Back to Sud de France and wine with a producer I don't remember tasting but their location nearby the Larzac in Languedoc Roussillon and the inclusion of Eau de Vie (think Calvados or Marc de Bourgogne as examples) intrigued me.
Located in Saint Saturnin, Domaine Virgile Joly goes about its business the natural wine way.
It was created in 2000 by its namesake after stints as a winemaker both in France and Chile.
For the reds such as Le Saturne varietals used are Carignan, Grenache, Cinsault and Syrah.
The unusual Carthagene Rosé is actually fortified with Eau de Vie, hence its name Vin de Liqueur and grapes used are Chasselas, Servan (each 45%) and Syrah to round it up. One of their suggested pairings is Ginger Bread, very seasonal.
I will have to go back to my notes and see if maybe I had a sip of any of their bottles (and forgot about it) at one of the Sud de France tastings.
Will let you know.
Getting back to Eau de Vie, in EN ROUTE: FRANCE; A Fine Roughness: On the Trail of a Spirit Called Marc (NY Times, September 01), R.W Apple shares his take on Marc de Bourgogne in his colorful style:
that is often mispronounced, marc is a heady, earthy-tasting French
relative of moonshine. It makes some people gag. A few nuts like me
love it.
Marc (pronounced mahr, rhymes with car) is
made by distilling the pips and skins left in the press after juice has
been extracted from wine grapes."
I checked Domaine Virgile Joly on the suggestion of La Grappe du Languedoc, thanks for the tip.