Domaine de L'Hortus ( Pic Saint Loup )

The view on the road near Pic Saint Loup We had spent the night in a "chambre d'hôte" in Saint Martin de Londres, a village in the Pic Saint Loup appellation. The temperature in the night was largely under 0°C , but the room was well heated . Soon on the road , we enjoyed the nature wich looks so much like inland-Provence that when driving on its little roads you think you are in the Var departement . Same type of bushes, trees and aromatic plants . We use our many stops along the road to pick some thyme ( other than wine, we occasionally indulge ourselves in thyme and rosmarin infusions...), the one we picked last summer in Provence was too dry . In fact the best season to pick is somewhere between february and april . While looking for thyme in the hills , I even found wild lavender. After stocking for infusion and cooking , we went to Domaine de L'Hortus near Valflaunes (map) . Being early ( we had called ), we stopped on the dirt road 100 meter from the domaine to eat sandwiches , actually paté persillé bought on the way in Burgundy , with local baguettes . Improvised picnic on a brisk but sunny day with a beautiful view . 3 dogs , that we will learn belong to the Orliac family, are the first to greet us and come around . (small) pieces of paté persillé and my fondness for dogs make for a playful friendship . We drive the last 100 meters and Yves Orliac , one of the sons , receives us . The Domaine lies right between the Pic Saint Loup and Mont Hortus. The chai building and the owner's home face side by side the view . The architecture is a first surprise : Not the neo-traditional style, but a daring wooden architecture closer to north-american architecture . It may have something to do with Jean and Marie-Therese Orliac's pioneer spirit . Passion and adventure was what brought them here in the first place . Jean Orliac discovered this region in 1970, and climbed repeatedly the summits around here , especially the Hortus cliffs, enjoying the beauty of a place that was then even more remote . The road system had not improved as much, and Montpellier seemed light years from here .The chai , with mont Hortus behind As an agricultural engineer,he felt it also had great potentialities for wine . This was the time of big production and these remote locations and difficult terrain were not favored . The hectare price was of course very cheap in these conditions . They first rented vineyards in the 1970's . Now the Domaine consists of 50-60 hectares , not all in ownership . They also acquired a 10 hectares vineyard, "Clos du Prieur", located 25 km north from here , on very steep terrain , with everything done manually there .

Mourvedre, under the Hortus cliff On Domaine de L'Hortus, the vineyard lies along this east-west oriented valley , on slopes either north- or south-orientated . Everything was planted or replanted 30 years ago . Yves Orliac, a son of Jean and Marie-Therese, works with his parents, 2 brothers and a sister, plus about 10 employees . He drives us in the vineyard , on the south-oriented slopes under the cliff, with the Mourvedre spots, that we reach through badly maintained gravel tracks . Royat cordon pruning, rather short . De-budding in spring, to limit yields . High trellising . In Languedoc, as there are no strict traditions, different pruning techniques are used, like in the new world, it depends of the domaines' tastes . Nearby, a small olive trees orchard . Uphill, between the vineyard and the bottom of the cliff, a small evergreen oaks forest . This landscape configuration is also favorable for truffle oaks, wich need open surroundings, and they could consider this option someday here . The cliff , wich reverberates the heat in sumer, has a few caves at mid-height that have been proven inhabited in the neanderthal era . The woods on this side and beyond are home to wildboars . A few vineyards had to be fenced .View on the vats in the chaiBack in the nice wooden chai, we have a look over the vats and facility and walk to the tasting space , that overlooks these vats and the bottling area and has windows on the valley outside and the vineyard . __1 Rosé de saignée 2003 . Syrah-Grenache and a little of Mourvedre . 13° . 6,5 Euro . __2 white . Bergerie de L'Hortus 2004 . Vin de Pays du Val de Montferrand . Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier, Chardonnay and some Roussanne . 13° . Clear colour . Very fresh nose . 7,3 Euro . __3 white . Domaine de L'Hortus , grande Cuvée 2003, Vin de Pays du Val de Montferrand . Chardonnay, Viognier, some Roussanne . In Vin de Pays because of the Chardonnay . 8 months maturing in casks . More coloured than the former . Very nice . Ripe fruits . Some honey . Complexity and elegance . 13,5° . 14,8 Euro . __4 red . Pic Saint Loup, Bergerie de L'Hortus 2002 . Syrah, Grenache, a little of Mourvedre . Very few bottles left . On the fruit . 7,3 Euro . __5 red . Pic Saint Loup , Grande Cuvée 2002 . Mourvedre, Syrah and a little of Grenache . Very very nice nose . Nice texture . Small millesime in the region that gave here a very nice wine . 14,5 Euro . __6 red . Clos du Prieur 2001 . Located in the scenic Gorges ( means canyon in french ) de la Buèges near Saint Jean de Buèges, backed by the Larzac plateau , on steep slopes Very traditional work and vinification . Yves's sister takes care of this vineyard . old Syrah , Carignan and Grenache vines .25-30 hectoliter/ha instead of 40 . More concentrated this year, so . They did not make this Clos du Prieur in 2002 . Exported , as far as Japan . In the US , Michael Sullivan's Beaune Imports , European Cellars . SAQ in Canada . I took this picture of Jean Orliac at a tasting, at Pavillon Dauphine, in Paris . He poses with a bottle of his Rosé de Saignée 2004 , with a nice piece of Art on the label . We spoke of the time he climbed near Mont Hortus and decided to make wine there .

Comments

[Terri Saul]

I shared a bottle of the Pic St. Loup, Bergerie de L'Hortus 2003 at Ajanta on Solano Ave. in Berkeley, CA. It was one of the best wines I have ever tasted. They only had a few left.

The bouquet was warm, hypnotic, satisfying and it left a rich film on the side of the glass (legs?). The flavor was incredibley smooth, like red velvet on the tongue, and it complimented the spicy Indian food very well. It tasted so wonderful, especially right out of the bottle, after only being swirled in the glass for a short time.

But, after only a few hours, the taste changed completely (served in a different glass at home). I am not a wine expert, so I don't know why this happened. It became a bit more rough.

Again, I apologize for my paltry wine vocabulary.
I look forward to trying it next year.

Best,
Terri

[Terri Saul]

Correction: It was the Grand Cuvee we had at Ajanta.