Visit to La Clape (Narbonne, Languedoc)

Tasted Tuesday, July 7, 2009 - Thursday, July 9, 2009 by NiklasW with 1,217 views

Introduction

I made a trip to the La Clape massif to visit 5 wineries, during two days. All 5 were positive experiences and the wines were good.

Flight 1 (5 Notes)

l'Hospitalet is a big winery on the road to Narbonne Plage, can't miss it. The tasting room is also big with lots of staff. I was served by a very pretty sommelieress, who perhaps made me feel positive about the wines? I tried to be as objective as possible. I also tasted the rosé, but it left no impression on me, so I make no notes of it.

Flight 2 (3 Notes)

Chateau Camplazens is the winery that first got me interested in the La Clape region, this was my first visit to the winery. Kind of out of the way, and the person who was at the winery was a bit surprised that I'd found my way there. He was very friendly, opened three bottles for me to taste, and as I was leaving gave me the open Premium bottle to take for dinner! Very nice experience.

  • 2006 Château Camplazens Coteaux du Languedoc La Clape La Garrigue

    France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Coteaux du Languedoc La Clape

    (7/7/2009)

    Tasted at the winery. A light easy wine, spicey with black fruits. Made for easy and early drinking.

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  • 2006 Château Camplazens Coteaux du Languedoc La Clape La Réserve

    France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Coteaux du Languedoc La Clape

    (7/7/2009)

    Tasted at the winery before buying. Nicely expressive on the nose, with licorice and black fruits coming through. Quite a bit of tannins, a quite a plush wine, with the Grenache pushing through. Good!

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  • 2006 Château Camplazens Coteaux du Languedoc La Clape Premium 89 Points

    France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Coteaux du Languedoc La Clape

    (7/7/2009)

    Tasted at the winery before buying, but the newly opened bottle was given to me as I left (just a small taste had been poured off!), so the following notes are from the bottle opened at around 11 am, and drank with dinner around 7 pm. A very dark red, almost black in the glass. On the nose, very interesting, distinct mint and eucalyptus amongst the blackberry and plums, and a slight whiff of vanilla in the background. Very nice! On the palate there is also a distinct taste of mint along with strong tastes of black fruit. A powerful wine that is drinking well now and will drink well for several years to come. Yum! Thank you Camplazens for this nice gift! 50+4+12+16+7=89

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Flight 3 (4 Notes)

Negly, the premier cru of Languedoc. Their best wines go for 80-90 euros. I had been wanting to visit for a while and now made it. I was a bit apprehensive as I don't have that much buying power, but the guy in the tasting room was very friendly and we tasted through a whole range of wines (including some that I do not note below, as I didn't have my note book with me). There were two bottles without labels in the corner, and after we had tasted through the normal range, with the guy giving me lots of interesting info about the wines and how they are made, the two bottles were pulled up and introduced as the iconic wines of Negly. Both were simply stunning, and if they had had them for sale, I would have taken the plunge and bought a bottle of at least one of them.

  • 2007 Château de la Négly Coteaux du Languedoc La Clape La Falaise Blanche

    France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Coteaux du Languedoc La Clape

    (7/7/2009)

    Tasted at the winery. 70% Marsanne, 30% Roussanne, aged in oak for 12 months. A very fullsome wine, with lots of oaky buttery aromas and tastes. Very nice and rich.

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  • 2007 Château de la Négly Coteaux du Languedoc La Clape La Falaise

    France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Coteaux du Languedoc La Clape

    (7/7/2009)

    Tasted at the winery. Typical Languedoc red, lots of blackberry and plums on the nose and palate. Got two, so shall taste one in a few months and do a more formal tasting note.

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  • 2006 Château de la Négly Coteaux du Languedoc La Clape Porte du Ciel

    France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Coteaux du Languedoc La Clape

    (7/7/2009)

    I visited Chateau de la Negly today and after tasting through a range of Negly wines, this was pulled out for tasting (along with the Clos des Truffiers). Wow, what a wine! 100% Syrah from a vineyard with a view to the Mediterranean (went down to the plot and took some pictures!). Very low yield. The wine was intense with distinct notes of mint, powerful and mind blowing. Really other worldly and a complete change to the other wines I have tasted today from the La Clape. Oh boy, I wish I could afford a bottle, but at €80, I am just happy I had a chance to taste.

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  • 2006 Château de la Négly Coteaux du Languedoc Clos des Truffiers

    France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Coteaux du Languedoc

    (7/7/2009)

    I visited Chateau de la Negly today and after tasting through a range of Negly wines, this was pulled out for tasting (along with the Port du Ciel). Wow, what a wine! 100% Syrah from a vineyard somewhere near Montpellier that (they claimed) has the oldest Syrah vines in the Languedoc. Very low yield. The wine was intense with distinct notes of toffee in a very good way. Really other worldly and a complete change to the other wines I have tasted today from the La Clape (note this wine is not from La Clape!). Oh boy, I wish I could afford a bottle, but at €90, I am just happy I had a chance to taste.

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Flight 4 (3 Notes)

My final stop for the day, and again a very friendly reception. I also tasted their Jason cuvée, but as it is not in CT and I made no formal notes, I decided to leave it out.

Flight 5 (4 Notes)

Went to the beach at Narbonne Plage and stopped at Rouquette sur Mer on the way home. The chai had a bit more commercial feel to it than the previous three reported here, and the prices were also much higher. They probaly get a lot of tourists coming through as they are accessible.

Closing

La Clape continues to fascinate me. I shall return next year to visit more wineries!

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