Le Clos Centeilles

Technical data

1 - Grape varieties: Mourvèdre, Grenache Noir, Syrah
2 - Vinification: Complete destemming, vatting in open fermemtation, tanks, numerous "pigeages", press juice reincorporated into the free-run wine
3 - Maturation: In enamelled steel tanks. A percentage of it remains 10 to 12 months in casks that have already served for several wines...

About the Clos...

The "Clos Centeilles" owes a lot to Mourvèdre planted on marine limestones from the tertiary. Being among the very first in Languedoc-roussillon to have planted this very difficult varietal other than in limited experiments, we have the good fortune today to own vines which are well balanced both in age and production. As pioneers of its rehabilitation, we have "worsened our case" by pruning it in the "lyre" fashion which we have helped to propagate in the Languedoc. The Mourvèdre grape variety acquires an exceptional ripening quality with this method.
Twenty years of vinification have taught us to work with Mourvèdre and how to let it mature. As a result, for years now, we have been introducing this varietal in sometimes very large proportions, up to 90% in the 1985 cuvée. In order to produce a synergy generating even more complexity, we finnaly decided, in 1990, on the blend of a third Mourvèdre, Syrah and Grenache Noir.
While Mourvèdre is somewhat a thankless varietal which requires patience, the Syrah from our oldest parcels brings the harmony of its well-ripened tannins to our Clos. As for Grenache Noir, it is picked as roasted as possible and blended in the vat with one of the other two grape varieties which it will amplify. Its warmth will the cuvée with a smoothness which is specific to Grenache Noir.
Clos Centeilles is an ideal wine forlaying down which will not, however, remain taciturn over 10 years.

Personality

Who cares about analytic tasting (which admittedly applies very well to "technically made" wines, but whose discurive, descriptive approach is detailed to the point of something becoming obsessional, and so seems to obliterate the individual spirit of each wine).
The Clos Centeilles ? It has a regular robe of deep intensity, with the nuance of a still very "young" wine, tinted with purple.
Its aromas, at least shortly after bottling, are less expressive than those found in cuvées of Centeilles; being slightly more austere, perhaps, but also more mature, it gains in complexity what it looses in instant accessibility.
Because with Clos Centeilles it is mainly in the mouth that everything happens; its tannins from ripe grapes, very present at the tasting are, however, completely blended into the alcohol, giving a racy wine with finesse and a surprusingly velvety finish enveloping a good body. This just shows that a wine for laying down is not necessarily synonymous with sharp tannins. And then, gradually time has added to this global harmony a range of aromas which develop new nuances every day. Out of this general complexity emerge certain constant notes dominated alternately by fruit, spices or dried flowers. These aromas bounce back in the retronasal from the balance between tannins and mellowness.
Incidently: could one say that today there are "wines for smelling" and "wines for tasting" ? Well, Clos Centeilles is one of those wines made to be drunk; in other words, to be drunk with a meal. Of all of our wines, Clos Centeilles would appear to have undergone a qualitative evolution in the bottle which is slower and less ardent than the others, but which is more regular and shows the most promise for the future. This is a cuvée which is only just starting to develop its potential.