L'Oustal Blanc Naick Blanc Vin de Table, Languedoc-Roussillon, France

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The 2006 white Naick 6 is pungently floral and zesty in the nose, like a mingling of oranges with some mysterious orchid. Peach kernel, toasted hickory, and wet stone add a faintly bitter and austere side to the palate, and a saline savor, fresh peach, chalk dust, and citrus make for a piquant, almost endlessly lip-smacking and thought-provoking finish no less remarkable, but far more refined and classically white wine-like than that of the 2007. These l’Oustal whites simply have to be tasted to be believed, and I suspect this will be worth following for at least half a dozen years. Along with Roland Velich’s (Moric) ancient vines Gruner Veltliner – and perhaps not coincidently given their striking similarities in terroir and method – Naick white counts as my greatest white wine revelation of the past couple of years. Not all L’Oustal Blanc wines follow the blends permitted or the protocol prescribed for Minervois. A case in point is their remarkable whites, vinified in new and once-used Vosges demi-muids, and built around a rare stand of Grenache Gris, planted in 1948 under the direction of Baron Leroy (of Chateauneuf and A.O.C. fame) for blending with Grenache (the parcel that now informs Fonquerle’s Prima Dona – see below) to make fortified sweet wine. Macabeu plays a bit part in this l’Oustal white. Surely it’s no coincidence that what I unhesitatingly call the most exciting whites in the Languedoc share these two cepages with the most profoundly delicious whites of Roussillon. “Well, after all,” Fonquerle says when I point this out (discounting the Macabeu), “most of the world’s great wines are mono-cepage.”Importer: Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville, PA; tel. (610) 486-0800

The white Naick 7 of 2007 (this qualifying only as vin de table, no vintage date is permitted on the label) displays a richness of fruit, a body, and meaty, chewy, texture that I am sure would have led me to say “red wine,” if served from a jet-black glass. It’s as though a lot of veal bones and lobster shells had been cooked down to a demi-glace essence. Not that this wine is lacking for brightness, lift, or refreshment, though: there is a citrus streak enlivening its stock pot reduction of bones, marrow, and shells, almost as if this were Chablis. The finish won’t quit, and I imagine the wine will show stamina if cellared, too. Since this was just bottled when I tasted, and Fonquerle elected to filter for safety’s sake, it should prove yet more intensely expressive and more organized when you read this. Not all L’Oustal Blanc wines follow the blends permitted or the protocol prescribed for Minervois. A case in point is their remarkable whites, vinified in new and once-used Vosges demi-muids, and built around a rare stand of Grenache Gris, planted in 1948 under the direction of Baron Leroy (of Chateauneuf and A.O.C. fame) for blending with Grenache (the parcel that now informs Fonquerle’s Prima Dona – see below) to make fortified sweet wine. Macabeu plays a bit part in this l’Oustal white. Surely it’s no coincidence that what I unhesitatingly call the most exciting whites in the Languedoc share these two cepages with the most profoundly delicious whites of Roussillon. “Well, after all,” Fonquerle says when I point this out (discounting the Macabeu), “most of the world’s great wines are mono-cepage.”Importer: Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville, PA; tel. (610) 486-0800