Chateau Gres Saint Paul bottles several white wines, among which I tasted only their two variations on the local classic. 2006 Muscat Lunel Rosanna is vinified entirely in new 500-liter “double barriques,” and then bottled before the turn of its vintage year. Aromas of mint and oregano, lily, orange blossom and lemon zest set the tone for a wine that is both cooling and pungent in personality. Herb and flower-laced quince preserves are backed by a sheer sweetness that lends the wine’s citrus zest notes a candied cast in the finish. But there is already 15.5% alcohol here, so one can understand the decision not to finish this wine any drier.Located in Lunel, near the coast just north of Montpelier, Chateau Gres Saint Paul is one of the pioneering estates to have demonstrated red wine excellence in a windy, gravelly environment traditionally know for its sweet Muscat. From the standpoint of terroir, Lunel is more like the Costieres des Nimes or Chateauneuf than like other parts of the Languedoc. Philippe Salasc – former proprietor of Domaine Capion in his home town of Aniane, and collaborator with Chateau owner Jean-Philippe Serviere since 1996 – reflects a sentiment much abroad these days in the Languedoc when he says “being the South, we don’t need to take any extreme measures. I prefer to substitute length of maceration for degree of extraction, and to work the skins very little.” The team here is moving away from barrique and to the use of exclusively tank and large oak casks.No current U.S. importer, unfortunately, but Canadian importers include Lexcellent Wines, Toronto, Ontario; tel. (416) 461-4577
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