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Clot
de l'Oum, Cotes du Roussillon Villages, Caramany
Eric Monné
 Eric Monné purchased his vineyard land in the 1990s, but only produced his first wine in bottle in 2001. His 18 hectares of vines are split up into 33 different parcelles, on the communes of Belesta and Maury, and he needed a few years for the vines to throw off the effects of herbicides and pesticides, and to adjust to organic viticultural methods. His vineyards are on the high hillside slopes above Maury and Belesta, with a stunning view from the cellars across the Agly valley. The higher, cooler climate slopes at 400 to 500 metres above sea level give wines of a class and minerality almost reminiscent of the northern Rhone.
The
Compagnie des Papillons is blend of grenache and carignan from old vines, on gneiss soils. Peppery spicy fruit,
with ripe, supple tannins, and good length. Attractive mineral flavours, which develop over several hours – ideally a wine for keeping at least two to three years. The 2002
Saint Bart Vieilles Vignes is a blend of one third each Syrah on schist, with their best parcelles of Grenache on granite and schist, and Carignan on gneiss, on a vineyard parcelle of Saint Barthélémy which gives the cuvee its name. The Carignan, especially, is outstanding in this blend. (The 2003 tasted in cask has delicious ripe, black cherry fruit with fresh, youthful acidity to balance.) This is the most “Mediterranean” of his three wines, more “sauvage”, as he puts it, ideal for Mediterranean food, with powerful ripe fruit, spicy and gamey.
Eric’s top cuvee is the Numéro Uno, a selection of the best parcelles of Syrah (80% of the blend), on granite and gneiss, with the best cask of Carignan from Saint Barthélémy. The 2002 is outstanding wine; long, powerful and finely structured, with fine mineral fruit, almost “Hermitage” in style.
This was voted the top wine in our blind tasting of France's
Finest, which included 2001 Chave Hermitage, 1999 Pétrus, 2000
Rayas and 2000 Chateau Léoville Barton. We have now sold out of
the 2002. The 2003 will be shipped in Spring 2005. |