Wine pricing is all over the place, and has never been a sure guide to quality. But this is particularly true about French wine. Certain regions – notably Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne – manage to command sky-high prices whereas others – Muscadet and Beaujolais spring to mind – are chronically underpriced. But no one could accuse the wines of Muscadet and Beaujolais of being wildly varied. These are one-grape regions with a certain similarity of terrain. The variation available is qualitative rather than stylistic.
There is one French wine region, however, whose wines are dramatically underpriced, and which produces a vast array of different wine styles. The Languedoc makes red wines that can vary from relatively delicate Pinot Noir grown on high ground; lively, light and fruity reds based on Cinsault; racy answers to red Bordeaux from Cabardès; and all manner of dense, terroir-driven expressions of the local geography from various combinations of Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Carignan and other local grapes. In the far east of the Languedoc, wines can be remarkably like Châteauneuf-du-Pape but at much lower prices. Rosés vary from what are essentially pale reds through to the most delicate vins gris.
Until recently Languedoc whites were far less exciting. They were either tart and neutral or a bit too heavy and oaky, but now the region produces a range of respectable dry whites. These are not just the varietal bottlings that used to characterise the wines most exported from the Languedoc – Chardonnays and Viogniers in particular – but all sorts of blends of such southern white wine grapes as Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne, Bourboulenc, Clairette, Maccabeo, Terret and Rolle/Vermentino, each with its own distinct personality but, blended together in various combinations, they can be satisfyingly complementary ingredients.