WBW #33: the 2004 Clot de L'Oum Compagnie des Papillons, a superb value wine from the Midi

Mid-priced wines from the Midi is the theme of the 33nd edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday, hosted this month by Marcus aka Doktor Weingolb.

So tonight, I can tell you that I am pretty happy with my selection for this month's WBW: the 2004 Clot de L'Oum Compagnie des Papillons, a delicious Côtes du Roussillon-Villages, not a cheap wine but still a wine at reasonable price: $18.99. Thanks Marcus for this great theme!

Clot de L'Oum, which means hollow of the elm in Catalan, is a project that started in 1995 with the purchase by Eric Monné and his wife Leia of a few hectares of vines in the Côtes du Roussillon-Villages appellation, north of Perpignan. Today, the domain has 15 hectares in production on high altitude terroirs of schist, granite and gneiss. Eric Monné has adopted modern and non-interventionist viticultural practices: the vineyard is certified organic, native yeast is used during fermentation, and the wine is aged in neutral oak and bottled unfiltered.

The Compagnie des Papillons (The Company of Butterflies) is Clot de L'Oum's regular cuvée. On the bright green label, you can read the winery's motto, one line of fine poetry: Un soir petit grain d'or, un soir de pleine lune et de grand vent... (One evening small grain of gold, one evening of full moon and high wind...). A blend of old vine Grenache and Carignan, the wines shows a dark purple color and a peppery nose of sweet fruit. The palate has juicy flavors of ripe black cherries on the palate and a good balance between tannins and acidity, followed by a lingering spicy finish.

The wine is really delicious, try it with a rustic Catalan Chickpea Stew.



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