees, this red has plenty of smoky game flavors, a hint of coffee, and gentle tannins. A mouthful.

**1/2 Bois Du Renard Syrah ($7.95, Federal Wine & Spirits). A bold, fruity, plush young wine, with great grip. It's sort of bland on the nose, but it offers up a big mouth feel with loads of berries, some blue.

***1/2 Mas De Daumas Gaussac 1997 Vins De Pays de L'heurault ($29.95, available locally by special order). A magnificently round and opulent white, with luscious hints of peach balanced nicely by a touch of tartness. This is a blend of traditional varieties from the bordering Rhône: roussanne, which provides good grip and acidity; viognier for aromatics and herbs; and a dash of marsanne to provide softness.

David Marglin can be reached at wine[a]phx.com.

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