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Château de Nages is the Gassier family’s historic estate in the north of the Costières de Nîmes appellation.ANAIS BARELLI/Domaine Gassier
Isabel Gassier is the fifth generation of her family to produce wine in Costières de Nîmes, one of the oldest wine-producing regions in France. The area was once considered to be part of the expansive Languedoc-Roussillon, the world’s biggest wine region, but became the most southerly appellation in the Rhône Valley in 2004.
Gassier explains the region’s soils (characterized by smooth rolled pebbles) and grape varieties are more like those of the Rhône region, particularly Châteauneuf-du-Pape, a historic village famed for the quality of its wines. However, the region’s maritime-influenced microclimate makes it unique.
She says there are also significant differences between the Gassiers’s two properties: Château de Nages, their historic estate in the north of the appellation, and Domaine Gassier, a more recent addition in the south, where wines for the Nostre Pais label are produced. The Nostre Pais red wine from the 2023 vintage will be released this week at LCBO Vintages outlets.
“It is our hardest wine to blend,” Gassier explains. “It takes hours and hours – sometimes a few days – to get right.”
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Isabel Gassier is the fifth generation of her family to produce wine in Costières de Nîmes.Domaine Gassier
Nostre Pais, meaning “our country” or “our land,” is a blend of grenache, mourvèdre, syrah and carignan. (The Nostre Pais white blend is a periodic release at a liquor stores in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario.)
“There isn’t a recipe, even though the same grape varieties and blocks of grapes are used each year,” says Gassier. Major variables include the ripeness and yield of the vintage as well as how the grapes were processed and aged.
Gassier, her father, Michel Gassier, and the winery’s technical director, Eudes Gerardin, who has worked with the family for 24 years, determine the final blend.
According to Gassier, as they taste various blending options, they look for the version that has the signature reflecting where it comes from and how it was made.
“For me, the Holy Trinity of wine is a sense of place, a sense of the varietals and a sense of the winemaker,” she says. “It’s important to have a perfect balance between the three.”
Gassier adds that you don’t want the grapes to overpower the site, nor do you want the winemaker’s ego to overshadow everything else.
If the blend is a success, she believes the wine will offer a complete experience when it’s enjoyed. “You want a wine that’s going to evolve in your glass over dinner and have a lot to say, not be one-dimensional,” she says.
The current release of Nostre Païs is recommended this week with four other signature wines from premium producers in Canada, Italy, New Zealand and South Africa.
Alvi’s Drift 221 Pinotage 2022 (South Africa), $17.95
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Rating: 90
The Alvi’s Drift brand is based on a third-generation wine farm in the Breede River Valley, which is the largest fruit- and wine-producing region in South Africa’s Western Cape. The family produces a range of quality red, white and sparkling wines, including this concentrated fruity and spicy version of pinotage from the cooler Scherpenheuvel appellation. Made in a medium-bodied style, this has a smooth texture with some polished tannins that add grip to the fresh finish. This has 13.5 per cent ABV and 5 g/litre r.s. Drink now to 2028. Available at the above price in Ontario.
Craggy Range Te Muna Sauvignon Blanc 2024 (New Zealand), $32.95
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Rating: 92
Established in 1998, Craggy Range produces its premium portfolio from vineyards located in Hawke’s Bay and Martinborough on New Zealand’s North Island. Fermented in a mix of stainless steel tanks, French oak barrels and sandstone amphora, the Te Muna Sauvignon Blanc offers a more textural and lean wine than the popular zesty and fragrant style associated with the Marlborough region. The finished blend combines more than 50 parcels to produce a complex wine, with a mix of citrus, apple and peach fruit with floral and herbal notes. Its focused, refreshing character suggest this has potential to age. This has 13 per cent ABV and 3 g/litre r.s. Drink now to 2029. Available at the above price in Ontario, $31.99 in British Columbia, various prices in Alberta.
Domaine Queylus Tradition Chardonnay 2022 (Canada), $33.70
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Rating: 92
Inspired by the success of Le Clos Jordanne, Domaine Queylus was established in 2010 to produce chardonnay, pinot noir and cabernet franc-based red blends from vineyards in Niagara. Tradition is the entry-level chardonnay label and this is made in Queylus’s signature rich and rewarding style. Barrel-fermentation has enhanced the ripe fruit flavours with creamy, nutty and spicy notes that add complexity to a wine with satisfying balance and length. This has 13 per cent ABV and 2 g/litre r.s. Drink now to 2029. Available at the above price in Ontario, $35.75 in Quebec.
Michel Gassier Nostre Païs 2023 (France), $25.95
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Rating: 92
Made from one of the Gassier family’s biodynamically farmed estates in Costières de Nîmes, this grenache-based red blend includes mourvèdre, syrah and carignan displays a pleasingly ripe fruity character. The style makes the most of a pristine core of black berry fruit that gains complexity from floral, herbal and peppery notes. Vibrant acidity and fine tannins add structure to balance the wine’s juicy character and velvety texture. This has 14.5 per cent ABV and 3 g/litre r.s. Drink now to 2031. Available in Ontario.
Tenuta San Guido Le Difese 2023 (Italy), $52.95
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Rating: 93
Le Difese is a cabernet and sangiovese blend from the Bolgheri estate responsible for Sassicaia and Guidalberto. First produced in 2002, this complex and charming expression combines cabernet-based wines that didn’t fit into the blend of Tenuta San Guido’s other wines as well as others from sangiovese grapes grown in various parts of Tuscany. The result from the 2023 vintage is a beautifully integrated and refreshing wine with juicy cherry and red berry fruit layered with spicy oak, herbal and earthy notes. This has 14 per cent ABV and 3 g/litre r.s. Drink now to 2030. Available at the above price in Ontario, $62.99 in British Columbia, various prices in Alberta, $48.99 in Manitoba.
Dining and Cooking