Exploring wines of Languedoc
As Martin Redmond leads the French Winophiles (#Winophiles) on an exploration of the wine of Languedoc, I went in search of a wine from the region. They are not hard to find. There is quite a bit of wine coming out of this region, but it’s often not labeled anything more than Languedoc. I, of course, wanted something a little less general, a little more connected to one of the AOCs contained in the region. I also wanted something from a producer that I respected.
Languedoc is in the South of France. It is the region to the West of Provence. Here you will find the Pyrenees, the Mountains that form the border with Spain.
*Martin Redmond of Enofylz Wine Blog is leading the French Winophiles on an exploration of the wines of Languedoc. You can read his invitation post here
https://enofylzwineblog.com/2024/04/22/exploring-languedoc-uncovering-frances-hidden-gem-winophiles/
You will also find articles by my colleagues at the bottom of this post!
The Landscape of Corbières in Languedoc, France
I would be remiss if I didn’t give you a feel for this landscape. It is stunning.
The Northern edge of the region is bordered by the road that connects Narbonne to the east close to the Mediterranean sea to Carcassonne that sits to the West. To the south you find the towering Pyrenees Mountains that provide the border with Spain.
I came across several wines from the region from Gérard Bertrand. One had a label and name that stood out. Perhaps it’s a bit dramatic, but suddenly, I was transported to Medieval Castles and Knights in battle. It was also labeled as Corbières. It was called “Heresie” and had curling red dragons on a field of black on the label.
When searching for notes on this wine, I came across this description from the winery.
“Heresie redefines the Corbières wines. It is the expression of a vintage from the Corbières, that symbolizes and transcends the story of the knights from the South of France. This wine is a strong and innovative concept, strongly appreciated by the millennials.”
Okay, Millenials, I am a bit offended for you! The last sentence somehow comes off condescending, perhaps something got lost in translation.
But…I was intrigued by the idea of the story of the knights from the south of France, so I dug into the story.
The Ancient Knight
I found a short trailer that gave a bit about the feel of the wine but no real details.
Then, I found an article in Vitisphere about a longer 12-minute film that came out at ProWein in 2023. There is a link in their article to the video if you want to watch it.
This film creates a bit of fantasy behind this wine.
It takes you through the centuries in Corbières, from an imaginary time when there were dragons and vines had just been planted by the Greeks through the death of the 5 dragons, representing air, fire, water, earth, and time, by men who have buried their hearts throughout the area. Without the spirit of the dragons, the vines suffered. You follow “Savin,” a heretic of sorts and a vigneron, who finds one of the hearts and gains the dragon’s spirit. He becomes immortal, and we follow him through the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages, right up to the present day, as he searches for and regains the spirits of all 5 of the dragons. With the spirits of the dragons, he is able to create the quintessential wine from these vineyards, “Heresie.”
It’s dramatic and perhaps a bit over the top. Oh, and evidently, meant to appeal to Millenials?
Nonetheless, it is fun storytelling and shows their pride in this region and its wines. Oh, and the camera shots of the area sprinkled in are stupendous! Flyovers of the Châteaux in the region and the nearby Pyrenees are breathtaking.
So…Ancient Knight part of my title is covered. On to the Modern Knight!
The Modern Knight
Gérard Bertrand is not a knight, but…he has been on a Crusade to bring biodynamic wines to the people. He was named the Green Personality of the Year by the Drinks Business Green Awards in 2020. He began with organic viticulture in 2002 and now is working biodynamically on his 16 estate vineyards within Languedoc.
Gérard Bertrand was a professional Rugby Player (which plays into the film.) When his father, who ran the family winery, passed suddenly, he took over Domaine de Villemajou.
The brand has expanded dramatically, and the name Gerard Bertrand is known worldwide. While not all the wines are organic and biodynamic, they lean into these methods and are gradually changing the landscape of Languedoc’s Vineyards.
The name has a bit of influence. Who isn’t familiar with Côtes des Roses Rosé? That beautiful bottle with the gorgeous rose on the base. I imagine stores have these flying out the door as we approach Mother’s Day this weekend! If a producer with this kind of reach can promote organic, biodynamic, and regenerative agriculture, it makes a difference and moves the needle! So…yes, I might not be the Queen, but I would dub him a Knight if I could!
“Heresie” 2019 Corbières Gérard Bertrand
I watched the film after doing a bit of research on Knights and Heretics in the region. The Cathars had a bit of a crazy religion, renouncing all matter as evil and seeking perfection. Still, the Knights who came to wipe them out as heretics at the request of the Catholic Church were mostly out for “indulgences.” Fight the Cathars for a month or so, and the church would grant you an “indulgence,” assuring them no punishment for sins in the afterlife! Crazy times.
So, our hero in the film is not a Cathar, not a Catholic, but a Heretic living spiritually beyond these religions, as a pacifist and a wine lover! I can get on that heretical bandwagon!
The wine itself is a GSM, a blend of Grenache (50%), Syrah (35%), and Mourvèdre (15%) from Corbières.
You get black fruit notes (think blackberry and cassis) from the Syrah, licorice notes from the Mourvèdre, and brighter red fruit from the Grenache. This is a big wine at 14.5% alcohol, which lends itself to the dramatic, appropriately.
My notes
This is a wine that needs to breathe a bit. We opened it, and it felt thin and chalky. We actually opened another GSM from California to check our palates. As the “Heresie” opened up, it became richer and fuller. I got notes of Blackberry, licorice, tobacco, currant, garrigue, forest floor, and dried herbs.
Cassoulet
Red wines from this region cry for meat. You can go simple with grilled meats or maybe go for a stew of sorts. Cassoulet is one of the most famous stew type dishes from the South of France.
There are 3 main versions of Cassoulet, based in 3 cities in this region. (map of the area highlighting the 3 cities)
Castelnaudary – Made with a variety of pork, including ham, sausage, and fried pork skins. It also incorporates duck with the traditional mirepoix (carrots, celery & onion) with the beans. It is said that this dish was invented in Castelnaudary during the Hundred Years’ War.
Carcassone – In the version from Carcassone, the meats are a mix of pork, duck confit, goose, and partridge. You might also find plum tomatoes in this version.
Toulouse – The Toulouse version incorporates Toulouse sausage, a blend of pork, garlic, basil, parsley, bacon, and wine. It is topped with breadcrumbs. You will also find mutton, lamb, or duck confit.
Traditionally, the beans are “tarbais” beans native to this area in the Hautes-Pyrénées, but as they are hard to find, I substitute Canellini beans.
Our Cassoulet
Sadly, many of these ingredients are not easily found. I went with a tried and true quick recipe for Cassoulet that you can find in my book “Tempting Spoonfuls – Small Bites Paired with Wines from Around the Globe.” (available on Amazon)
This is the version we used to make our tasting spoons. The recipe works perfectly for a quick, delicious, and surprisingly flavorful dish made in a little over an hour.
We use chicken thighs cooked in duck fat to give richness, and either bacon or pancetta and 2 long links of smoked sausage. To thicken the dish, bread crumbs are added, and part of the beans are mashed with whole-grain mustard, giving thickness and flavor. After initially cooking on the stove, it spends 30 minutes in the oven.
While this is a humble rustic dish, I felt the need to dress it up a bit. I scooped out some of the bean mixture to make a puree for the base, topped it with a chicken thigh, cut up some of the sausage, and placed it on top of some of the whole bean mixture. Then I fried bread crumbs in butter with thyme and rosemary to sprinkle on top and give it a bit of texture.
This dish was delicious and will be even better on the second day.
More wines from Gérard Bertrand
While this wine was enjoyable, it is not the best I have tasted from Gérard Bertrand. I recommend looking for his estate wines that are grown biodynamically. These will be true expressions of the terroir of this region. I recommend the Tautavel and the La Clape of the Grand Terroir series. Of course, they make some delicious Rosés!
You can read about these wines in our article here.
Exploring the Grand Terroir of Gérard Bertrand with Tautavel and La Clape
The French Winophiles
For more from the French Winophiles on the wines of the Languedoc
- Camilla of Culinary Cam serves up A Simple Poulet Rôti with the 2023 Les Foulards Rouges Octobre Rouge
- Gwendolyn of Wine Predator offers For Spring, try Salade Niçoise and this cheeseboard with red or rose wine from Languedoc
- Jennifer of Vino Travels proffers A Taste of the Languedoc
- Wendy of A Day In The Life On The Farm sips Grande Réserve de Gassac Blanc 2021: A White Blend from Languedoc
- Jeff of FoodWineClick discovers Languedoc – Hidden Value from France
- Martin at ENOFYLZ Wine Blog will be Pairing 2022 Jeff Carrel Languedoc Les Darons with Birria Pizza
Robin Renken is a wine writer and Certified Specialist of Wine and WSET 3 Certified. She and her husband Michael travel to wine regions interviewing vineyard owners and winemakers and learning the stories behind the glass.
When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.
Check out our book series, “Tempting Spoonfuls” available through Amazon!
Inspired by the flavors and aromas in wines, these books create “tempting spoonfuls” of flavors to pair with wines.
“Tempting Spoonfuls – Pairing single bites with glorious wines” – Our first book paired wines from boutique wineries on the west coast, in California, Oregon, and Washington, with delicious spoonfuls.
This book is 60 pages, 18 recipes, lots of beautiful photos, and insights into some fantastic small wineries!
“Tempting Spoonfuls – small bites paired with wines from around the Globe” – This book takes us around the globe to explore 12 wine regions, a wine from the region, and then gives you a recipe for a pairing!
A slightly larger book at 104 pages, this time you learn about pairing with a type of wine from a region. Rather than a specific bottle, you can look for a style of wine from a region and feel confident that it will go well with the recipe pairing we provide. We give you 12 recipes, each to pair with a wine.
The goal is to make your mouth water and encourage you to create your own “Tempting Spoonfuls.”
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