Les Clos Perdus
Corbieres
Languedoc, France
Recommended by Jancis Robinson
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This very small, new Domaine, started in 2003 by Englishman Hugo Stewart and Australian Paul Old, handcrafts tiny quantities of spectacular wines from very old vines grown biodynamically. This is one of the Domaines that Jancis Robinson was referring to when she advised that “fine wine lovers need not concern themselves with the mass market… but would be fools to ignore what the smaller domains in the south of France offer. This is France’s hidden treasure – handcrafted wines from an ideal Mediterranean climate”.
The Corbieres appellation is huge, with over 13,000 hectares stretching from the Mediterranean to some 60km inland. Much wine is mass produced and seen as a source of cheap and easy wine. However, a few producers such as Les Clos Perdus are taking a new angle and, investing considerable care and energy, setting out to make truly distinctive and special wines.
Clos Perdus means lost vineyards and reflects Stewart and Old original intention to search for small parcels of old vines, largely disregarded by larger producers because of the inconvenience of working them. These old vines would give them the kind of intensity, concentration and depth of flavour that would enable them to craft a range of distinctive blends.
Today they have vines in 3 different locations: very old Mourvedre and Carignan on the coastal plain near the village of Peyriac; younger, but very low yielding, vines of Grenache and Cinsault just inland from Peyriac; and Grenache and Syrah inland in the Agly Valley not far from Maury. They hand work the vines organically and biodynamically with the aim of achieving very low yields and therefore allow the vine to express its intrinsic nature.
They work out of a very modest cellar in the beautiful old village of Peyriac sur Mer situated on a flamingo filled lagoon just south of Narbonne. With a total production of only around 20,000 bottles, Stewart and Old are, and can afford to be, very labour intensive. The grapes are carefully handpicked into very small crates then destemmed and fermented using wild yeasts in small stainless steel vats with each plot and variety kept separate. The wine is always moved very gently, according to lunar cycles and with minimal aeration. The wines are basket pressed.
Stewart and Old themselves are two lively, thoughtful characters. Stewart was a former farmer in England. And Old was formerly a dancer who fell in love with wine in Australia and trained there but, like Stewart, an old friend, was attracted by the beauty and viticultural riches of the region he now lives in. He now lives above the cellar with his wife, also a dancer, and young son.
Wines produced by Les Clos Perdus are 100% estate grown, vinified and bottled
The Vine Ltd is sole and exclusive distributor in Japan and imports directly from Les Clos Perdus by reefer container
