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Roussillon and Maury
This month, our intrepid French Winophiles are going far under-the-radar to the community of Maury in Roussillon. As if Roussillon isn’t already under-the-radar! Roussillon is located in the far southwest tip of France. It borders on Spain and is surrounded by the Mediterranean and a variety of mountains including the Pyrenées. How’s that for remote? Maury is one of the communities of Roussillon, best known as the home of the Vins Doux Naturels, fortified wines from France. In recent years they have added normal red table wines. Scroll farther down in this post for more Maury finds from my fellow French Winophiles.

Maury – Savory
Maury and the rest of Roussillon wine fame was historically built on their Vins Doux Naturels. However, the region has a wide variety of microclimates given proximity to the Mediterranean and a variety of exposures and altitudes in the foothills of the Pyrenées and Courbières Mountains. Recently, the region has increasingly become known for dry wines and in 2011 was granted AOC status for dry red wines. Principal grape varieties include Grenache Noir and Carignan.

Mas Amiel “Legende” Maury Sec AOC 2015 ( $20 available online here) 15% abv
Cabirou parcel from 1949, Grenache Noir 80% Carignan 20% planted on schist and gravelly clay.
Eye: deep ruby
Nose: medium plus intensity aromas of violets and elderflower, fresh ripe, blueberries, blackberries, blackberry pie filling, rosemary, juniper.
Mouth: Dry, medium plus acidity, medium plus grippy, sandpaper tannins, full body, high alcohol, medium plus intensity flavors, medium plus finish. Flavors follow the nose with deep dark fruits and rosemary lingering.
Observations: A big red wine from a warm place, this wine definitely shows where it’s from. Felt right at home with herb crusted lamb chops.

Maury – Sweet
Historically, the region has been known for their fortified wines known as Vins Doux Naturels (VDN). During fermentation, a neutral grape spirit (think flavorless brandy) is added to the fermenting must. The French term for this is “mutage”. This addition kills the yeast and stops fermentation, resulting in a higher alcohol wine with natural sweetness. So far, the process is similar to that of Port from Portugal. The wines may then be aged in large casks for multiple years. Rancio wines are a unique specialty of Maury. After aging in cask, the wines are poured into 60 liter glass demi-johns and left out in the open for a full year. The demi-johns are neither full nor sealed and they sit out in the sun and the weather. This exposure produces the unique rancio flavors from oxidation, solar radiation and whatever Mother Nature delivered that year.

Domaine du Dernier Bastion Maury Rancio AOP “Vielle au Soleil” 2007 ($38 available online here) 15.5% abv
Domaine du Dernier Bastion is a historic winery, established in 1798. Their Rancio wine is 100% Grenache Noir and is only produced in the best vintages.
Eye: Medium tawny
Nose: Medium plus intensity aromas of raisins, prunes, dried figs, butterscotch, caramel, toasted pecans, musty basement.
Mouth: Medium sweet, medium plus acidity, medium minus silky tannins, full body, low alcohol (15.5% is considered low for a fortified wine), pronounced flavors, long finish. Flavors follow the nose with dried fruits, raisins, figs, caramel, toasted pecans, and just a hint of that musty basement.
Observations: If you’re a fan of oxidized fortified wines such as Tawny Port, Cream Sherry, you definitely should seek out a Rancio wine from Maury. Drink it with a bit of a chill as your dessert. My first choice pairing would be nuts and hard cheeses after dinner, but it was surprisingly good with Julie’s scratch sponge cake with strawberries and mascarpone.

Maury Finds by the French Winophiles
Take a look below at the Maury wines our Winophiles detectives were able to uncover. Why not join our chat on Saturday, June 19 from 10-11am CDT on Twitter? Just search for us at the #Winophiles tag.

• Linguini with Tuna and White Beans and a Rose from Maury written by Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm
• A Riff on Clapassade + Château Saint Roch Chimeres 2016 from Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Sipping sweet Maury Vin Doux Naturel in strawberry season from Linda, My Full Wine Glass
• Coming home and finding a new home – the stories of two wines from Maury as told by Robin from Crushed Grape Chronicles
• The Maury Region from Cathie at Side Hustle Wino
• Looking at the Sweeter Side of Maury from Susannah from Avvinare
• Maury Savory and Sweet shared by Jeff at Food Wine Click!
• Two Sides of Maury in Roussillon: Sweet and Dry from Lynn at Savor the Harvest
• A Search for Roussillon’s Maury shared by Gwendolyn from Wine Predator

Rack of Lamb with Vegetable Tian
The Mas Amiel Legende was a natural with our rack of lamb. Savory and structured, it balanced the rich lamb and both wine and food had subtle herbal notes that each seemed to highlight in the other. I wasn’t really expecting the Dernier Bastion Rancio wine to pair well with the strawberry cake, but the butterscotch and nutty notes in the wine were a nice additional to all the fresh fruit and mascarpone in the cake.