In bottle under two weeks when I tasted it, the red l’Hortus 2009 Coteaux du Languedoc Pic Saint-Loup Grande Cuvee smells of peat, wood smoke, quarry dust, and leather mingled with cherry and red raspberry. Ample and glycerin-rich yet persistently brightly-fruited and fine-grained in tannin, its palate performance belies the more evolved or animal traits that I was led to anticipate by the nose. There is a balanced and intriguing mingling of carnal, mineral, and fruit nuances in the rather restrained finish, which I hope and suspect will have become more expressive once the wine put some time between itself and its bottling date. This ought to be one worth following for at least half a dozen years. The pioneering Orliac family’s dramatically-situated, Domaine de l’Hortus – for more on which, as well as about their Clos du Prieur estate at Saint-Jean de Bueges in the Terrasses du Larzac (whose wines I have reviewed here under the “Hortus” covering designation) see my report in issue 183 – continue to fine-tune their expertise both in the vineyards (which I had further opportunity to traipse in their company on the occasion of my April visit) and the cellar. The Orliacs are getting more opportunity than they really welcome to explore alternative clones and selections of Syrah, because like so many Languedoc growers – but especially those in Pic Saint-Loup – they are experiencing worrisomely high rates of mortality from a mysterious fungal malady in that cepage. The downdrafts from the gap between this region’s signature Pic Saint-Loup and Hortus peaks strike the Orliacs’ Domaine de l’Hortus first and with greatest force, so it’s not surprising that the cool concentration of 2010 was enhanced here even on the high, rocky, south-facing so-called “Three Steps” that ripen their Mourvedre (and above that, olives). In fact, the Mourvedre ripened sooner than Orliacs had expected in 2010, while Syrah accentuated the vintage-typical lateness of harvest. Some of the raw material in red from this highly-promising season – which, on the whole, shows head-turning perfume and fantastic finesse – was still in malo. (A portion had experimentally been put into demi-muids rather than barrique, though it was far too early when I visited for them or me to draw any even tentative conclusions.) As for the 2010 whites, final blending decisions had not yet been made for the Grande Cuvee but the materials have the making of this estate’s best-ever. Speaking of late harvests, the Mourvedre was not picked in 2008 at Hortus until October 10 – and the Syrah mid-September – with results uncannily well-balanced; full of nuance; and downright refreshing. On the other hand, a decision was made not to bottle a Clos du Prieur because in that cool, breezy, high-elevation location (some dozen kilometers north of St.-Jean-de-Fos along the gorge of the Herault), the fruit was simply deemed insufficiently ripe. By contrast, 2009 – as one would expect – commenced precociously. Still, the harvest was not completed at Hortus until the end of September, but then with marginally disappointing results when judged against this estate’s outstanding track record; whereas the Clos Prieur red distinguished itself. Interestingly, Orliac wines tend to inhabit a relatively narrow – and, for the Languedoc, low – band of finished alcohol between 13.5% and 14% year in, year out.Domaine de l’Hortus’ importers are Eric Solomon Selections, Charlotte, NC; tel. (704) 358-1565 and Beaune Imports, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 559 1040 (Michael Sullivan) whose proprietors rather remarkably, notes Jean Orliac, first visited him within days of one another more than a quarter century ago to taste the estate’s inaugural collection.
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