Grape Variety: Carignan

Colour:

Red

From Priorat and Terra Alta through Ampurda-Costa Brava into the Catalan region of France around Perpignan, dominating the wines of Fitou, Corbieres, Minervois, Faugeres and Saint-Chinian, Carignan is still one of the signature grape varieties of the Mediterranean. Nubbly old bush-vines naturally give very low yields and as a consequence the wines from Carignan often bear an edgily distinctive terroir signature.

Nicole and John Bojanowski from Clos du Gravillas are passionate advocates of Carignan and make a superb old vine version called “Lo Vielh” in Saint-Jean de Minervois - plenty of colour, round tannins and spicy blackberry fruit flavours - no rough edges here! This would be nice with grilled duck breast or pigeon pastilla. A couple of years ago they invited the best exponents of this grape to the Languedoc display their wines to sceptical journalists. That was then…

Carignan – so many prestigious wine writers (you know who you are) have had to gnaw the numble entrails of what they have written regarding this grape. Previously dismissed as “a workhorse variety”; “not capable of greatness”; “should be grubbed up in favour of Syrah”; “the bane of the European wine industry” and “only distinguished by its disadvantages”, it is now perceived as one of the signature grapes of the Languedoc-Roussillon, lending terroir character to blends, or standing out in its own right by expressing uniquely bold flavours. As Marjorie Gallet and Olivier Pithon illustrate magnificently it is not necessary to subject this grape to carbonic maceration to smooth out the rough edges and highlight the fruit: the same effect can be achieved by naturally low yields, gentle extraction and traditional vinification techniques. Carignan is a more efficient vehicle for terroir than Syrah and Grenache particularly on the poor schistous soils (worked by maso-schistes) that characterise much of the Roussillon and eastern Languedoc. As Andrew Jefford writes in The New France: “The greatest wines of the Languedoc never taste easy or comfortable; they taste as if handfuls of stones had been stuffed in a liquidiser and ground down to a dark pulp with bitter cherries, dark plums, firm damsons and tight sloes.” Carbonic maceration can, nevertheless, delightfully soothe the sauvage grain. Take Raymond Julien’s Clos de l’Azerolle. This is 100% Carignan, high-toned, smooth, silky and linear with superb poise. The grape variety is in no way compromised by the vinification and reveals that exhilarating freshness and fine structure are not mutually exclusive notions.  Carignan really flourishes in Corbières, particularly in the zone of Boutenac which is a chaotic mixture of sandstone, schist, limestone and marl. La Forge, a tiny parcel of 100-year-old vines owned by Gérard Bertrand, is a notable amalgam of power and finesse, old-fashioned respect for terroir and grape allied to scientific know-how. Carignan is also being heavily promoted in neighbouring Fitou (a geological scrapyard – Jefford) – once again old vines provide the blood of the wine. Of course, Carignan is most often tasted in blends with Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre and Cinsault. Two viewpoints: firstly, the desire to express local terroir by using traditionally cultivated varieties, and, secondly, the incorporation into appellation rules of a higher proportion of “noble” varieties (in particular Syrah and Mourvèdre). The theological debate will run for centuries; what is not in doubt is the resurrection, or rather the establishment of Carignan’s status as a grape capable of producing serious, challenging and rather wonderful wines, a fact that mirrors the rise of the reputation of the Languedoc-Roussillon.

LES CAVES DE CARIGNAN – THE UNUSUAL SUSPECTS

Fitou, Domaine de Roudène – 50% Carignan (Grenache/Syrah). 50-100 year old vines, traditional vinification. Used oak
Corbières, Chateau Ollieux Romanis – 40-60% Carignan (depending on cuvée) 50-100 year old vines. 12-18 months in barrel
Corbières Boutenac, La Forge – 50% Carignan. 100++-year-old vines; carbonic maceration; 18 months new barriques
Minervois, Clos de l’Azerolle – 100% Carignan vines; 50 years old; carbonic maceration; stainless steel fermentation
Rendez Vous de Soleil, Clos du Gravillas – Carignan, Syrah, Cab Sauv; 90-year-old vines; stainless steel fermentation, some barrel-ageing
Faugères tradition, Domaine Leon Barral – 60% Carignan; old vines; cement and old wood
Faugères, Domaine du Météore – 40+% Carignan (Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache); 40+ year-old vines; carbonic maceration; elevage in old wood
Cotes du Roussillon, Olivier Pithon – 50% Carignan (Grenache); 100-year-old vines; traditional vinification; barrels and foudres
Cotes du Roussillon Villages, Domaine Le Roc des Anges – 30% Carignan (Grenache/Syrah); 80+ year-old-vines; fermented in concrete, aged in foudres
Frida, Cotes du Roussillon, Domaine des Foulards Rouges – 50% Carignan, 50% Grenache – 80 year old vines, tank fermented
Vin de Table, Domaine L’Anglore, Comeyre - 90% Carignan, 10% Grenache – 85 year old vines