2017 Domaine La Terrasse d'Elise Elise
WINEMAKER: Xavier Braujou
REGION: Languedoc, FR
VARIETAL: Syrah, Mourvèdre, Cinsault
VITICULTURE: Organic/Biodynamic
"Wow - 2 years in barrel and 3 years in bottle before release - this is quite exceptional and has superb complexity, saline, umami, maquis, and layers and layers of deeply pitched and fresh fruit. This is really quite something and you can see the quality of both the terroir and the winemaker in full force here. Wonderful." - Andrew Guard
One of the great discoveries for me so far are the wines of Xavier Braujou's La Terrasse d’Elise. Here we have an estate producing wines from a special terroir in the heart of the Terrasses du Larzac, his vines between those of Mas de Daumas Gassac and Granges des Peres, what a holy trinity. The land here is glacial scree on top of limestone and it imbues the wines with a freshness and clarity that is exceptional, these are Languedoc wines of uncanny finesse and elegance.
Xavier’s vision is simple “if the vineyard is clear and beautiful, the wines will be too”. He is following organic and biodynamic principals. The grapes are picked entirely by hand. In the cellar Xavier is as little interventionist as possible. The ageing is in old barrels or in stainless steel tanks. Ultimately here are wines that display an incredible suppleness and a beautiful richness on the palate.