Wine & Spirits - June 2018 - 80

BOOKS

A Guide to the
LanguedocRoussillon
reviewed by Jamal Rayyis
It's been 15 years since Paul Strang released
Languedoc Roussillon: The Wines and Winemakers,
a groundbreaking work that celebrated qualityminded vintners in a region then more associated
with bulk wines. His latest edition is just as exciting, recounting an era that may be the region's
most important in terms of quality and visibility.

Languedoc Roussillon: The
Wines and Winemakers,
by Paul Strang
(JPS, London; $45)

WINE & SPIRITS

JUNE 2018

Strang's new edition captures the dynamics of the time in the sheer
number of wineries he's included: almost 700, nearly double the first.
To manage the bounty, he's organized the chapters geographically,
in ways that would make sense to a traveler to the region-either by
appellation or general vicinity, like "North and East of Montpellier,"
or by theme, as in "Vineyards by the Sea," encompassing Picpoul de
Pinet, Mireval and Frontignan, located within a stone's throw of the
Mediterranean. Within each, he provides maps and basic details for
visitors, as well as a rundown of each winery's strengths.
It's in these reviews that Strang is at his best. An engaging writer,
he captures the personalities that have reinvented the Languedoc as a
quality wine region, such as Olivier Jullien, who founded Mas Jullien
in 1985, inspiring his father, Jean-Pierre, an old-school coopérateur, to
leave the co-op and start Mas Cal Demoura (Occitan for "one must
remain") in the early 1990s. He also profiles returnees to generationslong family properties, like Jean-Baptiste Senat of Minervois. Strang
pays special attention to winemakers relocating from other parts of
France, like Brigitte Chévalier, who came to Faugères from Bordeaux,
seeking affordable land and old vines planted on schist. And he tells of
expats who moved from farther afield to fulfill dreams, like Elizabeth
and Jon Bowen at Domaine Sainte Croix, in a wild corner of the
Corbières. Vivid photography by Jason Shenai completes the picture.
Strang, who has lived in the Midi for more than 50 years, isn't
exactly an unbiased author. His excitement about the trend toward
organic and biodynamic production shows through in his choice of
featured producers, with enthusiastic descriptions of estates such as
Clos Centeilles in Minervois, Coume del Mas in Banyuls and tiny
Zéliges-Caravent in Pic St-Loup. At the same time, that enthusiasm
doesn't seem to extend to the big guys: Gérard Bertrand, the owner of
a large negociant enterprise, with a dozen estates where he trumpets
his adoption of biodynamic techniques, receives only brief mentions.
Other significant producers, like Paul Mas, Robert Skalli and François
Lurton, barely receive notice.
Wine geeks may wish that Strang spent more time on the region's
diverse geology, detailing soil types and providing topographic detail
on the many maps offered. But these are minor points, given the way
Strang captures the breadth and depth of the region in his winery
profiles. Whether you're traveling through the region or simply
wishing you were there, Strang's book remains the finest reference to
this dynamic wine region, and a compelling argument for LanguedocRoussillon as the source of some of France's greatest values for terroirdriven wines today. ■

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - June 2018