LA PEIRA, Terrasses du Larzac "MATISSAT" 2018

La Pèira (Terrasses du Larzac)

Les Terrasses du Larzac sont situées au nord de l’Hérault et incluent les vieux villages de Montpeyroux et de St Saturnin. Là, les étés sont plus chauds et plus longs, les hivers plus rudes qu’ en moyenne dans la région, le réchauffement rapide au printemps avec prolongement du beau temps en début d’ automne.Tandis que des collines formant une frontière naturelle aux Terrasses du Larzac, s’ élèvent à plus de 800 mètres, les vignobles classés A.O.C. varient d’ une hauteur de 50-300 mètres sur les collines de Causse et sur les vieilles terrasses.Les Romains étaient les premiers à planter des vignes sur les Terrasses du Larzac. Les terres dans les environs de Lodève avaient beaucoup d’attrait, s’étendant le long de la Voie Romaine, très fréquentée à l’époque et reliant Cessero (St. Thibéry) à Segodunum (Rodez).

"Ayant vu le jour en 2004, La Pèira en Damaisèla fait partie des propriétés du Languedoc-Roussillon qui, en une poignée d’années seulement, ont contribué à complètement modifier le paysage et l’horizon de leur appellation, en se plaçant sur le plan qualitatif au niveau, voire au-dessus, des 1er crus classés du bordelais et des Grands Crus bourguignons." (Bertrand ROUGIER classement des meilleurs vins de France 2014 Lafont Presse)

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Le vin

The most impressive wine I tasted during my visit to this exemplary estate was the 2017 Terrasses du Larzac Matissat, which was still in a single demi-muid. A blend of 70% Mourvèdre, 20% Syrah and 10% Grenache, it displays knockout aromas of red raspberries and seductive vanilla. Full-bodied, lush and creamy, this looks to be even better than the impressive 2016. It's a true Wow! wine, with tremendous richness, complexity and length. (Guide Parker, millésime 2017, noté 95-97/100)

A wine to be sought out by the Mourvèdre lovers out there, the 2017 Matissat (100% Mourvèdre brought up in demi-muids) offers a terrific perfume of black raspberries, spiced meat, pepper, and earth that develops beautifully with time in the glass. As with all these 2017s, it’s slightly more elegant and streamlined than usual, yet it gains richness and depth with time in the glass. Medium to full-bodied, beautifully balanced, with silky tannins, it’s going to benefit from 3-4 years of bottle age and should keep for 15-20 years. (Jeb Dunnuck, millésime 2017, noté 94-96+/100)

La presse spécialisée en parle

This was my first visit to this property, which is located near the tiny hamlet of Sainte-Brigitte in the appellation of Terrasses du Larzac. Purchased by owners Karine Ahton and Robert Dougan in 2004, the estate was originally 11 hectares but has since been expanded to 15.3 hectares in three parcels. The dominant soils include limestone gravels mixed with finer alluvium. Consultant Claude Gros has been involved since the beginning, but the day-to-day winemaking has been in the care of Audrey Bonnet–Koenig since 2015. Dougan, an English composer—he's written music for several Hollywood blockbusters—and the Alsace-born and Bordeaux-trained Bonnet-Koenig showed me through the various cuvées. The last three vintages haven't always been easy, but the wines are tremendously successful. "In '16, we had to wait a lot," said Bonnet-Koenig. "We picked the Syrah, then had to stop to wait for the Grenache and Mourvèdre." While 2017 was a more regular, compact vintage, the estate lost a third of its 2018 crop to mildew. As all of the grapes are handpicked, the team does an initial triage in the vineyards, followed by another sorting at the winery. That care shows in the finished wines, which manage to combine ample weight and concentration with a rare degree of elegance and length. (Guide Parker)