Today’s featured producer, Domaine de l’Horizon, will be familiar to many SommSelect subscribers. And you don’t need to speak Catalán to figure out what proprietor Thomas Teibert is going for with this supremely affordable 2019: to capture the inimitable spirit of the place the wine comes from. That place, for those of you who are new to this dynamic property, is the area known as the “Côtes Catalanes,” which sits in the shadow of the eastern Pyrenees, right near the French/Spanish border. As its name suggests, is more a Catalan territory than it is a French (or Spanish) one, even if it belongs to France’s Roussillon for wine-classification purposes, and, aside from hiking its wind-swept slopes in person, you couldn’t for a more vivid evocation of the place than “Mar i Muntanya.”
Hints of Mediterranean herbs mingle with profound minerality and old-vine fruit concentration, completely upending one’s understanding of what this part of southernmost France is capable of producing. Whereas the broader “Languedoc-Roussillon” is known for much richer, even syrupy reds, this one takes three regional varieties—Syrah, Carignane, and a splash of Grenache—and puts a perfumed, energy-packed spin on things. There’s no shortage of gutsy depth, but it’s delivered with uncommon, almost “Burgundian” nerve. A wine as special as this can only come from an equally special place, and Teibert knew, the minute he saw it, that the Côtes Catalanes is one such place.
At the foot of the Pyrenees, roaring winds blast gnarled, centuries-old vines, and wildly complex soils formed by the collision of the Iberian and Eurasian land masses bring tension and lift to blends that might otherwise be gooey and soft. Before Teibert moved here, he’d already racked up experiences most wine professionals can only dream of, as winemaker at the Manincor estate in Alto Adige and as a representative for cult Austrian cooper Franz Stockinger. But upon meeting the legendary Gerard Gauby and tasting the moving, biodynamic wines he produces, Teibert knew he’d found his calling. Straightaway, he relocated to the same village as Gauby, the limestone-rich, fittingly named town of Calce. Right from his first vintage in 2006, his wines have been the darlings of sommeliers all over the world. Since then the estate has grown to around 15 hectares, all of it farmed organically and biodynamically.
Like Gauby, Teibert brings a sense of elegance and nobility to Carignan, a grape long ago written off by the wine cognoscenti. Look it up today and the top result will be a Jancis Robinson article that writes it off as tannic and rankly bitter. But Tiebert and Gauby—as well as a small group of winemakers inspired by them, colloquially known as “the Calce school”—lay that notion to rest. In today’s wine, you’ll find Carignan’s signature black-fruited concentration in a frame that calls to mind Burgundy more than anything else.
The 2019 “Mar y Muntanya” is a blend of 45% Carignan, 45% Syrah, and a splash of Grenache. Thomas ferments it “semi-carbonically,” using whole grape clusters to emphasize lift and drinkability, without sacrificing any of the garrigue-y depth of his richer wines. In the glass, it’s a deep ruby shading into purple. The nose is packed with Bing cherry and raspberry, shot through with white pepper and classic southern French herbaceousness. The palate is juicy and vibrant, medium-bodied, with medium-plus acidity and faint but firm tannins. The herbaceous qualities and tense fruit continue on the palate, leaning toward red currant, and a deeply stony minerality comes to the fore. Thomas is a lover of Burgundy and “Mar i Muntanya” puts that love on full display, calling to mind a delicious red from the Côte de Beaune. Decant for at least 30 minutes to let a whiff of reduction blow off, then drink at 55-65 degrees of Burgundy stems. Pair it with the Catalan classic “Escalivada,” a dish of fire-roasted tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant, and you’ll soon be singing the Roussillon’s praises to anyone who’ll listen.
