The 2009 Coteaux du Languedoc Clos du Prieur – from the property in the extreme north of the Terrasses du Larzac run by Jean Orliac’s daughter Marie – is approximately 70% Syrah and 30% Grenache. Smoky black tea and fresh cherry and red raspberry pick up fruit pit and hickory nut piquancy as well as a mouthwatering undertone of salted roasted meat pan drippings on a firm but infectiously juicy palate. This finishes with remarkable finesse and refreshment for its vintage, demonstrating the wisdom – particularly if the weather keeps getting warmer – of cultivating this site. Of course, the flip side of this was a struggle to achieve ripeness in 2008 that resulted in a decision not to bottle a Clos du Prieur from that vintage. While the Orliacs seek to assure me that filtration of their reds is only tight enough “for culling bugs,” I would still not be surprised it this wine – bottled less than two weeks before I tasted it – were suffering a bit from that experience. I anticipate its being worth following for at least half a dozen years. (Incidentally, the reason that this wine is not bottled as Terrasses du Larzac is that the upper sections of its vineyards aren’t so-classified. Yet, the Orliac’s have typically perceived wine from those parcels as worthy of their final assemblage.) The pioneering Orliac family’s dramatically-situated, Domaine de l’Hortus – for more on which, as well as about their Clos du Prieur estate at Saint-Jean de Bueges in the Terrasses du Larzac (whose wines I have reviewed here under the “Hortus” covering designation) see my report in issue 183 – continue to fine-tune their expertise both in the vineyards (which I had further opportunity to traipse in their company on the occasion of my April visit) and the cellar. The Orliacs are getting more opportunity than they really welcome to explore alternative clones and selections of Syrah, because like so many Languedoc growers – but especially those in Pic Saint-Loup – they are experiencing worrisomely high rates of mortality from a mysterious fungal malady in that cepage. The downdrafts from the gap between this region’s signature Pic Saint-Loup and Hortus peaks strike the Orliacs’ Domaine de l’Hortus first and with greatest force, so it’s not surprising that the cool concentration of 2010 was enhanced here even on the high, rocky, south-facing so-called “Three Steps” that ripen their Mourvedre (and above that, olives). In fact, the Mourvedre ripened sooner than Orliacs had expected in 2010, while Syrah accentuated the vintage-typical lateness of harvest. Some of the raw material in red from this highly-promising season – which, on the whole, shows head-turning perfume and fantastic finesse – was still in malo. (A portion had experimentally been put into demi-muids rather than barrique, though it was far too early when I visited for them or me to draw any even tentative conclusions.) As for the 2010 whites, final blending decisions had not yet been made for the Grande Cuvee but the materials have the making of this estate’s best-ever. Speaking of late harvests, the Mourvedre was not picked in 2008 at Hortus until October 10 – and the Syrah mid-September – with results uncannily well-balanced; full of nuance; and downright refreshing. On the other hand, a decision was made not to bottle a Clos du Prieur because in that cool, breezy, high-elevation location (some dozen kilometers north of St.-Jean-de-Fos along the gorge of the Herault), the fruit was simply deemed insufficiently ripe. By contrast, 2009 – as one would expect – commenced precociously. Still, the harvest was not completed at Hortus until the end of September, but then with marginally disappointing results when judged against this estate’s outstanding track record; whereas the Clos Prieur red distinguished itself. Interestingly, Orliac wines tend to inhabit a relatively narrow – and, for the Languedoc, low – band of finished alcohol between 13.5% and 14% year in, year out.Domaine de l’Hortus’ importers are Eric Solomon Selections, Charlotte, NC; tel. (704) 358-1565 and Beaune Imports, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 559 1040 (Michael Sullivan) whose proprietors rather remarkably, notes Jean Orliac, first visited him within days of one another more than a quarter century ago to taste the estate’s inaugural collection.

The promising raw materials for Orliacs’ 2007 Coteaux du Languedoc Clos du Prieur had not yet been assembled when I last visited this property for my issue 183 report, so it was only this April that I had a chance to taste the finished wine, which is being marketed in the U.S. concurrently with the 2009. Scents of smoke and leather emerge from the glass, along with aromas suggesting dried red and black fruits. Firm and a bit grainy in feel, this evinces a modest sense of primary juiciness, but leathery, animal, and dried fruit elements dominate. A glycerin slick, helps ameliorate the tannin; which a subtle sense of salinity helps stimulate the salivary glands and render the finish satisfying. This understated bottling should give considerable pleasure over the next couple of years, but the 2009 – for which the regimen of fermentative extraction was apparently gentler – signals a significant advance in clarity.The pioneering Orliac family’s dramatically-situated, Domaine de l’Hortus – for more on which, as well as about their Clos du Prieur estate at Saint-Jean de Bueges in the Terrasses du Larzac (whose wines I have reviewed here under the “Hortus” covering designation) see my report in issue 183 – continue to fine-tune their expertise both in the vineyards (which I had further opportunity to traipse in their company on the occasion of my April visit) and the cellar. The Orliacs are getting more opportunity than they really welcome to explore alternative clones and selections of Syrah, because like so many Languedoc growers – but especially those in Pic Saint-Loup – they are experiencing worrisomely high rates of mortality from a mysterious fungal malady in that cepage. The downdrafts from the gap between this region’s signature Pic Saint-Loup and Hortus peaks strike the Orliacs’ Domaine de l’Hortus first and with greatest force, so it’s not surprising that the cool concentration of 2010 was enhanced here even on the high, rocky, south-facing so-called “Three Steps” that ripen their Mourvedre (and above that, olives). In fact, the Mourvedre ripened sooner than Orliacs had expected in 2010, while Syrah accentuated the vintage-typical lateness of harvest. Some of the raw material in red from this highly-promising season – which, on the whole, shows head-turning perfume and fantastic finesse – was still in malo. (A portion had experimentally been put into demi-muids rather than barrique, though it was far too early when I visited for them or me to draw any even tentative conclusions.) As for the 2010 whites, final blending decisions had not yet been made for the Grande Cuvee but the materials have the making of this estate’s best-ever. Speaking of late harvests, the Mourvedre was not picked in 2008 at Hortus until October 10 – and the Syrah mid-September – with results uncannily well-balanced; full of nuance; and downright refreshing. On the other hand, a decision was made not to bottle a Clos du Prieur because in that cool, breezy, high-elevation location (some dozen kilometers north of St.-Jean-de-Fos along the gorge of the Herault), the fruit was simply deemed insufficiently ripe. By contrast, 2009 – as one would expect – commenced precociously. Still, the harvest was not completed at Hortus until the end of September, but then with marginally disappointing results when judged against this estate’s outstanding track record; whereas the Clos Prieur red distinguished itself. Interestingly, Orliac wines tend to inhabit a relatively narrow – and, for the Languedoc, low – band of finished alcohol between 13.5% and 14% year in, year out.Domaine de l’Hortus’ importers are Eric Solomon Selections, Charlotte, NC; tel. (704) 358-1565 and Beaune Imports, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 559 1040 (Michael Sullivan) whose proprietors rather remarkably, notes Jean Orliac, first visited him within days of one another more than a quarter century ago to taste the estate’s inaugural collection.

Orliac’s 2005 Coteaux du Languedoc Clos du Prieur – a 50:50 Grenache:Syrah blend grown just outside the Pic Saint-Loup appellation in St.-Jean de Bueges and raised in barriques – smells of plum paste, clove, black pepper and resin. Juicy and intensely-fruited yet (like his tank wine) firm in underlying structure and not at all superficially sweet, it clings beautifully with resinous herbs and exotic, wide-ranging spices. I wouldn’t hesitate to follow it 2-3 more years in bottle. Importer: Eric Solomon Selections, Charlotte, NC; tel. (704) 358-1565