I normally have a reasonably good idea what to expect when I visit a wine region as they are generally well defined in terms of the style of the wines and the location of the best vineyards. However, at the end of last year I spent a few days in the Roussillon (South of France, near Perpignan) and it is one of the most varied and enigmatic wine regions I have visited.
The landscape and ancient vine stock tell you the Roussillon has much in common with the Catalan region of Spain, which it adjoins to the south - and the region was in fact under Spanish control for a brief period of history.
The area inland of Perpignan is the Vallee de L'Agly and it rises steeply towards the edge of the Pyrenees offering stunning views of snow capped mountains over the top of vines. The geography provides very cool nights to balance the warm days and steep hillsides for good exposure to the sun. It's not all perfect though. There is precious little rainfall and the older vine stock is very low yielding.
In recent years ambitious winemakers have flocked to these schist soils to breathe new life into the region with a focus on high quality wines. It is an extraordinary area for diversity with many different indigenous red and white grape varieties that are blended differently depending on what the winemaker grows and the style they prefer. There is also a wide selection of dessert wines ranging from the light floral Muscats to the dark and brooding Maury wines that are more akin to Port.
After multiple tastings I was very impressed with the quality and drinkability of Roussillon wines. And the dessert wines particularly offered exceptional value for money. But because of the variety in styles I was unable to identify what a typical Roussillon red or white should taste like. The wines seemed to lack a definitive style and I did not get a strong sense of 'terroir' that wines from other French regions have in abundance. This is not necessarily a problem as good wine is good wine, it's just unusual to feel so free to judge for myself a well known wine region.
In the end I opted to buy some excellent Roussillon wines that in my opinion seemed to emulate the style of another great wine region - the Rhone. Chateau de Rey is situated on the other side of Perpignan - right next to the sea. The soil is extremely fertile and the Tramontane winds allow the grapes to rest on the vines longer for optimum ripeness without mildew setting in. The result is a selection of wines with fantastic fullness and intensity of flavour - and a wonderful expression of the grape varieties. The dominant grape variety is Syrah for the red and Roussanne for the white, much like you would find in expensive northern Rhone wines such as Hermitage. I also bought their Rivesaltes dessert wine - deep tawny in colour with flavours of caramel and raisins. It goes fantastically well with cheese.
Perhaps I failed to truly get to grips with the grape varieties of the Roussillon, but I found some very good wines.
You can buy these Roussillon wines at Hedonist Wines
