Awards & Accolades:

Three Stars – Decanter Magazine

About This Wine:

Medium bodied with intense and complex aromas of cassis, blackberry and licorice. Silky tannins give excellent structure to ripe black fruit, raspberry and cherry flavors.

Made from a blend of southern red grape varietals (52% Carignan, 24% Grenache Noir, 18% Mourvèdre and 6% Syrah), the wine is cherry red with flashes of black in the glass with an intense nose of black currants, raspberries and licorice. As the wine opens, the wine takes on aromas of mellow black fruits with slightly spicy, elegant finish. The wine is firm and structured with smooth and silky tannins.

“Terre de Pierres” 2005 is recommended (3 stars) by Decanter, which describes the wine as “Closed and dry on the nose. Firm and structured palate with warm, dusty fruit underneath. Has character. Drink from 2008.” Wine Spectator awarded it 88 points.

The wine comes from the La Clape cru in the appellation of Coteaux du Languedoc. (Within an appellation, a cru classification signifies that the wines are of better quality and have an individual character.) Created in 1985, Coteaux du Languedoc appellation runs along the Mediterranean coast east from Narbonne to Nîmes. The appellation is currently in flux and appears to be moving to a more hierarchal, pyramid structure with crus like La Clape being at the pinnacle.

La Clape is one of France’s smallest viticultural areas. The area is known for being one of the hottest and windiest parts of France. Château Moyau’s vineyards are located on the limestone plateau that defines the cru, sloping down to the Mediterranean and its salt estuaries. The setting could not be more beautiful.

“Terre de Pierres” is produced from low-yielding vines that average 30 years old. The fruit is complex and mature. Yields are kept even lower through pruning and cropping techniques (30 hl/ha) and are picked and sorted by hand. Careful de-stemming ensures that no unwanted bitterness or tannins are imparted to the wine. Each varietal is vinified and aged separately using modern wine-making equipment and facilities for optimum quality, before being blended and bottled. Only 500 cases of this wine were made.

Pair Chateau Moyau Terres de Pierres with grilled meat, lamb and game. It also goes well with earthy dishes (cassoulet, mushrooms, root vegetables), paella and dishes where the dominant flavors are rosemary, juniper, thyme or lavender.

About The Winery:

The South of France is legendary as an international vacation spot, but it also hosts one of the smallest and most beautiful Appellation d’origine contrôlée’s (A.O.C.) in the country – Coteaux du Languedoc, La Clape. Clapas in the ancient Occitan language means “heap of stones.” It’s a small area, ten miles long on oneside between the limestone formations of the Montagnes de la Clape and the sloping hills and small valleys leading to the Mediterranean.

When this part of France was part of the Roman Empire, nearby Narbonne was a major port and administrative center. As a reward to Roman soldiers, the Senate granted property for vine cultivation on La Clape – which at the time was an island mountain range separate from Narbonne. Today the area has silted up, rejoining La Clape with the mainland. Here a hot and sunny Mediterranean climate provides over 3000 hours of sunshine a year. Grape ripening is tempered by moisture from the salt water lakes and estuaries, as well as the strong Mistral winds which blow in from North Africa across the Mediterranean for over 286 days a year.

In the last ten years, buyers from around the world have bought some of the 40 properties in the appellation. Among the new owners are an international group comprising of British, Americans, Germans, Swiss and Italians. Attracted by it’s seaside vineyards and its favorable microclimates, they have revitalized many run-down estates with the goal of making world-class wines.

The Vineyards of Chateau Moyau: Chateau Moyau has its origins in the Middle Ages. Legend has it that the original settlers were pirates whose leader answered to the name Moyau. Another story claims that Moyau is derived from the word marais or marsh.

The Chateau was owned by the Herteman family from the 18th century until 2004, when Dr. Bernhard Koehler, a German fund manager living in Switzerland, purchased it. He saw potential in the six residential buildings, two large wine cellars, pigeon tower and stables. Through benign neglect many parcels had not been replanted. As a result, the new owner inherited parcels of old vine Carignan, Grenache and Syrah, most over 60-year’s old.

Koehler hired a passionate young wine maker, Stephanie Chanot, to lead a team of two full-time employees. Previously, Chanot was technical director of the vineyards of Baron Philippe de Rothschild in Chile. Koehler also brought in Claude Gros, a respected consulting winemaker with clients throughout the world, to consult and advise at Chateau Moyau.

Chateau Moyau covers an area of 128 acres with about 60 acres devoted to vines. Sixty percent of the vines are planted in parcels that border the Mediterranean. The remaining 40 percent are planted in the hills among the Garrigues scrubland of wild lavender and rosemary. Yields are limited to approximately 800 gallons per 74 acres (30 hl/ha) and are hand picked. State of the art de-stemming delivers grapes free from stems and leaves which can cause harsh, bitter-tasting tannins.

With a rich assortment of red varietals such as Mourvèdre, Syrah, Grenache Noir, Carginan, Cinsault, the output is 90% red and rosé wines. The Chateau is also increasing its white wine output with new plantings of Grenache Blanc and Bourboulenc varietals.

Technical Analysis:

Vintage: 2005

Alcohol: 13.5%

Wine Type: Red Wine

Appellation: Coteaux du Languedoc La Clape