Marilyn Lasserre

Marilyn is a genuine pioneer. Since her return to France in 2008, she has significantly contributed to the renewed success of Languedoc’s wines. Bringing her feminine touch to traditionally strong, rustic and full-bodied wines, Marilyn succeeded in improving quality and taste with a rigorous selection in the vineyards and perfect control of the winemaking process. Marilyn studied Viticulture and Oenology in Bordeaux, and has spent time working in various regions throughout the world. Les Argelières is a tribute to the “Terroir” from which these wines are produced, a terroir mostly made of pebble and limestone perfectly exposed to the sun. It enhances the fruit aromas as well as the mineral style of the white wines, whilst giving the reds a vibrant fruit character. The Pays d’Oc has a history of over 2600 years of vine-growing and winemaking. Over the centuries, the wine trade became more and more structured and grew rapidly. The region greatly benefits from the Mediterranean climate, bringing warm mist, and the Black Mountain which offers limestone and clay “terroirs” with cool temperatures.

Glossy garnet red in the glass, on the nose there are aromas of raspberry and cherry with subtle smoky and peppery hints, Fruity, elegant and well-balanced on the palate with a silky long finish.

Why not try a smoked bacon and chive omelette?

Optimal ripe grapes are essential for a good Pinot Noir. The full aromatic potential has already been developed, but the sugar content should be relatively low in order to preserve the variety's elegant style. For that, a part of the crop is harvested quite early and ferments at low temperature exalting fruity aromas. The other part, fully ripe, undergoes a traditional, long maceration. About one third ages in French oak barrels for many months adding a lot of complexity to the wine.

Joanna Simon, Wine of the Week, March 2023: "I thought that naming this Grande Cuvée might be a bit over the top, but it turns out to be an impressive French Pinot Noir showing textbook varietal character and charm at rather less than you would expect to pay for a wine of similar quality from the southern hemisphere. It's an appetising mid-ruby colour – not the paler side of Pinot – with immaculate floral aromas and succulent black cherry and rosehip fruit, all cushioned by polished, toasty oak and a nip of tannin and acidity to give definition and backbone. It comes from Les Producteurs Réunis à Cébazan, a co-operative about 25km northwest of Béziers in Languedoc, and was partly aged in French oak barrels under the watchful eye of oenologist Marilyn Lasserre. In terms of food, it spans fish such as salmon, tuna, red mullet and prosciutto-wrapped monkfish or cod, poultry, especially quail and duck, meat including lamb and pork chops, and creamy, cheesy vegetable tarts. It's good without food, too. Either way, serve it cool, not at room temperature."