Le Clos du Serres website captures the drama.

May, 2009

One of the wines selected by Simon Hoggart for the June mini bar offer from Stone, Vine & Sun is the 2007 Le Clos from a domaine called Le Clos du Serres in the Languedoc. It is a blend of a local variety of Cinsault as well as Syrah and Grenache. 

In my efforts to put a bit more detail into the tasting notes describing the wines available in the mini bar offer on the Spectator Wine Club website I sniffed out this operation’s website which proved to be very useful.  

It was such an interesting and engaging website that I thought I should point it out and recommend you have a look at it. www.leclosduserres.fr  

Le Clos du Serres is owned by Sebastien Fillon and located in a region of the Languedoc called the Terrasses du Larzac. The website is worth a visit not because it is the slickest design but because it just seems to capture the enthusiasm this guy has for his patch of dirt and the dream to create interesting and authentic wines. 

You can click onto an English version of the site but if your French is as non-existent as mine it is also worth doing a google translation of his blog. I learnt that they put bundles of vine stems into the bottom of the tanks so when the wine is pumped off after settling the skins are left behind in the vine bundles. 

But it is the series of fantastic images dotted throughout the site and in the photo section depicting the goings on in the vineyards and the winery as well as the beautiful surrounding landscape that I thought really convey the passion and drama of growing and making wine in this part of the south of France. The colour of the soil is amazing and reminds me of the red centre of Australia.

Now I can’t wait to the taste the wine and one day visit Sebastien Fillon, hoping that he has managed to keep his verve and nerve, because being a vigneron, as romantic as it may sound, can be a tough business as well as enchanting. Actually making a profit is another matter.