Heretic! Heretic!

2003 Chateau d’Oupia "Les Heretiques" Vin de Pays l’Herault
February 2, 2005
Jen’s notes

How could you go wrong with a wine called The Heretics? I picked this one up at K&L Wine Merchants the other night, having gone there to buy the wine** for Shane’s birthday dinner. The blue-purple label immediately caught my eye, and then I saw that name. And then I saw that it was only $7.99! K&L’s write-up looked promising, so I figured, what the heck?

The label, by the way, bears a partial astronomical map, conjuring up images of poor Galileo proclaiming, "I recant! I recant!" Ah, if only he’d had this wine to give him strength; we wouldn’t recant at all, and look forward to enjoying it again.

The Goods

The wine is the dark red-purple of rubies, with hints of violets and berry fruit on the nose. Deceptively light in body, given the deep color. This is the perfect food wine – nice flavors, but not overwhelming; very clean and accessible. Although we detected the violet and cherry flavors in our first few sips, it took about half a glass or more to uncover deeper, rounder fruit, blended with peppery spices, cardamom and tobacco. This wine definitely developed more complexity in the glass. I found myself enjoying the second glass much more than the first. The flavors, harmonious from the beginning, practically sang on my palate, and seemed even more pronounced.

Region and Varietals

Les Heretiques is from the Languedoc region of France, which, over the last 15 years or so, has begun developing better and better wines. L’Herault, in particular, has seen improvements in planting and vinification techniques.

Interestingly, the varietals used in Languedoc, and l’Herault in particular, are often the same as those used in Rhone, such as Marsanne, Mourvedre, Syrah, Carignan and Grenache. One of the improvements in Languedoc is the increasing use of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot as well.

While Les Heretiques exhibited some lovely Rhone characteristics, such the hints of violet on the nose and palate, this wine was lighter in body than some of the Rhones to which we were accustomed.

The Nerd Lecture

There is an important distinction between a Vin de Pays (VdP), of which Les Heretiques is an example, and Vin du Pays. Vin de Pays means "country wine." This is the third-highest category in France’s quality control system. It is important to note that this system is purely regulatory; its purpose is to set certain minimum standards for the production of wine.

Conventional wisdom among American consumers of French wine is that Appellation d’Origine Controlee (AOC) is the only wine worth drinking. While AOC wines occupy the highest level in France’s system, this assertion is a mistake. Les Heretiques is merely one example of a delightful, food-friendly table wine that is often found among the VdP.

The rules for Vin de Pays are similar to those for AOC and the second category, Vin Delimite de Qualite Superieure (VDQS). The main difference is that for Vin de Pays, higher yields and lower alcohol content are permitted. Vin du Pays, in contrast, means "local wine" and has no legal meaning. In other words, it is not among the categories in France’s quality control system.



Footnotes:

** In celebration of Shane's birthday, we will be enjoying two old favorites: 2001 Nickel & Nickel Merlot, Harris Vineyard and 2000 Krohn Porto LBV. Check back soon for the tasting notes!

Acknowledgements: Herbst, The Wine Lover’s Companion (Barron’s 2003); K&L Wine Merchants, http://www.klwines.com