2009 Domaine Le Pas de l'Escalette Les Clapas Rouge

Although bottled only a week before I tasted it, Pas de l’Escalette’s 2009 Coteaux du Languedoc Terrasses du Larzac Les Clapas displays the clarity and purity of fruit – though, to be sure, along with complex animal and mineral dimensions – that were absent in the corresponding Les Petits Pas. High-toned black raspberry and strawberry in the nose have their ripe, vividly juicy counterpart on a silken palate infused with bittersweet herbs and piquant cherry pit. There is precision, lift, and infectious mouthwatering persistence here such as one can by no means take for granted in its vintage. (But then, we are dealing with one of the viticultural Languedoc’s coolest spots here.) Hints of chalk and peat add further intrigue. I would expect this to be worth following for at least 6-8 years. Since 2002, Julien Zernott and Delphine Rousseau have farmed spectacularly steep, chalky stone terraces high above the river Orb outside Pegairolles de l’Escalette (population ca. 150), on the western rim of the Terrasses du Larzac. And “spectacular” is hardly an exaggeration to describe the wines I tasted in this young couple’s superbly-equipped new winery. Spread across the Orb’s wide gorge and comprising the estate are both east- and west-facing parcels, which benefit (truly!) from a corresponding limitation on either afternoon or morning sunlight, accentuating the effects of lower temperatures and higher rainfall found here than elsewhere in the Languedoc. Rigorous triage of fruit from vines averaging 45 years in age (their 60 year old Carignan are not the ones Zernott and Rousseau refer to as “vieilles vignes”!) and spontaneous fermentation in large wooden (tapered-sided) “tronconique” are the norm, with stainless steel relegated to assemblage and the production of a little rose. Zernott and Rousseau both arrived here from their native Loire, and he reports having had responsibility in the cellar of Henry Pelle for 16 years, though in that case it seems as though he must have begun working there as a child! Had my schedule permitted me the time, they would have been happy to show me their 2007 reds and 2006 white as well, but I am promised – and promise to report on – that experience when I return in 2013. Imported by Elite Wines, Lorton, VA; tel.(703) 339-8150; Joli Vin Imports, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 849-9861 and Sussex Wine Merchants, Moorestown, NJ; tel. (856) 608-9644