Wine of the Languedoc and Roussillon with a Vertical Tasting of Domaine O’Vineyards O’Syrah ’06, ’07, ’08 and ’09
Virgile Joly Sauvignon 2011 – £6.99 (Naked Wines)
Subtle soft fruit flavours, all fresh apple and baked gooseberry with a slightly herbal edge.
Went down well with the majority of the members. The wine maker has a book named after him “Virgile’s Vineyard” written by Patrick Moon who inherits a vineyard and describes a year in the Languedoc with Virgile.
Bourboulenc, Domaine de Simonet, Vin de Pays de l’Aude, 2011 – £7.50 (The Wine Society)
The bourboulenc grape is an ancient Languedoc variety which probably originated in Greece. It is usually blended but this was a chance to taste it on its own. Fresh, vibrant with a twist of saltiness.
A bit of a mixed reaction but generally liked.
Côtes du Roussillon Blanc, Les Glaciaires, Domaine Gardiés, 2010 – £10.75 (The Wine Society)
A full and fruity white from the Roussillon made from Grenache, both Blanc and Gris, Macabeu and Roussanne.
A wine with a lot going on. The Macabeu and Roussanne giving it a different dimension!
Hegarty Chamans Blanc Minervois 2008 – £10.99 (£14.99)
A blend of Rousanne and Marsanne from the South of France It’s made under organic and bio-dynamic principles of the 27 day Moon cycle and includes no filtering and no artificial products.
A real “marmite” wine. Members either loved it or hated it! Frankie described some of the bio-dynamic principles which seem to border on the occult but seems to work!
PS – It was a “Flower” day when we tasted it.
Domaine O’Vineyards – O’Syrah ’06, ’07, ’08 and ’09
Although wine club is in its 7th year this was the first time we’d actually done a vertical tasting largely due to the fact that it’s quite difficult to get more than 2 or 3 vintages of the same wine. However, most winemakers keep a stock of each vintage back for themselves to taste/drink each year and Liz and Joe O’Connell were kind enough to supply us with the vintages we couldn’t get hold of through Naked Wines so we were able to taste their O’Syrah from 2009 back to 2006.
The intention had been for Joe to take us through the tasting but unfortunately due to last minute unforeseen travel problems Liz and Joe couldn’t make it.
As we hadn’t run a vertical tasting before we weren’t quite sure what to expect and how much difference people would find between each year, but once we started tasting the wines it became clear that each year certainly had its own characteristics within the overall O’Syrah style.
We started with 2009 and worked our way back to 2006 and here are our / Joe’s notes for each vintage:
O’Syrah 2009
The Languedoc had only a few millimetres of rain from June to August, and temperatures and total hours of sunshine were higher than usual. In many places the harvest started two or three weeks earlier than usual.
- 2009 O’Syrah: Fresher, more fruit than we generally get from the Syrah. Easy to drink now and probably better in a couple of years. – Joe O’Connell
Most agreed that the wine is on the young side but well received. Needs a couple more years
O’Syrah 2008
A year characterised by a highly variable climate and summer drought, giving a small but healthy but quality harvest.
- 2008 O’Syrah: I find this vintage much more spicy and earthy than the 09. Much more typical of the “terroir”. Our Syrah is surrounded by fields of herbs of the “garrigues” – Joe O’Connell
Still a little young but beginning to mellow.
O’Syrah 2007
A mild winter and then a cool spring with rain. Summer was late with two freak storms in early June which provided one third of the annual rain in two hours! Summer arrived, but it was not the scorching heat wave of previous years or that everyone was expecting. Strong north winds moderated the temperature and nights were cool.
- 2007 O’Syrah: although similar to the 06, the 07 was more approachable from the beginning. and for me, is a little bit fresher. I have actually served it a bit chilled during the summer. The aging was done in 500 litre oak barrel, but it was the 2nd wine which probably explains the lighter fresher feel. This wine was served at the wedding of Michelin chef Jerôme Ryon (chef at Hotel de la Cité, Carcassonne). – Joe O’Connell
Voted the best wine of the evening!
O’Syrah 2006
Winter and spring 2006 bought rain to replenish the water table, flowering was on time and summer came with dry conditions and prospects of another hot summer. July was very hot and no rain. August evolved into a surprisingly below-average temperature month but without any noticeable precipitation. The ripening process became uneven during August, causing some concern, as grape varieties were ripening at different speeds and the harvest prospects looked worrying as to timing and quality but all turned out well.
- 2006 O’Syrah: extremely full bodied (earthy). A wine that at this stage continues to get better with age. Probably due to the aging in new 500 litre oak barrels that had been used for 8 week vinification of the 2006 Proprietor’s Reserve. Definitely a wine for food. – Joe O’Connell
The consensus was this wine was beginning to fade and should be drunk up!
Overall and interesting and informative evening and a promise from Liz and Joe to come over and speak on their wines soon!
Kevin Jacklin