The Romans of 2000 years ago started planting vines throughout Gaul (comprising a large portion of today’s Western Europe) and Corbières has consistently seen vine population ever since. Although Mattes-Sabran can’t claim ties this far back, Via Domitia, the first Roman-built road in Gaul that connected Spain and Italy, runs right through their property (the château is slightly southwest of Narbonne on the map). The first trace of Mattes-Sabran was in 1102, as Mattes belonged to the Cistercian Abbey of Lagrasse. They were part of a several-thousand acre domaine that was divvied up in 1914, however, the château has remained unsold since 1733. Today, thanks to noble beginnings, their vineyard holdings remain impressive. 

Corbières has a rich diversity of soils—from limestone, clay, schist and sandstone. While this is largely true for the estate vineyards of Mattes-Sabrans, they also include gravelly soils spotted with quartz stones which are uncannily similar to the famous oval galets of CdP. In addition, many of these vineyards are terraced on steep slopes that do a fine job of soaking up the intense Mediterranean sun. The estate-owned vines for “Le Viala” have an age between 30 and 50 years and all grapes are handpicked come harvest. It is a classic G-S-M blend of 60% Grenache, 20% Syrah and 20% Mourvèdre and fermentation is conducted in stainless steel tanks with indigenous yeasts. 

In the glass, the wine reveals a highly concentrated dark garnet center with heavy purple reflections throughout. The nose sounds off with a juicy ripeness, showing fruits like cassis, framboise, cherry, blackberry liqueur, wild flowers, sage and anise. The richness is 100% confirmed on the palate, but does a fine job avoiding over-ripe and ripe-attack territory (which you have undoubtedly experienced if drinking a below-average Australian Shiraz/Grenache). The palate is layered with pronounced ripe, wild fruit and moves into wonderful Mediterranean secondaries of lavender, crushed stone, garrigue, olive tapenade, and a bevy of mountainside flowers. “Le Viala” will be a great pleasure to consume over the next three years and should be decanted thirty minutes prior. I believe Burgundy stems will best showcase the perfumed notes of this wine, although Bordeaux stems are more than acceptable. For those who have yet to experience a traditional southern French cassoulet, I challenge you to recreate the attached recipe. Daunting, time-consuming...yes, it is both of these, but it yields an incredibly rich, slow-cooked dish that will sate even the most insatiable appetites.