Château L’Hospitalet, La Clape AOC (Languedoc-Roussillon, France) 2018

 While the grape varieties for this wine are Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre, the Grenache fruit is what got my attention.  It is up front and juicy, luscious, and delectable, with strawberry, black cherry fruit and a touch of Syrah’s black pepper.  Mourvedre contributes cassis, black fruit and rich mouthfeel.  Heady aromatics are contributed by garrigue, the local herbal mélange of woody plants including lavender, thyme and rosemary.  Serve it with a grilled steak.  By way of background, La Clape is a unique AOC within of the much larger Languedoc AOC in the south of France.  Located about four miles from the Mediterranean Sea south of the city of Narbonne, several hundred years ago it was a Roman island.  The estate of Château L’Hospitalet, includes a winery, hotel, two restaurants and the headquarters of Gérard Bertrand, wine producer and négociant.  In total, Bertrand owns and manages 2100 acres of biodynamically farmed vineyards across 15 family-owned estates in the South of France.  He considers the region an ideal place to farm organically and biodynamically because of the proximity of the sea and the area winds that the help dry the vines after spring rains preventing diseases.