‘True need’ for premium Languedoc in UK restaurants

There is a key opportunity for premium wines from the Languedoc in the UK on-trade, due to the innovation and increasing terroir-focus in the region, according to Mas la Chevalière winemaker Géraud Blanc.

The chai at Mas la Chevaliere (image: Laroche)

According to Blanc, winemaker at Bezier-based wine estate Mas la Chevalière, the sister estate to Chablis producer Laroche and part of France’s third largest wine producer, Advini, the image and quality of wines in the Languedoc has improved due to the growth of smaller and more varied estates that concentrate on appellation. This has helped mark it out from the volume of varietal wines grown on the lower lying land towards the sea, Blanc said.

Mas la Chevalière winemaker Géraud Blanc

“It is a reality, there is a constant improving of quality in the region and this follows with varieties that are adapted to the region, such as Chardonnay grown in higher places. And people are helping keep old varieties that their grandfather grew, which surprise people when they taste them,” he told db.

Pierre-Antoine Mairet, UK Sales Manager for Advini, said developing the Mas la Chevalière wines in the UK market is a priority, even though it is currently small in terms of volume, outstripped by markets including Scandinavia, the US and Canada, Sweden and Germany.

The wines are primarily focussed on the on-trade in the UK, with a selection distributed by Liberty Wines. It supplies restaurants like the Wolsley in London, as well as independent merchants across the UK including The Bay Tree Wine Company in Cardiff, and Wells-based The Grape and the Good as well as online retailer the Fine Wine Company.

“Being in the trade we believe there is a true need for premium Languedoc – and by premium, I’m not talking about price only,” Mairet told db. As he points out, the premium image of the wines have helped protect them from the impact of Brexit-related exchange rates in the UK market.

“We are seeing an increase in prices for everyone, but believe the image of Mas la Chevalière’s in the UK is premium so sommeliers are loyal to the wines,” he says.

Chablis links

Blanc argues that the key opportunity for the brand lies in the history and quality in the estate’s vineyards due to it mosaic of terroir as well as a certain amount of freedom, coupled with the enthusiasm of younger growers and winemakers.

“We have the chance to have young people who are growing in vineyards and wine-growing – there is a good school in Montpellier – and the chance to be more free in the way we produce, even though it is regulated,” he explained.

Mas le Chevaliere’s vineyard at Peyroli, north of Bezier

“But you can plant in place where you want too, with altitude and more varieties, such as Chardonnay, which had not been planted in this vineyard before it was established thirty years ago. So you can adapt yourself, but still in a traditional way,”

He argues that Mas la Chevalière’s strength and USP lies in its historic links to Chablis, in particular to the its sister estates at Domaine Laroche, which comprises a 90 hectare property containing some of the best sites in Chablis, including 21 hectares of Premier Cru and 6 hectares of Grand Cru.

The Bezier-based estate was originally founded in 1995 by Michel Laroche as an off-shoot of the Chablis producer, with the aim to find the best terroir in the Languedoc for Chardonnay production. As a result, it produces wines including Chardonnay and Pinot Noir that are linked to the main estate in Chablis, yet not Burgundian in style.

Blanc says this gives the broader group a second, complementary “axis” for its wines.

“We have the chance to have this estates in the South of France which has the potential for change. The Languedoc has a great future with Chevalière and a key role to play,” he argues.

Flagship wines

The vineyard produces two flagship wines, a white wine, Mas la Chevalière’s Peyroli, from its 8 hectare Vignoble Peyroli vineyard north of Bedarieux in the high altitude north west rocky slopes above Bezier, and a red Grenache-Syrah blend from its 10-15 hectare clay and limestone Roqua Blanca vineyard to the west of Bezier. The current release comes from the 2014 vintage, which has just hit the market with new labels, but the estate also produces a varietal range from its partnership with more than 25 growers – comprising a Chardonnay, Pinot Noir rosé and Syrah-Grenache blend which come under the La Chevalière, Laroche banner. It has recently developed the first vintage of a new mid-tier terroir wine, which comprises two cuvées, a Chardonnay and Pinot Noir that come from 2-3 parcels in specific places. The first year saw around 10k bottles made, and the team are hoping to bring these to the UK in due course.

The team already farm both its flagship estates in an organic way, using copper, no insecticides and only low sulphites in its wines, and hand-picking grapes, as well as incorporating elements of biodynamism. Blanc says is possible due to the low humidity in the region, which discourages mildews, and the estate is looking to gain organic certification in a few years’ time.

Sunset over the Roqua Blanca sunset (image: Advini)

This element of tradition is underpinned by key technology and a very modern winery that uses gravity feeding and small tanks to process each separate plot.

The vineyards also benefits from a mini weather station with data that can be checked by the team via their smartphones to enable them to react to changes in the weather, rain and wind to organise preventatives measures.

“It is important, because if we don’t need to treat, we don’t. With organic production it is all preventative, not corrective,” he points out. For example the team use pheromone treatments to “confuse” butterflies and prevent them laying eggs on the vines, cross-referring the placing of these with the wind direction to ensure the maximum effectiveness.

“Our aim is to be balanced. It is more sensitive and we need to be careful to maintain that balance,” he said.