Cave de Roquebrun La Grange des Combes Saint-Chinian-Roquebrun 2021 (Languedoc) - Wine Review

Tonight's red wine review is the latest vintage of one of my perennial favourites that arrived at the LCBO as part of the recent LCBO VINTAGES New Release Collection on April 27th.

It is produced by Le Vins de Roquebrun, a co-operative winery that was founded in 1967. It is located in Haut-Languedoc Natural Regional Park, approximately 30 km north of Béziers, between Montpellier and Toulouse. Le Vins de Roquebrun is the largest producer in the Saint-Chinian appellation of Languedoc, consisting of 70 winegrowers that cultivate over 700 hectares of vines, plus 30 members in the cellar. Together, their philosophy is to create wines of originality, balance, and power.

Le Vins de Roquebrun is particularly noted because of its terroir - the mild and relatively arid climate, and in combination of schist soils, which allows for particular development of grapes within the Saint-Chinian Appellation. The resulting wines are typical of the region and of recognized quality. The soils in the Saint-Chinian Appellation are more than 450 million years old and among the oldest in France. The schist soil is commonly a brown or green rock, sometimes red, with a flaky appearance. As a fine-grained rock, it is composed mostly of clay flakes and tiny fragments of other minerals, all of which are laminated by the compression of clay in the heart of the earth's crust. The laminated and fractured rocks allow the roots of the vines to infiltrate deep into the ground in the search for natural groundwater, picking up minerals along the way. The minerals in the hills and valleys of Roquebrun retain water and store heat. This heat is released slowly at night, and it is said that the grapes still grow during the night. The main objective of the winegrowers of Roquebrun is to highlight the typicality of the terroir, and thanks to their efforts, the communal appellation of AOP Saint-Chinian-Roquebrun was created in 2005.

In the vineyard, Le Vins de Roquebrun only uses a set of qualitative grape varieties, while being respectful of culture. They also have rigorous specifications to regulate pruning methods, trellising, phytosanitary treatments, and yields, with a large part of the vineyard using drip irrigation to supply the vines with water. At the winery, Roquebrun uses strict specifications depending on the grape type and quality. All the grapes are manually harvested, which allows for sorting in the vineyard. Red wines, such as this wine, are often vinified using carbonic maceration, a technique that converts the sugar into alcohol without the use of yeast. The wine cellar is situated in an air-conditioned, semi-buried storehouse, and contains 900 French oak barrels and 56 stainless steel vats, all of which are used for ageing wines, depending on the wine and vintage. As of 1998, Le Vins de Roquebrun added a bottling line and a Bag-in-Box machine to its facility.

I've enjoyed this unoaked red many times over the years, with the most recent vintage being the 2018 Cave de Roquebrun La Grange des Combes Saint-Chinian-Roquebrun a few years ago. The 2021 vintage of this lovely red wine is a blend of 50% Syrah, 30% Grenache, and 20% Mourvèdre, from selected plots that were grown on schistous soils. The grapes were manually harvested, then brought to the winery and vinified in whole bunches using carbonic maceration in vats for 25 to 30 days. It was aged in stainless steel vats in an insulated and air-conditioned cellar, and bottled at the property.

The 2021 growing season in Languedoc had severe frosts in April, which drastically cut yields. Summer conditions were hot and dry, and put the vines under drought stress, while heavy September rains arrived too late to offer much help. Overall, it is a small crop and quality is variable throughout the region. However, I am optimistic about this consistently well-made red from Saint-Chinian-Roquebrun. Let's see how this 2021 red wine from Languedoc is tasting tonight...

Tasting Note:

CAVE DE ROQUEBRUN LA GRANGE DES COMBES SAINT-CHINIAN-ROQUEBRUN 2021 - AC, Languedoc, France (#155804) (XD) - $21.95
This unoaked blend of 50% Syrah, 30% Grenache, and 20% Mourvèdre has a fresh, lifted nose of medium-high to high intensity that is ripe and spicy with lovely red & black fruits, blackberry, raspberry, cherry, peppery spice, stony mineral, and dried herb aromas with touches of meaty and savoury notes. It is notably mid-weighted on the dry palate with complex ripe blackberry, black cherry, black raspberry, savoury meaty, stony mineral, black pepper spice, and dried herb flavours supported by tangy, juicy acidity. The smooth, refined tannins have some chalky textured and youthful grip. Stony mineral with touches of spice linger on the slightly tangy, crisp finish, with excellent length. Well-balanced and ready to drink now, but will provide pleasure over the next 5 years. Highly recommended buy! Score: 90+ pts

The delicious 2022 Cave de Roquebrun Soleil de Schiste is currently available at the LCBO, while the rest of the portfolio can be ordered through their Agent - Eurovintage Wines & Spirits.