The Viognier grapes for this wine are sourced in the Hérault and in the Aude Valley (southern part of the Minervois area) in the IGP Pays d’Oc. The approx. 10-year-old vines grow on slopes at an altitude of 150-200 m.a.s.l. with a clayey and calcareous subsoil, which produces fruity, crisp and aromatic wines. The nearby Cévennes and Pyrenees mountains provide the vineyards with reasonable amounts of rain, which ensure deep water reserves.
The grapes are harvested early in the morning while they are still cool. Immediately after arrival in the cellar, the grapes are pressed and fermented coolly in steel tanks. The wine is then matured “sur lie” for a few months in steel tanks, without prior malolactic fermentation, to preserve the wine’s freshness and bite.
The wine has a nice, golden colour. The scent is very classic with slightly exotic shades of peaches, apricots and orange. The taste is on the dry end, with good freshness and a good bite as well as a rich aftertaste. A complex and charming Viognier. Try it as an aperitif, with fish and shellfish. It could also be perfect for, for example, oxtail soup or a strong consommé. Serve chilled (10°C) but not ice cold.
It is Laurent Delaunay and his company, Badet Clément, who are behind Abbotts & Delaunay in Languedoc. He himself is the 5th generation in the Bourgogne Delaunay family, and thus today also owns the Bourgogne company Edouard Delaunay. Badet Clément actually started by advising wine producers in Bourgogne, Languedoc, Rhône and Provence and later produced wines in the same areas himself. In 2005, he had the opportunity to take over the wine company Abbotts and the associated property, “La Métairie d’Alon”, located in Magrie, southwest of the city of Carcassonne in the high-lying part of the Aude valley (Limoux). The company had been founded in 1996 by the Australian woman, Nerida Abbotts, and the name of the company then became Abbotts & Delaunay. Laurent Delaunay and the team behind Badet Clément have over the years gained extensive experience with wine production in South-East France (not least in Languedoc) and are therefore today a highly regarded company in the area.
The series “Métayage” (organic wines), “Les Fleurs & Fruits Sauvages” and “Les Petites Cuvées” from Abbotts & Delaunay are produced on plots which are partly located on the property where the wines are vinified, La Métairie d’Alon (organically grown) and partly in the Limoux area and at the foot of the Hérault mountains north of Béziers. The property’s original rather dominant “Australian style” has gradually undergone a change towards a more “Languedoc-true style”. When it comes to the wines, however, they have an unmistakable and rather charming touch from Burgundy in them – not least of course in the wines based on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. It is the fresh, elegant and complex style that is prioritized here!
Languedoc is located in the south-east of France, with the Mediterranean Sea as its neighbour. The area is one of the most important wine regions in France in terms of production quantity and size, and in recent years it has undergone a fantastic development in terms of quality. A new generation of wine producers has been adept at exploiting the opportunities that new wine regulations have provided, i.a. with the use of better grape varieties, lower yields and more adapted vinification techniques.
In addition to classic AOC/AOP districts such as Côteaux du Languedoc/Languedoc, Corbières, Fitou, Minervois and Faugères, Languedoc has long been known for no less than approx. 60 protected land areas, so-called IGP districts (Indication Geographique Protegée). They were previously known as Vin de Pays (VdP – country wines), but in 2009 they were changed to IGP, at the same time as opening up the possibility of writing on the label which grape varieties are used in the wine. IGP Pays d’Oc is a so-called “regional IGP” and covers the whole of Languedoc (Hérault, Aude and Gard). Good producers know how to utilize soil, climate, grape varieties and modern equipment to make excellent and characterful wines – often at reasonable prices.
