The Languedoc region of France is expansive, stretching about 125 miles from east to west and up to 100 miles from the Mediterranean to the north. Planted within its borders are some 500,000 acres of grape vines, representing more than 30 grape varieties. Depending on how you count them, there are over 60 defined growing zones, including 35 appellations or sub-appellations.

Geologically, this is where the continents of Europe and Africa collide, resulting in a wide diversity of soil types—limestone, clay, sandstone, sand, gravel, schist, and others. It’s also the home of several microclimates, grape varieties, and a wide range of wine styles. There is a lot to chew on here, so for ease let’s start with noteworthy appellations in the eastern part of the region.

The Appellations

Terrasses du Larzac

If there is one appellation in the Languedoc that connoisseurs should look out for, it is Terrasses du Larzac, an amorphous zone that stretches about 30 miles east to west as it skirts the southern edge of the Massif Centrale mountain range. It is marked by a white, calcareous plateau that overlooks the area, the Causse du Larzac, below which wind two river gorges. Although it is bathed in Mediterranean sunshine and not especially high in elevation, its proximity to the mountains provides the area with cool evening winds, even in the summer, that lengthen grape ripening time and preserve acidity.

It is home to varied topography and multiple soil types that create a multiplicity of expressions for the appellation’s 100 winemakers. Within Terrasses are Montpeyroux and St-Saturnin, two sub-appellations distinct enough to be recognized on their own, as well as producers like Mas de Daumas Gassac and Grange des Pères. Both are situated in Terrasses but remain bureaucratically outside of it since they don’t limit themselves to the authorized grape varieties (Grenache Noir, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Carignan, and Counoise).

Pic Saint-Loup

Pic Saint-Loup, just east of Terrasses du Larzac, is home to two geographic landmarks—L’Hortus, a calcareous mountain plateau, and Pic Saint-Loup, a jagged peak that resembles an inverted wolf’s tooth (from which the appellation takes its name). Somewhat more compact than Terrasses and with more homogenous soils (mostly various conglomerations of limestone), the Syrah-dominant wines of Pic Saint-Loup tend to have a velvety freshness to them, yet they can hold up for a decade or more. Mourvèdre and Grenache, Carignan and Cinsault also play a role here.

Cabrières

Cabrières (officially Languedoc-Cabrières) is an anomaly in the region because it is known for rosé, which was a favorite of the Bourbon court. The appellation’s schist soil is responsible for the signature freshness that the wines are known for. Some years ago, the area’s prideful winemakers pushed back against a proposal to incorporate the zone into next-door Terrasses du Larzac.

Languedoc-Sommières/Langlade

Moving east in the direction of Nîmes is Languedoc-Sommières, an appellation known as much for its olive trees as its wines. The focal point here is the small village of Langlade (technically a part of Sommières AOP), the source of some transcendent wines that were so esteemed in the 19th century to the point of being compared with Burgundy’s finest. Due to the ravages of phylloxera, viticulture petered out in the area to the point of near extinction. A small revival took place in the 1980s, and by 2015 there were six wineries.

Still, the village would be a footnote if not for Roc d’Anglade. Not only is it the finest in its village, it’s one of the finest in the south of France. The estate’s steep, terraced vineyards face due north, an unusual orientation in the region, which shortens daily sun exposure to grapes and allows them to preserve freshness and highlight delicacy. Because they are not interested in going through the bureaucratic process of obtaining AOP status, proprietors Rémy and Martine Pédréno label their wine under a lesser classification—IGP du Gard (appearing on their labels as Vin de Pays du Gard).

Recommended Wines and Producers

[Note—a number of importers have spent decades exploring the Languedoc. Seek out wines offered by Becky Wasserman & Co., Louis/Dressner, Kermit Lynch, Martine’s Wines, Neil Rosenthal, Polaner Selections, Selection Pas Mas, United Estates/Patrick Allen Selections, Weygandt Selections.]

Whites
Ermitage du Pic Saint-Loup Sainte Agnès 2018 Languedoc ($33)

This wine is a blend of Roussanne, Grenaches Blanc and Gris, Marsanne, and a soupçon of Clairette. When I first tasted it, I wasn’t aware that it was seven years old. It’s that fresh, with the delicacy of white alpine flowers, Seckel pear, and a squeeze of Meyer lemon, all grounded by savory leesiness. The Pic Saint-Loup appellation, where it’s made, doesn’t cover white wines, so this takes the generic Languedoc classification for reasons of bureaucracy (not quality). Find a younger vintage and cellar for a decade.

Mas Jullien Blanc 2021 IGP d’Hérault ($56)

The Terrasses du Larzac is limited to red wines, so those making whites have to resort to a more generic label (Hérault being the name of the département, or county). Still, there’s nothing at all common about this wine. It’s redolent with the flavors of late summer stone fruit meeting early autumn heirloom apples and pears, clementines of winter, and a fresh breeze on a warm spring day. Beautiful now, this will be a knockout in a few years.

Roc d’Anglade Blanc 2023 Vin de Pays du Gard ($65)

A stunner made from a combination of grapes probably not known anywhere else—Carignan Blanc, Chardonnay, Chenin, Blanc, and Grenache Gris—this wine is rich with the scent of fresh crushed apples and pears that infuse the palate with lemon confit, honeycomb, and laurel. This wine has the energy to go for two decades.

Mas de Daumas Gassac Blanc 2023 IGP St-Guilhem Le-Désert ($69)

Mountain fresh with an aroma of sunshine beaming down upon a patch of wildflowers, this unusual blend of Viognier, Chardonnay, (Petit) Manseng, Chenin, Muscat, and Sauvignon is a delight. The mouth has the richness of candied lemon and orange stirred into ground almonds, and a vein of minerality and balancing acidity keep things together. Still, this would benefit from some time. 

Mas de Daumas Gassac Blanc 2013 IGP St-Guilhem Le-Désert ($160)

A decade older than the previous wine, its elements have definitely melded together. What was once grainy is now smooth, with an aroma of fine marzipan perfumed with orange blossoms. But there’s also an element of spiced, russet apples that adds to the wine’s sumptuousness, all of which is restrained by mouthwatering acidity. I imagine this will be magical even ten years later. 

Rosé
Gérard Bertrand Clos du Temple 2022 Cabrières ($190)

One of the Languedoc’s largest negociants, Bertrand owns ten estates in the region and is dedicated to promoting biodynamic viticulture. Some years ago he set his sights on making one of the world’s great, age-worthy rosés, and decided that Cabrières was the place to do it. He certainly succeeded in creating something sumptuous—the wine is laden with apricot and fine raspberry flavors, mandarin peel, and the sweet vanilla scent of oak. It’s seductive now, but it was designed for the ages.

Red
Roc d’Anglade 2020 Vin de Pays du Gard ($60)

The garrigue-filled hills around Langlade are certainly suggestive of what appears in the bottle—a wild, red, berry-scented wine, aromatic and earthy with undertones of fresh leather and sun-cured tobacco. A mouthwatering and elegant blend led by Carignan, this is a wine to share over time. This will appeal to lovers of Premier and Grand Cru Burgundy, but it is much cheaper.

Héritage du Pic St-Loup Tour des Pierres 2021 Pic St-Loup ($23)

Mostly Syrah with some Grenache Noir and Mourvèdre, this wine offers an indulgent dose of spice to start. It’s peppery with wild dark berry notes, the bright red fruit of Grenache, and earthiness of Mourvèdre, all girded by the stoniness proclaimed by the wine’s name. Though the winery makes fancier cuvées, this can be enjoyed for years. 

Mas des Chimères Nuit Grave 2022 Terrasses du Larzac ($23)

The sappiness of Syrah (70%) takes the lead, followed by Grenache Noir and a bit of Cinsault and Mourvèdre. There’s a sumptuousness to this wine with notes of dark berries, bitter chocolate, and vanilla-sweet oak, but it has the bones to hold up over time. Less for the ages, but still certainly worth seeking out, is the estate’s single variety wine Oeillade. Some say that this is an old type of Cinsault, others that it’s a different, archaic variety altogether—either way, it’s thoroughly delightful.

Les Vignes Oubliées 2019 Terrasses du Larzac ($35)

Made by an acolyte of Olivier Jullien (Mas Jullien, also recommended here), this wine from the forgotten vines of an abandoned vineyard has the exuberant energy of a lovable, wiry stray. It joyfully leaps on the palate with tart red berry, orange, and light herb flavors, along with lively acidity and a lithe, sturdy frame. Have fun with this for years to come.

Cal Demoura Les Combariolles 2021 Terrasses du Larzac ($52)

There’s a coolness to this wine—the result, perhaps, of the bracing winds that descend from the Causse overlooking the appellation. Vincent Goumard knits together a cashmere-textured wine from Syrah, Mourvèdre, Carignan, and Grenache Noir. The bright red fruit flavors pulsate with freshness, highlighted with a pinch of peppery spice, all framed by fine tannin. It’s terrific now, but losing it in the cellar for a decade will reveal ample rewards. If merino’s more your thing, Cal Demoura’s Terre de Jonquières offers a slightly more rustic experience for about two-thirds of the already reasonable price. 

Mas Jullien Autour de Jonquières 2020 Terrasses du Larzac ($56)

As mentioned before, one of the greatest of France’s underappreciated appellations is Terrasses du Larzac. Its nearly 100 winemakers take great advantage of cooler average temperatures, while enjoying the region’s unfiltered sunshine and unspoiled beauty. Overall, the quality is exemplary, but a few like Mas Jullien stand out. The wine has generous red berry flavors, but they save space for other elements like earth, bitter herbs, and wispy aromatics. There’s some mouthwatering acidity in the background, and the confident structure doesn’t impose. Place a case of this in the cellar with the fancy wines from other regions. 

Domaine d’Aupilhac Les Cocalières 2021 Montpeyroux ($42)

A subsection of Terrasses du Larzac that stands alone, Montpeyroux is best known in the U.S. for Sylvain Fadat’s wines at D’Aupillhac. He’s a big fan of Carignan—despite its deep roots in the region, it has suffered the disdain of many for a generation. Fadat makes a splendid, pure version from that variety, but he’s expert at others too, like Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache, Cinsault, and whites. The Les Cocalières Rouge blend has no Carignan, but it’s very much grounded in its place and exudes a sense of its vineyard’s limestone and basalt soils coated with ripe red fruit, smoke, and oily herb flavors. This has the stuff to revisit in a decade or more.

Mas de Daumas Gassac 2023 IGP St-Guilhem Le Désert ($65)

If there is one producer most responsible for reversing the pejorative opinion that people had of Languedoc wines, it’s Mas de Daumas Gassac. Forty-five years after the first vintage, this estate red is all about finesse—vibrant red fruit laced with aromatic herbs, fine pepper, and polished stone. Though it is three-quarters Cabernet Sauvignon, there’s no confusing this wine (in its youth, anyway) with wines from the Médoc. But the difference is in profile, not quality. That fades, however, as the wines near their second decade, but Daumas Gassac remains a wine from the south with the air of wild herbs and sunshine throughout. 

Other producers for collectors to search for: Alain Chabanon (Languedoc-Montpeyroux), Château Fontanès (Pic St-Loup), Château Lancyre (Pic St-Loup), Clos Marie (Pic St-Loup), Domaine de la Grange des Pères (IGP Pays d’Hérault), Domaine de L’Hortus (Pic St-Loup), Domaine de Montcalmès (Terrasses du Larzac), Domaine du Pas de l’Escalette (Terrasses du Larzac), Domaine Virgile Joly (Languedoc-St-Saturnin).