St Chinian - enjoy some of the best red wines in Languedoc

"Geography in a bottle"

As the international reputation of Languedoc wines continues to grow, plan for a trip through the scenic St Chinian terroir on your Pezenas holiday - it will delight the senses - both visually and taste-wise! Famous for their reds and deservedly so, with a typical blend of grenache, syrah and mourvedre - enjoy a day trip from Pezenas via Beziers, making sure to stop for some wine tasting on the way. When you get hungry, Peter Gorley's eguide to winetasting and restaurants will guide you to the best choices. It is available at the link below. 

http://www.languedocliving.com/saint-chinian-wines-the-best-and-the-mavericks-life-745.html

Chateau Paul Mas Vineyard and Restaurant

Chateau Paul Mas Wins Top Honors for its “Exceptional” “Attractively Priced” Wines from Southern France Sommelier Challenge “Winery of the Year” Winner Lauded for Leading a “Languedoc Renaissance”

Having visited the winery in June of this year, I am not at all surprised to read of this award. The wines are spectacular, great value for money, and freely available for tasting. The restaurant is beautifully appointed, and the setting is pure South of France "gold". The building, although newly built, is traditionally style. Located just a 10 minute drive from Pézenas on the way to Meze and the coast, it's a worthwhile and pleasurable afternoon!

If you are visiting the Pézenas area, and only have time for a single vineyard tour, this is highly recommended.

Check out their website for a flavour of the experience, at :
http://www.paulmas.com/paulmas/en/

The press release relating to the award is available here:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/11/prweb11331144.htm

Pézenas en Languedoc

Here's a relatively new website focusing on the wines of the "terroir" surrounding Pézenas and many of the local producers, it also has some great information on accommodation and restaurant choices in and around Pézenas town.


http://www.pezenasenlanguedoc.com/en


The actual area referred to as Coteaux de Languedoc - Pézenas is shown on the map below:-

If you are interested in visiting or contacting vineyards, you will find many listed here, as well as links to their website.

http://www.pezenasenlanguedoc.com/en/the-producers/list-of-producers

Another great website showing wine routes and suggested tours can be found at:




http://www.languedoc-wines.com/english/destination_route.asp

with links to particular appellations such as Faugeres.


The Faugere website lists some walks that incorporate the best sights of the region.

http://www.faugeres.com/anglais/randonnee.htm

Tour de France 2013 - Languedoc

Tour de France 2013 sees a return of the Tour through Languedoc, during the early stages 6,7 and 8.

It is quite likely that the race will pass through Pézenas again during Stage 7 on July 5 — Montpellier > Albi – 205 km, (as it did back in 2011), so the town will make a great base for your holiday, if you are a cycling fan. The dates are 4-6th July, so there will be a surge of accommodation being booked to cater for the holidaymakers who want to enjoy the spectacle.

Thanks to the excellent site Cycling Languedoc for the information. If you are looking to plan a cycling holiday in the region, you will benefit greatly from this website.

http://cyclinglanguedoc.com/practicalinfo/the-tour-de-france-in-languedoc

Wine + Pézenas = a match made in heaven

This is the Bar á Vin on Cours Jean Jaures in Pézenas - it's a 10 minute walk from our villa, at the edge of the old town heart of Pézenas, and a perfect excuse to stop and enjoy the street atmosphere of this wonderful medieval area. With a beautiful house white or red, costing only €3 a generous glass, to draw you in, this wine bar also serves food, tapas-style, in the evenings, and has an extensive wine list featuring many of the region's best. 

If you are interested in visiting some vineyards, there are many hundreds to choose from in the area - we can recommend a trip to Domaine Montrose on the road to Tourbes, less than 2 miles from the villa; it's a wonderful working domaine, and their wines are much admired and prized. Their reds are excellent, look out for the wonderful Merlot - though I've often heard their Rosé is award-winning. 

It's a vineyard of 85 hectares, with the objective of creating great wines from the south.

According to their website, in order to achieve this, they have adopted environmentally friendly agricultural practices, which allow a "better expression of the terroir". Red grapes and rosés are planted on "Villafranchian gravel" (small pebbles) and basalt, with scarce water reserves and deep roots for obtaining concentrated and balanced wines. The rosés are harvested early to retain freshness and fruit. The white varieties are planted on clay and limestone marl to promote smoothness and elegance. Some parcels of Chardonnay are planted on the basalt to contribute to the minerality of the wine.

Grapes varieties used at the Domaine are:-

Reds: Grenache Noir, Grenache Gris, Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Mourvedre, Carignan.

Whites: Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Viognier, Grenache Blanc, rolles (Vermentino), muscat petits grains.

During the harvest, whites and rosés are picked at night to preserve their full flavor and prevent oxidation of musts by the sun. White and red are stored in refrigerated bins, via temperature-controlled tanks until bottling local storage and kept at low temperature to avoid altering the wine.

Here's the link to their website http://www.domaine-montrose.com/

Tour de France 2011 - Pézenas

The Tour de France last came directly through Pézenas town in July 2006, although it has been close to the route every year. It's very likely going to make its way here again this year on the way from Limoux to Montepllier. In this photo from 2006, you can see the peleton cruising through the main square, with the Hotel Moliere in the background. The atmosphere is just electric with the air of anticipation building all day. It's a great way to learn about the French, their culture and values. When they speak about passion, it's most visible in their love of the national sport. Although we can't be there this year, we will be watching avidly on TV, the next best alternative. Our holiday home is currently available during that time if you're interested! Check out more details on this blog.