Languedoc: France or Spain? Or Catalan?

The recent Wine Advisor about Languedoc reminded me of events of September 2006 when I spent a week is the little sea side village of Banyul Sur Mer on the Mediterranean coast of France near the border with Spain. The hillsides were terraced and covered with grapes that were near harvest. Evey little town in the area seemed to have at least one “cellar”, which I learned meant winery. And the stores where locals shopped carried local wines. Of course I tried and enjoyed them all. Maybe they weren't really that good, and it was more the general atmosphere, but anyway...

I asked what kind of grapes they were growing, since there were obviously several kinds, mostly purple. The names they gave didn't sound like ones I am familiar with, and I wondered how much of that was translation. How do you say merlot in French? Or is merlot already a French word?

One name I remembered was carinyena. That did not ring any bells, but I later discovered that it is the name Catalans give to carignan, a grape that I didn't have any experience with, but is apparently common where I was.

And while there, I saw very few EU flags, and only a few more French ones. The most common flag was a yellow and red striped one which I learned was the flag of Catalan. I was told that “only some old people” speak Catalan and every one else speaks French (with a little English). But I remembered when the Olympics were in Barcelona, the Catalan nationalists had an add in TIME asking what country Barcelona is in. If you answered Spain, you were wrong. Catalan is the correct answer.

The area round Banyuls is more accurately described as being in Roussillon rather than Languedoc; the wider area encompassing both is known as Languedoc-Roussillon. A lot of the locals in Roussilon speak Catalan as well as French and look on Barcelona as a cultural capital. The official and teaching language is French although there was a recent attempt in revising the French constitution to give more recognition to local languages; I think that it got nowhere - rightly in my opinion.

With regard to the province of Catalonia in Spain, Catalan nationalism and culture were paradoxically encouraged by their ruthless repression during during the long rule of Generalissimo Franco. Today in Catalonia practically all public notices, teaching, etc. are in the Catalan language and the region enjoys extensive autonomy and wants even more. The same applies in the Spanish Basque province at the Western end of the Pyrenees, with the important difference that there is a violent side to the Basque independence movement in the form of the ETA guerrilla army. Basque speaking also overspills into nearby France.

The wine Banyuls is fortified like Port and therefore sweet, with the misnomer in French of Vin Doux Naturel. Dry red wines from the same immediate area are known as Collioure. The main red grape is Grenache but Mourvèdre, Carignan and Syrah are also planted. Perhaps the most famous estate is Banyuls is Domaine du Mas Blanc which has 19.3 hectares of red grapes, of which 90% is Grenache, 5% Mourvèdre and 5% Syrah, and 0.7 hectares of white grapes, of which 80% is Grenache blanc and 20% Muscat d'Alexandrie. Banyuls and Collioure from the best producers are excellent and well worth searching for outside their own area.

I can confirm that "Merlot" is a French word, as are "Cabernet Sauvignon", "Pinot Noir", "Chardonnay", "Syrah" and so on.

Languedoc and Roussillon are tow entirely different regions, although adjacent - like Burgundy and Franche-Comté, or Normandy and Brittany. They have two distinct languages - Catalan in Roussillon, Occitan in Languedoc.

Languedoc and Roussillon are tow entirely different regions, although adjacent - like Burgundy and Franche-Comté, or Normandy and Brittany. They have two distinct languages - Catalan in Roussillon, Occitan in Languedoc.

Administratively and politically, Languedoc-Roussillon is a single French region http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languedoc-Roussillon , although you are, of course, correct in pointing out that they are culturally and linguistically distinct. I also find the character of their wines quite different, although their grape varieties are similar.

I have liked the few Banyuls I have tried. On my recent trip to Provence I was very impressed with a Maury dessert wine labeled as Vin Doux Naturel that was a special ten-year cuvee (one year in glass demijohns and nine years in oak barrels.) Grenache was the principal grape.
Are the wines of Maury a distinct category from the Banyuls?

Administratively and politically.

Well, administratively and politically the Pays Basque doesn't even have a département - it's immersed in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques. We're not talking about French geopolitical foibles here, but about wine and culture...

I have liked the few Banyuls I have tried. On my recent trip to Provence I was very impressed with a Maury dessert wine labeled as Vin Doux Naturel that was a special ten-year cuvee (one year in glass demijohns and nine years in oak barrels.) Grenache was the principal grape.
Are the wines of Maury a distinct category from the Banyuls?

Maury is similar to Banyuls, although a separate appellation. Rivesaltes is a third Roussillon appellation producing VDN, but do not confuse the red VDN labeled "Rivesaltes" with "Muscat de Rivesaltes", which is a fortified sweet white made from Muscat. I don't have the experience to be able to draw any distinctions in taste between these three appellations. These VDNs are produced in two styles with certain variations on the main themes; somewhat oxidative when raised in wood and glass like the one you mention and fresher and more robust when raised in bottle like vintage Port.

Was your Maury from Mas Amiel? It produces a remarkable range including some very good dry Côtes de Roussillon.

Thanks, Tim for the information. Yes the wine we had was from Mas Amiel.

Tim writes.....>I don't have the experience to be able to draw any distinctions in taste between these three appellations.

Good reason for some of us to meet up there!