Exploring the Roussillon (7) Château Lauriga
Website: https://www.lauriga.com/en/
Lauriga is based in Thuir, in the Les Aspres terroir of the Roussillon. It’s an old estate that had been sleeping for a while before it was purchased by Jean-Claude Mas in 2016, in July of that year.
Les Aspres was historically an important region for Vin Doux Naturels. It’s now looking to move more towards white wines. Vin Doux Naturels now make up 10-15% of production, with the dry wines split 60% red, 30% white and 10% rosé. Rosé was very popular in the past but now it has become a bit of a problem, because everyone wants the latest vintage, and so it must be drunk fast.
Lauriga has been redeveloped significantly, with some luxury accommodation as part of the wine tourism offering.
This is a significant private domaine with 53 hectares of vines. In a good year they make 150 000 bottles. The last vintage was smaller though, with yields of 18 hl/ha, which is tiny. They are normally 20-25 hl/ha, which is still quite low.
Jean-Claude Mas says that it costs €10 000 to farm one hectare here, so with yields of 18 hl/ha, it costs €5 a litre to make the wine. This isn’t sustainable, so his goal is to get yields up to 30-35 hl/ha. ‘My vision is to forget about planting vines where vines aren’t welcome,’ he says. ‘We have to forget about the bullshit that the less you make the better it is.’ Mas’ opinion is that if they plant the right vegetal material in the right places, yields should be OK. He says that when he bought the property there was a lot of Esca in the vineyards (trunk disease), and the vines were weak and suffering. ‘The state of the vineyard was a disaster. It was in dire straits because of land management.’
Now, 33 hectares on the estate out of 53 hectares have irrigation. At one site there is a canal, and at another there is a well, so water is available. The goal is to give the vines 25 mm per month at the right moment, in May, June, July and August. This is not a lot – 100 mm – but it avoids too much hydric stress.
‘There is no good wine without water,’ he says. They work the soils so that the water doesn’t evaporate. Jean-Claude says that the white grapes have been a nice surprise here, and he’s replanting what he can. ‘We need to make half white, half red.’
Domaine Lauriga is used for the Côtes Catalanes wines, and the AOP wines are Château Lauriga. In the UK they have several smaller distributors, selling a range of these wines, but not all of them.
THE WINES
Domaine Lauriga La Figuera 2024 Côtes Catalanes
14.5% alcohol. 40% Macabeu, 25% Grenache Blanc, 15% Muscat, 10% Grenache Gris, 10% Viognier. 30% aged in barrel. Bright, lively and very fruity with nice pear, peach and melon characters. There’s a very nice texture here with some fine spices and hints of honey and lime. It’s all about the expressive fruit. 90/100
Château Lauriga Soleil Blanc 2022 Côtes du Roussillon
14.5% alcohol. 85% Grenache Blanc, 15% Macabeu. Barrel fermented after starting in tank, partial malolactic. This has a spicy, slightly woody edge to the bold citrus and pear fruit with some detailed spicy characters on the palate. Notes of ginger, with good supporting acidity. 90/100
Domaine Lauriga Le Gris Rosé 2024 Côtes Catalanes (tank sample)
Grenache Gris. This is fresh with a touch of of cured meat and fish savouriness, and nice spicy detail with some good texture. Very interesting in the mouth: broad but finishes with a slight salinity. 91/100
Château Lauriga Rosé 2024 Côtes du Roussillon
This has a mealy, slightly meaty savoury edge to the sweet pear and cherry fruit with a slight saltiness on the finish. It’s broad but detailed with nice balance and a bit of complexity. 92/100
Domaine Lauriga Racines 2023 Côtes Catalanes
14.5% alcohol. 100% Carignan, in concrete. Juicy and supple with a lovely core of sweet cherries and plums, with a rounded character. This is Carignan at its juiciest and friendliest, and has nice definition. Very drinkable. 90/100
Château Lauriga Le Cadet 2023 Côtes de Roussillon
13.5% alcohol. 70% Syrah, 20% Carignan, 10% Grenache. Cold maceration, fermentation starts after 2 days, 26-32 degrees, 10 days. Then post-ferment maceration for a couple of weeks. Elevage partly tank, partly barrels. Tight, focused and spicy with a nice core of sweet black cherry and berry fruits, with grippy structure. Some nice spicy detail showing a twist of tar on the finish. Impressive in this ripe style. 91/100
Château Lauriga Réserve Cuvée Bastien 2022 Côtes de Roussillon
14.5% alcohol. 60% Syrah, 30% Carignan, 10% Grenache. Bold with nice concentration showing a core of sweet cherry and berry fruits with some spicy framing. Rich but balanced showing nice purity of fruit. There’s a touch of spicy oak, too. 91/100
Château Lauriga Grande Réserve Cuvée Jean 2020 Côtes de Roussillon
15% alcohol. 60% Syrah, 30% Carignan, 10% Grenache, with 12 months in oak. Ripe and open with nice sweet cherry and berry fruits showing lovely depth and harmony. Well balanced despite the alcohol with good depth and a warm spicy framing. Hints of olive and cured meat, too. Drinking very well now. 94/100
Château Lauriga Grande Réserve Cuvée Jean 2022 Côtes du Roussillon, France
15% alcohol. Syrah dominant, with Carignan and Grenache. This is ripe and rich, with sweet berry fruit aromatics as well as some spicy, subtly woody notes in the background. The palate is warm, textural and rich with soft tannins and sleek, ripe cherry and berry fruits combined with rich, spicy oak notes, as well as some pot pourri. It works very well. Warm and reassuring with nice depth and a harmonious personality, with the alcohol adding a sense of warmth and sweetness. 92/100
Château Lauriga Laurinya 2020 Côtes du Roussillon
15.5% alcohol. 60% Syrah, 30% Carignan, 10% Grenache. 14 months in new oak. Warm, sweet, rich and spicy on the nose with notes of stewed strawberry and pepper. The palate is rich and dense with some spicy grip, showing warmth and depth. Rounded, rich, spicy and intense with a long finish. 93/100
Château Lauriga Muscat de Rivesaltes 2021
15.5% alcohol. 100% Muscat Petits Grains. 105 g/l rs. Fortified in liquid phase. Very fruity and expressive with some barley sugar, table grape and a bit of spice. Lively and expressive with a twist of almond and mint. 93/100
Château Lauriga Grenat de Rivesaltes 2022
17% alcohol. 100% Grenache. 90 g/litre rs. Fortified in solid phase and then macerated a further 3 weeks. This is powerful with sweet berry and cherry fruits, showing a touch of saltiness. This is really fruit-driven with a bit of tannin, and nice freshness as well as the sweetness. Grippy finish. 93/100
Château Lauriga Rivesaltes Ambré Hors d’Âge NV
18% alcohol, 138 g/l rs. 65% Grenache Blanc, 30% Macabeu, 5% Muscat Petit Grain. Aged oxidatively for at least 5 years in small oak barrels. Orange/brown with a hint of copper. This is sweet and complex with some raisin and barley sugar with some nice honey and apricot, too, as well as table grapes. 93/100
