Lo Sang del Pais - My House Red

Marcillac “Lo Sang del Pais”, Domaine du Cros 2006

Philippe Teulier’s Marcillac is my house red. Why do I love this wine? Well, to adapt a simile from Roger Scruton, it punches like Rimbaud and has the sensibility of Rambo. It screams or rather yodels terroir from its very soul. And I am a sucker for its earthy charms.

Rolled round in earth’s diurnal course,
With rocks and stones and trees
(A slumber did my spirit seal – Wordsworth 1800)

When I drink this Marcillac I feel as though the grapes, stones, minerals and garrigue have been poured into a celestial cement mixer and pounded together to create the essence of drinkability and a metaphor which is a shoo-in for pseud’s corner.

To put it on the fuzzy map Marcillac is a tiny region of some eight or so growers located east of Cahors (South West France) on the terraced slopes above the Lot. It is not far from Rodez at the base of the Aubrac plateau, is linked historically to the Abbey of Conques and is the only appellation of the Aveyron departement.

The grape variety of the region is known locally Mansois – otherwise more familiarly as Fer Servadou (or Fer). And in case you are about to scurry to the reference books and go all ampelographical, yes that is the same grape as Braucol and Pinenc. The Mansois has plenty of colour and an earthy, vigorous personality, but more of that anon.

Historically, Marcillac was very much a wine of the vintage, infinitely quaffable, very light in alcohol. Paul Strang records harvest workers demolishing (or being demolished by) fifteen bottles of the local potion after a strenuous day in the fields.

The vineyards of Marcillac are located on very steep hills or terraces with red clay soils (les rougiers) that are rich in ferrous oxide. This iron-rich seam runs throughout the vineyards of the south west – we see it in Fronton and Madiran as well. In terms of flavour it seems to contribute a mineral tang to the wine and bolts the fruit together.

The vineyards of Domaine du Cros are worked to a programme of lutte raisonnée with a green harvest to thin out bunches and discard unripe berries. The harvest is hand-picked and the grapes undergo twenty one day maceration in tank.

This Marcillac never disappoints and makes a strong virtue of simplicity. It has a healthy purple-red colour and reveals soft berry notes, lovely inky fruits with a touch of mineral and refreshing stalkiness. How to describe that elusive minerality? Spring rain on slate, gravel and that dancing rai de fer. The acids are delicious and carry the fruit that spans the entire spectrum from juicy and savoury to balsamic. This particular cuvée is devoid of tannic intent, but its gracefulness and composure indicate a decent structure, albeit a temporary one.

There flow the juices – oh. Gastric juices.  Marcillac acts as the super-digestible accompaniment to anything meaty from duck confit, cooked sausage, rillons and cassoulet (natch) to the famous beef from the L’Aubrac. Locally it is consumed with tripe and aligot (mashed potato and cheese) and Aveyron cheeses such as Cantal.

“Lo Sang del Pais” is Occitan dialect meaning “the blood of the country”. Or, as I’m fond of repeating, it’s a wine that enjoys wearing its guts for garters. This wine is a classic representation of the soil, the micro-climate and the grape variety. It is made in the traditional style using tank rather than oak to preserve the intrinsic flavours of the terroir, the place where the vines grow. Minimal mediation, in this case, maximises the purity of flavour. I love the image of the blood of the countryside; these sanguine wines seem to leach their flavours from the soil itself. The medieval citizens of Rodez used to take Marcillac for their health, because it was preferable to drinking the local water. More recently, Pascal Monestier, the son of a pharmacist in Marcillac, in a thesis on the prevention of cholesterol by the consumption of wine discovered especially high concentrations of cathecine and procyanidins – anti-cholesterol agents. Well, as the bible says, “Take a little wine for thy stomach”!