From old Grenache vines in a geologically complex, high altitude wind chamber of a vineyard in Calc, the 2007 Cotes du Roussillon Villages La Petite Siberie represents Bizeul’s ideal of “perfect phenolic ripeness while preserving freshness.” He sees this wine as a supreme expression of Grenache in a line of descent from great old Rayas Chateauneuf. “I just don’t understand it,” he says about his wine. “It’s very rich ... too rich, too alcoholic, too acidic, too tannic, and yet it has harmony.” For my part, I can’t say that I understand the notion of harmony with which Bizeul is operating, or can reconcile my own conception of harmony with what is in the glass. The Clos des Fees is the estate flagship, he asserts, whereas “La Petite Siberie is an act of nature.” Be that as it may, Bizuel’s own litany of the fanatic vineyard and cellar regimen needed to render this wine is a long one, and when I taste it, the work that went into it is one thing I don’t doubt for a moment. A nose of black raspberry liqueur, creme de cassis, milk chocolate, gardenia, and vanilla signals a viscous palate of singular richness of texture and confectionary personality, although bitter dark chocolate and fruit skin notes offer some contrast with the wine’s sheer sweetness, and in a amazingly long, liqueur-like finish there lurks some suggestion of stony underlying minerality. Even served at close to cellar temperature, though, the roughly 16% alcohol that typifies this cuvee shows through as finishing heat. Bizeul suggests that top renditions of this cuvee have 15 or more years of cellar potential, and I can certainly well imagine it, although I lack the relevant direct experience to properly prognosticate. (Note: In issue 173 I misidentified the location of this vineyard as near Vingrau, rather than Calc; my apologies for that error.)
Herve Bizeul practices a ruthlessly controlled viticultural regimen focused on some 130 parcels of selection massale vines in the dramatically rocky, yet clay-permeated limestone environment north of Vingrau, and his pursuit of concentration and purity continues with meticulous selectivity of plots and lots (much of the crop is sold off each year) as well as of clusters and berries. Add to this a fruit-pampering vinification, and the result is wines that have turned heads every bit as much as does the local scenery and brought Bizeul well-deserved recognition as a beacon of Roussillon quality. He is so convinced of the fit between traditional goblet training and the local climate, that he is even head-pruning his young vines of Cabernet Franc, whose profusely floral, chocolaty-rich, yet refined inaugural 2008 vintage will, rest assured, be unlike any other wine from this grape that you have ever tasted. Bizeul is another of those denizens of Roussillon and the Languedoc to have imagined and now perfected a uniquely delicious style of white wine.
Bizeul is currently seeking a new importer.
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