Summer-Aid: $170 “A Mediterranean Summer in Saint-Chinian” — 6 Bottles of New Vintage Wine from Mas Champart (All Included and Delivered)

Back in 1976, Isabelle Champart, a Parisian with a degree in Geography, and her husband Mathieu, from a family of farmers in Champagne, began cultivating vines on a humble 20 acre farmstead. For close to twelve years they sold their grapes to the local cooperative but once they decided to bottle under their own label of Domaine Mas Champart they gained almost instant acclaim. Since then, they’ve acquired another 40 acres planted with vines, orchards, and arable crops. Mathieu tends to the vines, Isabelle makes the wines, and this small slice of the Languedoc is their life. Once, when asked by a visitor if they had children, Isabelle swept her hand across the outside of their winery and answered immediately, “Look around. This is my child.”

The place is Saint-Chinian: A gusty, drought-ridden expanse clambering up out of the Languedoc Plain, with Mount Caroux and Mount Espinouse furnishing a picturesque backdrop. It’s there on the southern slopes of clay and limestone that Isabelle and Mathieu are creating singular and impressive wines in this ancient region that has seen a tremendous surge in quality over the past couple of decades. From the beginning the Champarts have employed sustainable and organic techniques in their farming, reflecting their desire to protect and preserve the environment.

Included in A Mediterranean Summer in Saint-Chinian Wine-Aid Package is two bottles of each:

The price includes tax and delivery, as well as a 10% discount. We will also honor a 10% discount on any bottles you might wish to add to the Wine-Aid package. 

Mas Champart Blanc (IGP Pays d’Oc 2018) Regular Price: $29

Mas Champart Blanc is a blend of 70% Terret and 30% Grenache Gris from vines planted in 1900 on a limestone plateau with remarkably stony soils. Vinification and maturation is carried out in 500 liter Austrian barrels for nine months. The wine was bottled in August 2019. A sublimely balanced drink: late-harvested Terret provides heady aromatics and richness while the Grenache Gris, harvested earlier in the season, adds tension and mineral freshness. Only 2,500 bottles were produced.

“Causse de Bousquet” (Saint-Chinian 2017) Regular Price: $25

A bit different than earlier, syrah-heavy vintages, the 2017 vintage “Causse de Bousquet” is a blend of 35% Syrah, 30% Grenache, 20% Carignan/Cinsault, and 15% Mourvèdre from a number of plots on different terroirs to provide the aromatic complexity and originality that the Champart’s are looking for in what you might call their flagship wine. It owes its name to the main terroir from which it comes: “Le Bousquet” is a broad limestone plateau at close to 1,000 feet in elevation where the hard rock extends through to the surface. Matured for 18 months in vat, it is a concentrated and sunny expression of Saint-Chinian. Only 8,650 bottles were produced.

“Clos de la Simonette” (Saint-Chinian 2017) Regular Price $33

An absurdly low-yield blend of 65% Mourvèdre, 20% Grenache and 15% Carignan from multiple plots. The Mourvèdre is planted 750 feet above sea level on steep hillside terraces that are particularly well exposed. The Grenache comes from the wines’ namesake plot, the stony and well-drained “la vigne de Simonette” that is surrounded by dry-stone walls. The plot containing the Carignan has soils similar to “Simonette” but there the vines are 70 and 100 years old. With the hot and dry 2017 vintage, extractions were quite short, balancing out deep and powerful fruit with freshness. This is truly one of the best values for long-term cellaring available. Only 4,740 bottles were produced.

We are committed to providing you with your wine needs in the safest way possible. We do encourage you to take advantage of our back door pick-up or free delivery. We can easily process the payment of your purchase over the phone and load you up without you needing to get out of the car. Or we can deliver it to your doorstep for free (within a reasonable distance of our shop) and leave it there for you to bring in at your convenience.

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Posted on 2020.07.14 in France, Wine-Aid Packages, Languedoc-Roussillon