On October 8th, 2018, the vignerons of the appellation Grés de Montpellier de Montpellier organized a tasting event in order to select the 10 ‘best wines’ of the 2016 vintage to represent, highlight and showcase the qualities of the wine production in the area.
I had the honor to be one of the judges composing the jury, among fellow wine bloggers but also journalists, sommeliers, wine merchants and growers.
Meet the ‘Grande Dégustation du Millésime 2016’, understand the 2016-Vintage Grand Tasting and the selection of some of the Best Red Wines coming out of the Grés de Montpellier with my own tasting notes.
What You Need to Know about the Grés de Montpellier AOC Appellation
The Grés de Montpellier appellation is a relatively recent one, following the trend in improving quality of all Languedoc wines over the past decade or two and the government recognition (and the INAO) of the wine grower’s effort to producer and deliver wines that are true to their terroir.
The AOC/AOP appellation was officially recognized in 2003 (the Decree being applicable from the 2002 harvest).
The Grés de Montpellier, as the name suggests, covers vineyards in and around the city Montpellier, the dynamic and economic heart of the Languedoc region along the French Mediterranean coastline.
The appellation area is rather vast and varied in landscapes and terroirs, stretching over an area from the Hérault middle valley to the Vidourle, and from the Mediterranean Sea coast in the south to the Pic Saint-Loup in the north. The classified appellation surface area covers 1000 hectares (2500 acres).
The local climate here is protected from cold northern influences by the Black Mountain and the Cévennes. The climate is obviously Mediterranean, dry and warm by cooled down by humid summer sea-breezes.
Inland areas are warmer, away from the cooling influence of the Mediterranean. Soils vary depending on the sub-zone, with various proportions of pebbles, limestone marls and/or sand.
Production requirements of the Grés de Montpellier AOC
46 communes out of the 531 which make up the AOC Languedoc have the right to produce Grés de Montpellier wines.
Grape varieties: Red wines
Principle varieties: Grenache must represent at least 20% of the Appellation registered land. Principle grape varieties must make up at least 70% of Appellation registered land areas. At least two principle grape varieties are required to make up the blend.
Additional varieties: Carignan
Alcohol level: Grapes must be picked at full maturity and have an alc/vol level above 12%.
Yield: The maximum authorized yield is 45 hectolitres per hectare
Minimum age of young vines: Appellation Coteaux du Languedoc – Grés de Montpellier status can only be granted to young vines after their 9th year for Carignan and their 6th year for other varieties.
Planting density: Minimum planting density is 4400 plants per hectare
Vineyard maintenance: The vines must be hard pruned in one of two ways: “gobelet” (bush) or “cordon de royat” (trunk with two horizontal ‘arms’). Syrah vines and others trained to “cordon de royat” must be trained along parallel wires.
Maturing: Coteaux du Languedoc – Grés de Montpellier wines may be released for consumption once they have matured for a year.
The 2016-Vintage Grés de Montpellier Grand Tasting & the Selection of Ambassadors
About 36 wines in total were tasted by 20+ judges in order to identify the Top 10 favorite wines among journalists, sommeliers and merchants to become ambassadors of the Grés de Montpellier.
Olivier Durand, vigneron at Domaine de la Triballe and President of the Grés de Montpellier AOC said about this tasting: “It was important for us to put our cuvées before reputable wine tasters to have an objective feedback about our production.”
The Top 10 Grés de Montpellier wines selected by the jury were:
Château de Flaugergues, Les Galets
Château du Ministre, La Banquière
Château Saint Martin de la Garrigue
Clos de l’Amandaie, Huis Clos
Cour Saint Vincent, Mille Pierre
Domaine de Roquemale, Léma
Domaine de Saumarez, Trinitas
Domaine de Siléne, Siléne des Peyrals
Mas du Novi, l’Aigue de Novi
Vignobles Paul Mas, Silenus
Find below my own tasting notes, rating of the wines, and ranking.
Tasting Notes & Review of Some of the Best Grés de Montpellier Wines
2016 Domaine Silène dels Peyrals ‘Silenius’ Grés de Montpellier, Languedoc
Score: 92+/100 points
Overall Review Notes & Tasting Impressions
With a very deep and dense dark red color, you know straight away, just at looking at the wine, that you are here with a wine that wants to make a statement out of its appearance.
The nose is surprisingly vibrant in its fruit character though. The fresh raspberry dominant note gives a crisp vibrancy to dark cherry and dark chocolate tones. The influence of oak is certainly obvious here in this wine’s young age, but it is not bothering by any mean, adding touches of vanilla and subtle wood smoke, welcome ones if you enjoy the softening and sweetening effect of oak to a wine’s aromatic profile.
This is a full-bodied wine with dense and velvety tannins. Concentrated tannic structure comes with a juicy acidity underlining the dominant fresh red berry flavors. The influence of oak here is even more obvious, and some might find it a little dominant if you’re after a more straightforward and purer expression of the fruit. But it certainly adds fine silky tannins helping in delivering a soft and smooth, finely textured palate sensation, and complements the fruit with layers of cocoa and sweet spices to a relatively long finish.
An impressive Languedoc wine, rich and dense, yet dry, juicy and acidic. A powerful expression of ripe and juicy fruit augmented by an obvious ageing in fine oak.
A wine to age at least for another 2-3 years before enjoying, to allow it to completely balance out its oaky influence. From there, it promises to turn into a beautiful archetypical expression of what a great Languedoc terroir can deliver, warming and comforting generous red berry fruit flavors, with the salivating saltiness only wines genuine to their terroir can provide. Drink 2022-2030.
2016 Domaine La Banquière Grés de Montpellier, Languedoc
Score: 91+/100
Overall Review Notes & Tasting Impressions
With a deep and intense dark red color, full of purple hues betraying this wine’s young age, this Languedoc shines with vibrant ripe, dark, but fresh berry notes.
Juicy blackberry and raspberry come with an abundance of super-spicy black pepper aromas, herbal scents of garrigue, and deep licorice for a captivating aromatic profile.
The palate is equally intense, with dense granulous and soft tannins, a solid salty acidity that makes you generously salivate, on a dry and pungently fruity background.
Flavors are powerful and generous but delivered with a sense of control. Clove and nutmeg, jammy blackberry, and always a heap of black and green pepper are the dominant notes.
A rather captivating red wine, with big power from ripe fruit and herbal thyme and rosemary characters, solid depth from licorice and hints of oaky dark cocoa, and a very long and layered finish.
Ideally give the wine a good additional year of ageing for it to settle down further, and age at will for up to 10 years from there. Drink 2020-2030.
2016 Cour Saint Vincent ‘Mille Pierres’ Grés de Montpellier, Languedoc
Score: 91+/100 points
Overall Review Notes & Tasting Impressions
A Languedoc wine with a distinct coffee-like dominant note to its aromatic profile.
There is a heap of black pepper and clove to be smelt there as well. Then come ripe cherry liqueur and blackberry jam.
A generous red, filled with complex and deep aromas to the nose.
The palate is very dry, certainly no sugars are perceptible here, with a dryness amplified by savory ashy flavors. But, evening thing out, this is also generously rich in body with an oily texture augmented by soft and smooth tannins. A sensation of dryness with slightly edgy tannins kicks in from the mid-palate on, reminding us we are here with a young wine that still needs to soften and smoothen. But the overall texture is balanced, powerful and complex filled with rich oaky and roasted cocoa and coffee flavors as well as pungent jammy red berries.
A very characterful, long and complex organic red, with a huge generous personality, yet a definite composure to its fruity expression. A wine to experience…. Drink 2019-2025.
2016 Clos de l’Amandaie Grés de Montpellier, Languedoc, France
Score: 91/100 pts
Overall Review Notes & Tasting Impressions
A very dense and deep red wine to look at, coming with an intriguing dark and purple color.
The nose is equally deep, as well as charming. Dark and jammy cherry come with a heap of black pepper spice, roasted cocoa and chili-like spiciness. Touches of red capsicum add to the vibrancy and richness of the aromatic profile, while herbal scents of thyme and rosemary remind you that you are here with a wine made from grapes grown in a Languedoc environment surrounded by garrique landscapes.
Hints of animal traits, like emanations of wild board, are a little disconcerting and perhaps worrying. But they do add a sense of authenticity and perhaps terroir to the sniffing experience.
The palate puts it all together, with a rich oily body, and a concentrated dry acidity coated in a smooth and velvety tannin background. A dense and concentrated red, punching your palate strongly with proudly rich dark berry, cherry liqueur-like flavors, a heap of peppery spices, clove and nutmeg, with just enough oaky vanilla texture to add a smoothening effect.
A dense, concentrated, layered and balanced wine, complex and long, deep and profound with an authentic character skillfully tamed and focused by some smart winemaking and blending.
A pleasing and very interesting wine. Drink 2019-2024.
2016 Domaine Puech ‘Noémie’ Grés de Montpellier, Languedoc
Score: 91/100 points
Overall Review Notes & Tasting Impressions
With a dense and dark red color filled with the purple hues that betrays the young age of the wine, Noémie bursts with warming and comforting jammy cherry notes. The franc red berry aromas feel opulent and slightly cooked to the nose, yet they also feel fresh and juicy, reminiscent of fresh raspberry and gooseberry.
A hint of white pepper and a wealth of sweet spices with dark cocoa make things complex and deep to smell at.
The juicy and joyful nature of this wine is completely revealed on the palate, where powerful fresh mixed berry flavors explode like fireworks, blended with chili-like white pepper notes, caramel and elegant French vanilla, touches of oaky scents, and a myriad of layers.
The juicy acidity balances the solid body and the dense but smooth tannic texture, with somewhat comforting warmth of what feels like a solid alcohol level.
An explosive and powerful red wine, yet one that delivers a salivating and mineral feel making you salivate and crave for flavorsome food dishes, cheese or grilled meats for example.
A very successful, balanced and smooth red, true to its origin, with great length and plenty of layered characters. Drink 2020-2025.
2016 Domaine Silène dels Peyrals Grés de Montpellier, Languedoc
Score: 91/100 points
Overall Review Notes & Tasting Impressions
The wine comes with a dark and dense red color, and with very spicy a nose dominated by ripe fruit aromas.
Black pepper and red chili marry cooked apples and mixed berry jam for a powerful aromatic profile, one that suggests grapes nicely exposed to the warm sun of Languedoc. Herbals scents of garrigue, thyme and rosemary complement and complete the mental image you can form by sniffing the wine.
Tannins are very smooth on a soft and oily body, providing a warming texture in a world of generous prune liqueur, herbal scents and sweet spices.
A dry and rich red, combining the generosity of jammy red berries with herbal notes of Provencal herbs, the savoriness of very-dark chocolate, a smooth texture with slightly edgy drying tannins.
Hold on to it for another couple of years at least. Allow this Silène to age and temper its generous personality. From there enjoy within the next 10 years (drink 2020/2030).
Give it an hour of decanting/aeration prior to serving. You will be rewarded with a wine that offers a complex balance of rich sweet fruity flavors, and the depth and complexity of intricate spices, roasted nuts, dark coffee, and a salivating savoriness.
2016 Chateau Saint-Martin de la Garrigue Grés de Montpellier, Languedoc
Score: 91/100 points
Overall Review Notes & Tasting Impressions
With a pretty dense and dark red appearance, this is a serious looking Languedoc wine.
The nose suggests big intensity of flavors as well, with a powerful and complex spectrum of aromas, from ripe cherry and griotte (sour cherry), fresh blackberry, to white pepper and indeed a profound sense of a garrigue smell. The typical smell of the Languedoc hills covered in oily vegetal essence, thyme, rosemary and sage comes through powerfully.
There is an element of earth, like red clay to the nose as well, adding depth and an impression of a wine that expresses its genuine terroir. Would it, by any chance, be made on red sandy and red clay soil? It certainly smells like it somehow….
The palate features a very round body, rich ad generous powerful flavors dominated by cooked apple and cherry liqueur. This is a seriously ripe and concentrated red. Yet, the tannic definition is fine and the tasting experience is dry and made savory by a heap of licorice and black pepper flavors.
A complex and very interesting red, very powerful and somewhat too alcoholic, yet with so many layers of complexity and such a juicy approach to its palate sensation, that it makes you forget and forgive its generosity, so you can focus on the pure enjoyment of its silky tannins and its coating everlasting finish. Drink 2019-2024.
2016 Domaine de Roquemale ‘Mâle’ Grés de Montpellier, Languedoc
Score: 90+/100 points
Overall Review Notes & Tasting Impressions
With a deep and dark red color filled with youthful purple hues, this wine bursts a vibrant nose of jammy blackberry, cooked apple, cherry liqueur, and purple plum. It feels very ripe to smell at indeed. The aromas of sweet and chili-like spices populate the aromatic profile, for a pungent, deep and powerful nose overall.
The palate comes through with a wonderful balance of a round and soft body that coats your palate elegantly. Tannins are very soft and silky making for such a charming tasting experience, while the solid acidity of a dry backbone ensures this wine is true to its Languedoc origins. Rich and generous it is, but not overly jammy, retaining character and a crisp salivating sensation.
Flavors are also powerful. Ripe juicy cherry and fresh blackberry come surrounded by a heap of sweet spices and even more dark chocolate notes. Caramel and toffee, everything not only comes with the typical garrigue herbal characters we love and enjoy from Languedoc (thyme and rosemary), but it also delivers in in generosity from well-integrated oak and the super-ripe feel expected from a blend of Grenache and Syrah.
A wine somewhat with of a port-like balance, a perfect control of its expression and the delivering of flavors and sensations on the palate. Extremely well crafted a wine.
2016 Abbaye de Valmagne Cuvée Turenne, Grés de Montpellier, Languedoc
Score: 90/100 points
With a vibrant and rather dark red color filled with lifting purple hues, this Cuvée Turenne from the Abbey of Valmagne features equally vibrant lifted notes of fresh and crisp red berry fruits, raspberry and blueberry. It’s spicy and herbal to smell at, white pepper with scents of medicinal herbs. Intriguing and charming to sniff with a real sense of zingy fresh fruit character to the nose.
The wine bursts with a juicy, crisp and dry acidity that underlines its wealth of fresh berry flavors, like biting in a handful of fresh cranberries. Tannins are salty and slightly drying, with a touch of vegetal character just like in fresh berries, giving the wine a distinctively fresh and inviting character.
The balance eventually comes from a coating and warming body, dark cherry notes, and comforting delicately jammy plum finish. Long and spicy aftertaste.
A young wine at this stage, one to hold for a year or two for it to tame down a little and allow its depth to develop. A generous red for those in search of a juicy, salty, acidic and captivating expression of Languedoc wine. Drink 2022-2027.
Decant a good half hour before serving to allow the vegetal notes to dissipate and the enjoyable fruity personality to be revealed.
2016 Clos des Nines l’Orée, Grés de Montpellier, Languedoc
Score: 89+/100 points
Overall Reviews Notes & Tasting Impressions
A bright and relatively deep bright red color features in this Languedoc, although not as dark or deep as many of the other Grés de Montpellier wines featured in this horizontal tasting.
The aromatic profile is lifted and vibrant, bursting with pungent herbal and medicinal notes of fennel and anises seeds, powerful and chili-like white pepper notes, and zingy cranberry. Add also a hint of vegetal character to the nose. But you can certainly smell the garrigue and the fresh grape berry character in there too. Complex and layered!
On the palate, the wine shines with its vibrant acidity underlining enjoyable juicy flavors of raspberry and fresh plum. Tannins are slightly biting, but the generous round body cuts through and balances things out the wine’s driven acidity and tightness.
A mid-length finish ends the tasting with an impression of generous personality and authenticity. An organic wine true to its terroir, on the fruity and spicy, acidic berry side of the Languedoc red wine spectrum. Drink 2019-2022.
2016 Mas Du Novi ‘l’Aigue de Novi’ Grés de Montpellier, Languedoc
Score: 89/100 points
Overall Review Notes & Tasting Impressions
An organic Grés de Montpellier wine with a relatively dense red color, although not looking this dark or intense.
The aromatic profile is dominated by herbal scents of garrigue, fresh Mediterranean herbs like thyme and rosemary, as well as well as a huge burst of white pepper. It is very spicy to smell at, while complemented by touches of fresh raspberry and notes of pumpkin.
The palate is populated by both soft and velvety tannins that coat your mouth, as well as edgy grains making for a drying sensation on the finish. Flavors are ripe and characterful, cooked apple and cooked strawberry come with touches of fennel and other vegetal notes.
A very characterful and complex Languedoc wine, fresh and crispy to taste and never boring. There is something interesting to taste at every second of the tasting, and something new to experience at every sip… Drink 2019-2024.
Enjoy 🙂
Watch More of my Thoughts about Grés de Montpellier Wines in Video (French)
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