Languedoc report 2023: Latest releases tasted

Languedoc 2022 vintage rating: 4.5 / 5

Languedoc 2021 vintage rating: 3.5 / 5

Even after tasting over 900 wines and spending many hours visiting the region, it is still somewhat difficult to draw solid conclusions about the latest vintages in Languedoc. This is due to a number of reasons.

Firstly, depending on each appellation’s regulations and the length of ageing a producer decides on, there’s no single vintage to assess without excluding a good chunk of wines. This, coupled with the fact that I wanted to showcase wines that were already bottled and available right now, means that the wines recommended range across a number of vintages, but are for the most part from 2022, 2021 and some from 2020.

Secondly, despite speaking directly to producers, visiting vineyards, and tasting the wines, it’s difficult to know exactly how a vintage played out unless you were on the ground during the growing season and saw the health and quality of the fruit as it was harvested. While press releases often paint a shiny picture, and producers often fall on the ‘despite the challenges the fruit quality is excellent’ line, the reality isn’t always so rosy.

Thirdly, recent vintages in Languedoc have seen incredibly varied weather conditions, not only from appellation to appellation, but as granular as village to village.