Home > Producer Profiles > Languedoc Profiles > Domaine de Ravanes
Domaine de Ravanes
Domaine de Ravanes is located near Thézan-les-Béziers and is the property of Marc Benin. Marc's father, Guy Benin, was a fourth generation vigneron who was working in Algeria as a négociant when, in 1955, he purchased Domaine de Ravanes. For the first decade Guy managed the estate from across the Mediterranean and there was little of interest happening at Domaine de Ravanes. The vineyards were full of dull, high-yielding varieties, and the wine went to the local co-operative. It was the 1970s before the seeds of change were sown, when Marc, a Bordeaux obsessive, began replacing most of these southern varieties with Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Marc Benin has fashioned a good reputation for Domaine de Ravanes with his selection of Bordeaux-style cuvées. The Gravières du Taurou is produced from a parcel of old Merlot vines, the wine seeing some oak maturation in second-year barrels sourced from Pauillac. The Prime Verd is a 100% Petit Verdot cuvée, produced only in better vintages. This has turned out to be a revolutionary wine, stimulated neighbouring vignerons to also plant this variety. Completing the Bordeauxesque triumvirate is Diogène, a blend of about 70% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Petit Verdot, which sees up to 30 months in new Bordeaux barriques. Other cuvées include Cinq Seaux d’Oeillade, a 100% Cinsaut cuvée made from a parcel of old vines affected by the poorly understood vine disease Court Noué, which as a result give very low yields. The grapes are harvested late and macerated for two days on their skins prior to fermentation. The result is impressive and interesting. Marc Benin also produces two sweet white wines, these being a late harvest (labelled as vendange tardive until an Alsatian vigneron took Benin to court over the matter) moelleux called Le Chapitre and a botrytised wine called L'Ille. Curiously, given Benin's predilection for Bordeaux, these are both made from Ugni Blanc. (27/9/04)
Contact details:
Address: 34490 Thézan-les-Béziers
Domaine de Ravanes - Tasting Notes
Click
to locate
stockists:
Domaine de Ravanes 'Les Gravières de Taurou' Grande Réserve (VdP des
Coteaux de Murviel) 1998: A wonderful deep colour, with little sign of
maturity. Quite opaque. Some ethyl acetate on the nose at first - a Ravanes
trademark - but this soon dissipates. What remains is a beautiful melding of
smoky, stony, black olive and violet-infused blackcurrant fruit. Richly textured
palate, full of extract, a wealth of sweet, ripe, elegant fruit and plenty of
grip. Delightfully ripe tannins, Super balance. A wine of very high quality
indeed. Drink over the next ten to fifteen years. 17.5/20 (September 2004) Label
Domaine de Ravanes Cuvée Diogène 1997: A moderate depth of
colour, deep at the core, with a transparent red rim. The nose is elegant and
welcoming, with obviously sweet violets dominating in quite an evocative and
open style. An attractive weight, full and quite broad, with plenty of
structure. Elegant and appealing flavours of dark, spicy berry fruits carried
along by a fresh and peppery rather light and lifted palate. This has real
style. Very good indeed. From a tasting of the
1997 Vintage at ten years
of age. 17.5+/20 (December 2007)
Domaine de Ravanes 'L'Ille' 1997: A cuvée of nobly rotten fruit. A
burnished orange-gold hue. Baked fruit on the nose, with some sweet, heavy
marmalade character, opening out into a fresh, vibrant, medicinal, lemon-orange
bouquet. There's some volatility, a frequent feature of Marc Benin's wines,
reflecting the ripeness of the fruit. Obviously some botrytis character too.
Big, soft, rounded, with plenty of texture and low acid. Baked oranges, lacking
a little freshness although this improves with air. Ripe and characterful. 16/20
(September 2004)
Label
Domaine de Ravanes Merlot 1986: The wine immediately let forth a
sweet, ripe aroma of macerated fruit, and when poured into the glass showed a
very mature hue, a mahogany red at the core, fading to a caramel tawny at the
rim. Nuances of macerated fruit stay with the wine throughout the evening,
quickly joined by little notes of beef, liquorice and brazil nut, with an
iron-tinged edge. On the palate it does not show quite so well; it is fairly
convincing at the start, with an appealing texture and nicely rounded off edges,
but through the midpalate it reveals a little heat and a bitter twist to the
fruit, culminating at the finish which has a slightly disjointed feel to it.
There are some very complex but fleeting flavours passing through here also,
notes of citrus fruit, rose petals and sun baked fruit. It still has an generous
presence in the mouth through, with a good body and firm acidity giving the wine
a nice composition, which perhaps only falls away on the finish. What can I say?
I like this wine, which lingers in a sweet, slightly hot fashion on the finish,
but I can't deny that, like the Cabernet, it most likely had more to offer a few
years ago. For label images and more see my
Wine of the Week write-up.
16.5/20 (January 2007)
Domaine de Ravanes
Cabernet Sauvignon 1979: A very mature hue, browning at the rim, with
a rich mahogany core. A rather classic maturing Cabernet nose, which has a firm
meaty vein, with notes of spiced tobacco and cigar box, with a slightly earthy
edge. Later there are little nuances of mint and even a salty, freshly-landed
shellfish note; this is clearly a wine throwing out a complex bouquet as it
reaches the end of its life. Nevertheless, it is holding together well on the
midpalate, with fully resolved tannins, and balanced acidity, and the appealing
spiced, meaty character found on the nose translates into beefy, iron-mineral
flavours on the palate, followed by fleeting nuances of bitter cherries, and
then dark, chewy liquorice confectionery, and amazingly even a little sweet
blackcurrant. It lacks a little backbone, with the tannins completely
integrated, but this is to be expected. It slowly fades on the finish, where to
be honest it seems a little hollow, right on the end palate. Overall I'm pretty
pleased with how this bottle has held together over the years. For label images
and more see my Wine of the Week
write-up. 16.5/20 (September 2006)
Home - Site index - Site updated August 28, 2008 - © The Winedoctor 2000 - 2008 - Wine Scores - RSS
