This is clearly a win-win situation. The stunning Hortus wine estate is hosting the annual jazz festival Hortus Live!  on July 22nd with the Wax Tailor group at the top of the bill. But that’s not all, the setting is quite simply spectacular in the midst of vineyards and rambling cliffs. This is the majestic landscape of the Combe de Fambétou, a combe is a small, narrow valley, located between two mythical cliffs in the area, the Pic Saint Loup  and the Hortus just north of the city of Montpelier in southwestern France. There are food trucks and regional produce and products and best of all the wines from the winemakers of the Pic Saint Loup. The event is organized by the non-profit organization l’Association Hortus Events in partnership with the Live Rockstore concert hall in Montpellier.

The nearly mythical wines of the Pic Saint Loup obtained their AOP, the French acronym for Protected Designation of Origin label in 2017, and this fine wine of the Languedoc wine-producing region near Montpellier is truly worthy of a journey to the region. It was here that the pioneering Orliac family decided to revive an abandoned vineyard and to maintain another one that was in activity. It has been a fascinating adventure culminating in delicious wines worthy of The Gourmet Gazette’s fine wine find designation. The Domaine de l’Hortus or the Hortus Estate came into being or returned into being back in the 1970s when Jean Orliac, an agronomist steeped in agriculture, discovered this good earth of wild beauty, un-cultivated yet once cultivated in the past. Potential immediately came to mind and with his wife Marie-Thérèse, the hard work began and superb wines are the result. The Orliacs even built the house and outlying buildings themselves.

Today the second generation of the family is at the helm of this vineyard nestled between two cliffs, the Pic Saint Loup and the Mont Hortus from which the estate derives its name. Here they produce the Pic Saint Loup appellation and the Val de Montferrand and Languedoc IGP the French acronym for Protected Geographical Indication wines. The house embraces organic farming practices. Meanwhile on the family’s smaller domain the Clos Prieur a red wine is made with grapes from old Grenache and Syrah vine plants. We recently enjoyed a delicious white wine with an astounding combination of grape varieties. The Domaine de l’Hortus blanc 2021, an IGP Val de Montferrand, was a delicious blend of mainly Chardonnay with smaller amounts in descending order of Vigonier, Sauvignon Gris and Petit Manseng, this last one having originated in the Pyrenees of France but which has made its way into New World wines as well. But one of the superb finds of the day was the red Domaine de Hortus rouge 2020, a Pic Saint Loup. Earthy yet slightly fruity we appreciated the blend of Syrah, Mourvèdre and a touch of Grenache, with the Mourvèdre providing its usually silky self to the taste and body of the wine.©Trish Valicenti for The Gourmet Gazette. For additional information, tickets and the winemakers: https://hortuslive.fr For the Hortus wine estate: https://www.domaine-hortus.fr/en/