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Mas Combarèla Terrasses du Larzac "Lueurs d'Espar" red 2020:
Jancis Robinson, the renowned English critic (she is a Master of Wine, the most difficult diploma to obtain in the world), visited Olivier Faucon during the summer of 2023. She then published a very kind article about Mas Combarèla, of which here are some excerpts, along with her comments on this cuvée.
Olivier Faucon from Mas Combarèla is just one of the many "overachievers" in the largest wine region in France. The Languedoc may not be the easiest region to understand, but can we afford to ignore it? Intrigued by Tam's enthusiastic tasting notes on the wines of Mas Combarèla, I set off at the end of July 2023 to visit the domaine on the heights of the Terrasses du Larzac appellation.
He may not be from Languedoc, but judging by his wines, he seems to have a perfect understanding of the local conditions. A total of 12 hectares, between 150 and 350 meters in altitude. 75-year-old Carignan vines surround the property. Through a small oak wood, in a strip surrounded by trees and fragrant garrigue, lies what he calls his Clos Secret, actually a hidden valley, planted with 50-year-old vines, old Cinsault vines that produce a particularly distinctive wine. The soils of the vines are crossed by a limestone flow that diagonally traverses the property. To the southeast of this strip is a soil rich in iron oxide, to the northwest a sandy soil. Faucon has grafted a massal selection of Chenin Blanc from the Loire and has also grafted some old vines of Carignan Blanc and Vermentino, a grape that must now be called Rolle in France, thanks to Italian lobbying. He informed me that a Terrasses du Larzac white appellation was in preparation and that quite a few winemakers were planting Chenin there. He certainly has an original range of wine names, but when I asked this former marketing executive how to better sell Languedoc wines to the public, he replied: "I don't know." If they had all the quality and sophistication of the Mas Combarèla range, it might be a bit easier.
The "Tam" mentioned by Jancis Robinson above is her collaborator Tamlyn Currin, who tasted the wines of Mas Combarèla in early 2023 and published the following comment: Lueurs d’Espar 2020 94/100 (=17/20): “Certified organic. Predominantly Mourvèdre. Spicy, sweet, and succulent. Wonderful concentration of black ink fruits and dense, muscular tannins. There is something irresistible about this powerful wine. I would decant it an hour or two before drinking. (2023-2030)”
Technical sheet written by the domaine:
Appellation: Terrasses du Larzac
Grapes: Mourvèdre (70%), Carignan, Syrah.
Terroir: Parcels: "Combarels" in St Jean de Fos and "Les Combes" in Arboras
Clay-limestone soils and winds from the Larzac. The Mourvèdre was grafted in 2017 onto 25-year-old vines, it came into production in 2018. It comes from a gently sloping parcel surrounded by trees, on the edge of a wood, facing west, with strong geological interactions. The rows cross 3 different types of soil bringing character and complexity: a flow of white lacustrine limestone from the tertiary era runs through the center of the parcel and mixes with yellow marls on one side and reddish clays on the other. The stoniness of the limestone gravel is very pronounced.
Yields: less than 10 hl / ha
Elaboration: Manual harvest at phenolic maturity, complete destemming, temperature control, gentle vinification in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. Long maceration with pump-overs during fermentation and some punch downs during infusion.
Aging: 30 months in new oak barrels (500L demi-muids), then resting in bottle
Serving Temperature: 17°C. Open beforehand or decant to aerate the wine on its youth.
Particularities: A cuvée where the Mourvèdre grape is the star. A magnificent Mediterranean grape with a spicy framework, Mourvèdre was once called "espar" in Hérault and Gard. On summer evenings, the vine is sublimated by the soft glows of sunsets on its leaves. This wine embodies this spirit, seeking elegance in power, on a spicy framework. All in finesse, majesty, and complexity, Lueurs d’Espar is our exceptional wine for special occasions. Only 600 bottles are marketed for this second vintage 2019.
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