Domaine
de Saumarez, Coteaux du Languedoc
Metrairie de Bouisson, 34570 Murviel-les-Montpellier,
France
Tel: +33 (0)6 24 41 56 20
E-mail: domainedesaumarez@yahoo.co.uk
I
caught up with proprietors of this new Languedoc domaine, Liz and
Robin Williamson (pictured), at Handford’s South Kensington wine
shop. They’re young Brits with a background in finance who have
moved to the south of France to make wine. Their property is 15
hectares, of which 12 are under vine, with a classic mix of Languedoc
varieties (principally Grenache and Syrah). It’s in the village of
Murviel-les-Montpellier, near to Domaine de la Marfee.
I tasted the two red wines here – some white is also
made. The grapes are harvested fully ripe, before fermentation in
lined concrete tanks. There’s very little pigeage (plunging of the
skins) because the ripeness of the grapes makes heavy extraction
unnecessary, with just a bit of pumping over (remontage) to keep the
skins wet. Some new oak is used, particularly with the top wine,
Aalenien.
These are impressive wines, very fairly priced, in a
modern, ripe (perhaps almost over-ripe) style. A producer to watch.
Domaine de Saumarez ‘S’ 2004 Coteaux du
Languedoc
A blend of 85% Grenache and 15% Syrah, with yields averaging 35
hl/ha. Nice sweet dark fruits nose: dark, rich, quite full. The palate
is supple, very ripe and lush with a spicy edge. I really like the
grainy, spicy structure here: Grenache at its best. A lovely wine at a
very good price. Very good/excellent 90/100 (£7.99 Handford)
Domaine de Saumarez ‘Aalenien’ 2004 Coteaux du
Languedoc
65% Syrah (12 hl/ha) and 35% Grenache (27 hl/ha), aged in barrels
of various sizes, 90% of which are new. Very deep coloured. Open nose
with sweet dark fruit leads to a lush palate with good concentration
and richness. Deliciously forward, richly textured and quite hard to
resist. A very ripe style, with nicely integrated oak. Very
good/excellent 91/100 (£13.99 Handford)
Wines tasted 04/06
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these wines with wine-searcher.com
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