Gérard Bertrand Clos D'ora La Livinière Minervois 2017

Jennifer Havers rated this wine as 91/100 with the following review:

This blend is rich and flavourful. Blended from Syrah, Mourvedre, Carignan, and Grenache, there are aromas of blackberry, raspberry and black plums, along with notes of mocha, anise, cedar and spice. Full bodied on the palate, with rounded rich flavours, medium+ acidity, and soft, drying tannins. Fruit notes on the palate are rich and rounded, and blended well with hints of spice, cedar, and smoke hints. Lovely. Enjoy with a Sunday roast beef dinner.

Alana L rated this wine as 95/100 with the following review:

Clos d’Ora, AOP Minervois La Livinière , 2017 / Demeter-certified biodynamic, Clos d’Ora benefits from an exceptional terroir situated at La Livinière in the Minervois at an altitude of 220 meters and is the first Grand Cru of Gérard Bertrand wines; a beautiful blend typical of Southern France of Syrah, Mourvèdre, Carignan and Grenache. The entire estate is cultivated using biodynamic methods and with only horse traction used to work between the rows. Hand-picked, each varietal and each parcel are macerated in separate batches with distinct winemaking methods and very gentle maceration to limit the extraction of tannins. Deep, deep ruby in colour, the nose has black fruit (blackberry, plum, cherry), chocolate, pepper, incense, coffee, warm earth with a bit of cedar; and the palate is intense, complex, ripe, well-structured and warm but maintaining a freshness (despite the 15.5% abv). Tasted just opened, an hour after opening, and decanted – the decanting definitely makes this wine sing and the tannins become more subtle, smooth and mellow. Exceptional – would age beautifully! Pair this with grilled, aged, or slowly cooked beef – we had it with a premium cut of aged beef, seared in the pan before gently cooking in the over and it was spectacular!

A leader in organic and biodynamic viticulture and named ‘Green Personality of the Year’ in 2020 at the Drinks Business Green Awards (the world's largest competition aimed at raising awareness of environmental issues in the beverage industry and rewarding exemplary sustainability and environmental performance), Gérard Bertrand discovered his passion for wine at his family’s estate, Villemajou, in 1975, started running it in 1987 and created the Gérard Bertrand wine company in 2002 to showcase and develop wines in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in the South of France. The company now includes 16 châteaux, estates and wineries covering over 850 hectares cultivated using biodynamic methods in one or more of 6 levels of certification: conversion to organic agriculture; organic agriculture; no added sulphites; vegan; bee-friendly and Demeter-certified biodynamic. Guiding his philosophy is that these organic practices are not only an essential way to act for the planet and to ‘be the change’, but also that they allow the identity of the terroir and sense of place to shine through and for the wines to ‘taste of somewhere and not of something’!

Tasted as part of Gérard Bertrand’s virtual Organic French Wine festival.