Chat with Vinny
Word is that Bordeaux and Burgundy sales dropped sharply in France’s biggest wine event of 2023 – the French supermarkets ’Fêtes des Vins last autumn. The shiny beacons of light in French retail seem to be the classier wines from Languedoc and Roussillon, commonly called Le Midi.
This might be considered to be consumers ‘trading down’, but I think it’s down to a widespread realisation that the Midi now competes with the rest of France on quality not just price.
The basic Midi wine price has been higher than basic Bordeaux for some time, but now you can find – with good guidance – plenty of wines that now compare with the best of Bordeaux and Burgundy.
They aren’t cheap … but they don’t usually have prices in the hundreds of £s either ... not yet, anyway. The Midi is simply producing wine styles that best suit today’s customers.
Is this the Midi’s moment? I hope so. I’ve been waiting 50 years for it, since my first visit here. The Midi is my favourite wine region ... in the world! And, statistically, it’s also yours. You, our customers have, for decades, bought more wine from this one region than from anywhere else on the planet. Now, please consider buying more of the region’s best wines.
In early December, I took a quick tour there.
I took our writers Jen, Louise and Brogan and my newly qualified winemaker daughter-in-law, Kirsten. For this 78-year-old guy, travelling with four charming and clever young women is really no hardship. And … they’re already writing their own views on the wines and people we met. See Brogan’s piece below… the Midi through the eyes of a newcomer to wine.
Our Buyer/Winemaker in residence here, Mark Hoddy, did the guiding and driving. On arrival we were soon stumbling round the rocky Loubissou vineyard in Cabrières which, with help from customers - maybe you? - we are in process of buying for a deserving young couple of vignerons, Lucie and Brice. The sun was blazing, (in December!) so someone - possibly me - suggested pique-nique and our hosts magically produced tables, chairs, tartines and sausages made from a wicked wild boar caught stealing our grapes.
Perfect day … with the perfect wine. If you are a Loubissou ‘Vineyard Partner’ and have a case of this gorgeous and unique, pale pink wine, you should come here one day and picnic where we did. Ask at the winery for the key to the Loubissou cabine and get the tables and chairs out.
Next day … we’re off to the even more remote village of Roquebrun to start a conversation about doing – with customer help – another Vineyard Partner purchase/leaseback scheme to help young vignerons keep on producing what has become my new favourite red wine … the finest red I know made by the mac carb method. The village cooperative cellar here just had a bit of a of a sudden winemaker shake-up and needs some support. Last time here we bought their entire stock of reserve Seigneur d’Aupenac magnums, (do get some if there are any left), and this visit we managed to get most of their to-die-for 2017 in 75cls.
Next, we go west to La Livinière, in the Minervois, to meet Bernard ‘The Beard’ and his adoring, if sometimes ‘mildly aggravated’ (her words) wife, Natalie. At their bungalow called Château d’Ancely. She and Bernard were once in the restaurant business, so a visit means a huge meal which was a vast cassoulet today. The Beard is totally wine obsessed and makes far too many wines from his various little patches of vines ... only occasionally remembering to sell some. That was a long, long tasting.
We drive south to meet up with Jean-Baptiste of Château Guillem de Montjustin to show the writers his 100-year-old vineyards glowing gently in the setting sun.
Then down the road to Fabrezan and the Charles Cros cooperative cellar. Old Charlie Cros has become very popular. It’s that mac carb method again.
Next day we’re off to Limoux to meet the Bouché family – Bruno, his wife and their three sons – working in their new cellar. They make our oh-so-popular Roche Lacour sparkling. There’s been a bit of an issue. We sold so much of this fizz during the Covid lockdown we ran out and had to sell wine younger than ideal. The bottle shape also changed at that time to the classic, lighter weight Champagne shape (to lower our carbon footprint). Some thought the two were connected … but they weren’t. The latest release, we were very happy to taste, is back to a good three years’ bottle-age.
Finally, we have a long drive to meet Floris and Victoria Lemstra. In the echoey, old cellar where they make our Vignobles Canet Picpoul de Pinet. Tasting tanks and spitting in a bucket is all very well but, as has become our habit, to really appreciate this seafood wine par excellence we move down to Agathe’s oyster farm on the lagoon at Bouzigues. She shucks, and we sip the latest bottling, as the sun still blazes across the water from Sète.
That evening in pretty Pézenas – the place to stay for its little shops galleries, bars and affordable restaurants – Floris uncorks his latest creation. It’s a great new challenge for my favourite red wine spot – rich Minervois Syrah, gentled with a whopping 20% portion of Viognier. Sumptuous, sophisticated and sexy. Just like our Floris! We also try many more of Mark and wife Nicole’s sample wines from parts of this expansive region that we couldn’t reach in just three days … but no problem, they know it so well.
Amazing wines and just an amazing trip. Follow the links for all the detail and photos from a team of very excited writers, and get in the habit of buying Top Midi wines with this lovely little mix:
Midi Mix - £89.94 (Was £139.95)
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The Roquebrun is a magnum – don’t be put off – just invite friends around and introduce them to what for me is the finest wine we’ve ever had from the Midi. It’s not a wine that tries to copy Bordeaux or Burgundy … it’s the authentic taste of the Midi hills. It’s not just me saying that; it’s now officially a great ‘Cru’, and we did serve it up at a recent banquet in the Vintners Livery Hall, to Hugh Johnson and a whole bunch of wine critics who all loved it.
Running it close are the two reds from Fabrezan and Bernard’s Minervois. The new pink Crémant de Limoux was a revelation to me … it’s been good for years, but now they’ve really cracked it. And the Picpoul … well, you don’t have to have oysters, it goes brilliantly with the great fish and chips down our local.
Stories behind every sip
By Brogan
WSET Wine Level 2 qualified copywriter
Despite being a relatively new member of the company, I was lucky enough to be taken on a work trip to the Languedoc with Mr Laithwaite himself, his winemaker daughter-in-law and two other members of my team, where we joined Mark Hoddy, our Buyer/Winemaker in residence.
Before this trip, I’d never actually set foot in a vineyard …
Ironic, I know, especially it’s my job to tell the tales of our winemakers, their stories and the incredible wines they make. Up till now, I relied on the buyers to tell me everything.
But on that unusually bright and sunny December day, and the week that followed, everything changed.
I embarked on our whistle-stop tour eager to learn, brimming with nerves, excitement, and curiosity. Most of all, I was keen to see what the Midi was all about.
Before this, I’d never been to the Midi … but I’d heard it was a winemaking region that had long been overlooked.
I’ve since learned that this huge region has real hidden gems that boast a long love affair with winemaking – dating back to the 5th century, with influence from even before the Romans. This region has always made good wine, but its reputation suffered after the Phylloxera outbreak in the 19th century. Vignerons destroyed by the pest flocked to the Midi, hastily crafting inexpensive wines to cater to a very thirsty market. The Midi is vast, with a sprawling, awe-inspiring landscape that whisper the tales of centuries of tradition … but now, perhaps, it’s finally getting its chance to shine.
As we left Montpellier behind, Mark drove us further into the hills Cabrières. I saw vineyards that seemed to stretch for miles, each row embodying a legacy passed down, a love ignited.
I found myself, as is always the way, exactly where I was meant to be, venturing into the heart of Languedoc’s vineyards.
I had a feeling wash over me, the feeling that I was starting to get ‘it’. What ‘it’ was at that moment was unclear to me – though it would become abundantly clear by the end of the week. What I did know, almost instantly, was that this region deserved to be shouted about – bells and whistles included.
Stumbling through the Loubissou vineyard was an experience in itself. There’s a humbling and heart-warming story behind it. In short, it’s a tiny vineyard run by Lucie and Brice Salic … and you – our customers – helped rescue it.
Set amongst the backdrop of the mountains, the vines still had their leaves, which had turned classically autumnal, and they danced in the gentle breeze. It was a moment … and it was beautiful.
But it wasn’t just the landscape that struck me, oh no, it was the fervour and dedication radiating from the team who worked on the land.
Our hosts were gracious and grateful and talked in French so fast I could barely keep up, save for a word here and there. But seeing this was something else entirely. It was the twinkle in their eyes, how they savoured explaining where each grape was planted and why, and how to prune the vines, as they debated, amongst themselves, the best way to do it. It was passion so clear, so rich, so full, it transcended any language barrier.
The rest of the week continued in the same way. Each winemaker was generous with their knowledge, keen to tell their story, show off their vineyards and methods, and showcase their upcoming or previous vintages.
One winemaker, Bernard Ancely is so wine obsessed, he makes new vintages every year … but he rarely sells them, and in some cases, he straight-up refuses to.
I’ve tasted incredible vintages that we’ll likely never sell, not because we don’t want to, but because he doesn’t want us, or anyone else, to. At the time, I thought this was odd … why make so many wines and not sell them? Surely, I thought, he’d want people to taste the wines he’s so evidently proud of – the wines he’s poured so much of himself into. But as it turns out, he doesn’t – it’s as simple as that. By the end of the trip, I understood why.
I realised that across the week, I had witnessed hundreds of moments of life unfold. For this, this was the everyday; the culmination of dreams shared and nurtured, often passed down by generations before. Across the Languedoc, vineyards are producing fantastic wines at affordable price points, but it extends way beyond simply crafting these wines. The vineyards are a testament to the shared tapestry of dreams and the interconnectedness of the people, the land, the traditions.
The lessons I learned that week are as rich as the vines themselves. Behind every vine and every drop of wine, there’s the unsung, unseen dedication of those behind it. Mark told me numerous times over the week that “winemaking is a labour of love”.
This was the feeling I’d had earlier in the week. The one I’d felt unable to adequately put into words. But by the the end of the week, it was undoubtedly clear. Our winemakers aren’t driven by the obligation to make wine, nor do they seek any kind of validation for doing so. They do it because they simply love it, for it is who they are, it is their calling, their unwavering passion.
Savour the stories woven into every sip and discover our Midi Mix.
