Tasting the Baby Wines

“I won’t work a vineyard if I can’t hear the terroir speak to me.” Those were almost the first words Manuel Jorel said to me. I was tasting barrel samples with him in his garage-winery in the village of St. Paul de Fenouilledes, a small town about 45 minutes west of Perpignan on the D117,

Mid-February is a good time to take a peek inside the barrels and tanks to sample last fall’s vintage. The wine is still a baby, of course, but it is starting to come together. With a little practice it is possible to get some clues about where it is going.

Jorel has made wine in various parts of southern France for more than 20 years, but when he opened his own winery in 2000 he came home to the Fenouilledes and Roussillon. His winery is a two car garage, crammed with small tanks and other winemaking gear. There is a tiny cellar below, reached only by a steep ladder, where a few dozen barrels take up almost all available space. In the event that you are over six feet tall, you will won’t be able to stand up straight.

The tiny cellar was once part of a series of tunnels carved from almost solid rock under the old town in the 10th and 11th centuries. The region has been fought over since Roman times and when the next army passed through, the inhabitants would hide out in the tunnels. All in all, it seems put to better use now.

Jorel makes about 20,000 bottles of wine a year in the space that is smaller than the tasting rooms of most California wineries. Of course, there is no tasting room at Domaine Jorel. Jorel has put together a patchwork of small vineyards around St. Paul, all organically farmed and mostly Grenache, both red and white, and a bit of Carignan. He has been steadily adding vineyards since he started the Domaine, and now has about eight hectares. But not just any vines will do for Jorel.

“I’m looking for old vine Grenache, primarily. I would be interested in vines between 60 and 100 years old. I don’t think Grenache really opens up until it has had some time. Wine from 20-year-old vines is just not the same. The vines are too young. Grenache reflects the soil, the terroir more than any other varietal,” he said. “The roots of the old vines go very deep. They can find water in dry years and they also add to the minerality of the finished wines

Jorel is passionate about the vineyards and the wine. It may sound foolish to the ears of the world’s money grubbers, but he is not in the game for the money. Sure, he has to make a living. He does not have an independent income, but the truth is he would probably make more money and work less if he left the land and moved to the city.

He is part of a new wave of growers and winemakers who are re-discovering the tremendous potential of Languedoc-Roussillon. Many, like Jorel, are locals. Others are coming from Burgundy, Bordeaux, England, Australia and California. Like Jorel, they are discovering the pure pleasure of old vine Grenache.

At the time of our tasting, Jorel was making wine from 12 different vineyards, producing up to eight different bottlings a year. That’s a lot of wine for a one man operation, plus he takes care of the vineyards as well. At harvest, the entire extended family joins in to pick the grapes. The vineyards are at different altitudes and exposures, so he can spread out the harvest over several weeks.

The barrel samples were incredible. The wines, each from a single vineyard, were, in general, rich and intense with each cuvee showing individual character. I made a few comments and Jorel said. “You can go for either high yield and inexpensive wines, or you can look for something special. I prefer something special.”

Only Connect

Domaine Jorel, 28 Rue Arago, 66220 St.-Paul de Fenouillet; domainejorel@orange.fr. www.fenouilledes-selection.com.

Larry Walker