Weine aus Südfrankreich

Appellation La Clape AOP, Rebsorten: 55 % Syrah, 40 % Grenache, 5 % Mourvèdre 

15 % Vol. Alc., Naturkork

Robert Parker The Wine Advocate 

Rating 92   Drink Date 2018 - 2025   Reviewed by Joe Czerwinski 

The 2016 La Clape la Falaise was the only red from that vintage that had been bottled at the time of my February visit. It's a blend of 55% Syrah, 40% Grenache and 5% Mourvèdre that aged a year in foudres. It's a rich, velvety wine filled with black cherry fruit that verges on surmaturité. Creamy, supple and long, but not as concentrated or intense as the other bottlings, I'd opt for drinking this fruit-bomb within its first decade. It's a good introduction to the house style.

Le Negly is a family domaine, owned since 1992 by Jean Paux-Rosset. With partner Claude Gros and winemaking consultant Didier Lacreu, the team is creating some of the most dramatic wines in the South of France. Their extroverted, flamboyant and in-your-face personalities dictate that these wines will not be for everyone, but one look at back vintages should convince even skeptics that these are special wines that come into their own given enough time. The 2007 La Porte du Ciel is drinking beautifully now, as is the Clos des Truffiers (made in a similar way, by the same team) from the same year. Both should be fine through at least 2025. Yields in 2016 were small even by the estate's standards of 15-20 hectoliters per hectare, as the vintage was even hotter than in 2007, yet because of painstaking work on the sorting table, the wines are fresh, not dried, raisiny or Porty. 

1. Allergene: Enthält Sulfite
2. Flascheninhalt: 0,75 l     
3. Erzeuger/Abfüller: Château de La Négly, Route des vins, 11560 Fleury d'Aude, France

Appellation La Clape AOP, Rebsorten: 55 % Syrah, 25 % Grenache, 20 % Mourvèdre 

15 % Vol. Alc., Naturkork

Robert Parker The Wine Advocate 

Rating 94   Drink Date 2017 - 2024   Reviewed by Jeb Dunnuck

A tour de force in wine that should be snatched up by readers, the 2015 Languedoc-La Clape la Falaise (55% Syrah, 25% Grenache and 20% Mourvèdre) sports a deep, inky color to go with a killer bouquet of ripe black currants, licorice, salty seawater and peppered meats. Big, rich, full-bodied and downright decade, it needs to be tasted to be believed. I haven't had any aged examples of this cuvee as a reference point, but I'm sure it will keep beautifully for at least 6-7 years.

1. Allergene: Enthält Sulfite
2. Flascheninhalt: 0,75 l     
3. Erzeuger/Abfüller: Château de La Négly, Route des vins, 11560 Fleury d'Aude, France

Appellation La Clape AOP, 15 % Vol. Alc., Naturkork

verkostet Feb. 2020

2013 Négly La Porte du Ciel zeigt sich mit dichter, dunkler, fast schwarzer Farbe im Glas. Konzentriert auch die Aromenvielfalt aus Cassis, Waldbeeren, dazu schwarze Olive und Lakritze mit Noten von Zedernholz. Mineralität vermischt sich im Mund druckvoll mit komplexer Frucht. Das seidige Tannin verleiht dem Wein trotz aller Kraft pure Eleganz .    

Robert Parker The Wine Advocate 

Rating 95-98   Drink Date 2018-2033   Reviewed by Jeb Dunnuck

Moving to the reds, the 2013 la Porte du Ciel is mind blowing stuff. Made from Syrah and Grenache and still aging in a combination of wooden tank and demi-muids, it offers up a smorgasbord of cassis, black currants, graphite, saline like minerality and licorice to go with a full-bodied, ultra-pure, layered and silky style on the palate. While it’s not for those craving lightweight aromas and flavors, this is still a decidedly elegant version of this cuvee. It should benefit from short term cellaring and have 15-20 years of longevity.

This was another terrific tasting with Claude Gros and the team at Chateau de la Negly, and these guys have knocked it out of the park in 2013, producing some of the strongest wines in the vintage. All of the reds showed the cooler nature of the vintage, yet had terrific purity and texture (if you know the wines from this estate, you know they rarely lack for texture). During this visit, I was able to taste through a retrospective of most vintages of their Clos des Truffiers release, and this cuvee ages brilliantly. These reviews will be published as a separate article, but their 2001 was as good as wine gets and a number of vintages were close in quality. Unfortunately, these wines are hard to find in the marketplace, but they're singular, world class efforts worth the extra effort to track down. Hat's off to Claude Gros and the team here.

1. Allergene: Enthält Sulfite
2. Flascheninhalt: 0,75 l     
3. Erzeuger/Abfüller: Château de La Négly, Route des vins, 11560 Fleury d'Aude, France

Appellation Côteaux du Languedoc AOP, 15 % Vol. Alc., Naturkork

verkostet Feb. 2020

2013 Négly Clos des Truffiers beeindruckt mit dunkler, purpurroter Farbe. Der Nase präsentiert sich  eine ausdrucksstarke Aromatik von süßlicher Frucht wie schwarze Johannisbeere und Kirschlikör. Konzentriert und stoffig wirkt die kompakte Frucht am Gaumen. Fein geschliffene Tannine lassen so die Frucht sehr lange im Mund verweilen. 

Robert Parker The Wine Advocate 

Rating 94-97   Drink Date 2017-2033   Reviewed by Jeb Dunnuck

The 2013 Clos des Truffiers - which was tasted as a barrel sample - will certainly be one of the wines of the vintage. It lacks the weight of a top vintage and is more reminiscent of the 2002 and 2004, albeit, with more purity and elegance. Giving up lots of cassis, vanilla bean, crushed rock-like minerality and spring flowers in its bouquet, this full-bodied, seamless 2013 has a fresh, lively and impeccably balanced profile on the palate that makes it already hard to resist. The first time this cuvee has been aged in larger, 600-liter barrels, it will need short-term cellaring (and I wouldn't be surprised to see it put on weight after bottling) and will keep for two decades.

1. Allergene: Enthält Sulfite
2. Flascheninhalt: 0,75 l     
3. Erzeuger/Abfüller: SCEA Les Capitelles, 11560 Fleury d'Aude, France