The red of the garrigue slopes north of Montpellier, syrah-led with grenache and mourvèdre, grown under the limestone tooth of the Pic. Cold nights keep the acidity up and the pepper sharp.
Where to eat it: 3 restaurants across 1 city.
The hills between Saint-Mathieu-de-Tréviers and Valflaunès were planted to vines long before quality was the point, and for a century they shipped bulk red north with everything else. The turn came in the 1980s and 1990s when growers pulled out high-yield varieties for syrah and mourvèdre and started bottling under their own names. Pic Saint-Loup won its own appellation in 2017. The altitude and the diurnal swing give the wines their signature: garrigue herbs, black pepper, and a freshness that Languedoc reds are not supposed to have. It is the bottle Montpellier reaches for when a visitor asks what the region tastes like.
Tours, tastings and classes that match this page, bookable on GetYourGuide.
Day trip · 5 hours
Discover the charm of Pic Saint Loup on this guided tour from Montpellier. Taste local wines, visit two wineries (only one if it is sunday) and savor...
Day trip · 4 - 4.5 hours
Discover St-Emilion on a guided village tour, followed by a guided visit and tasting of 3-4 wines with a French aperitif platter at a Grand Cru...
Day trip · 9 hours
Wander in the Provencal market in Antibes, explore Cannes, and sip regional wine on this countryside tour from Nice. Explore the medieval village of...
Common allergens: Sulphites
Les Canons pours natural wine through the afternoon near Saint-Pierre cathedral in Montpellier, 150 references and 10 euro corkage at the tables.
DrinkNatural wines off the shelf
FoodMarket lunches
TipAn afternoon bar as much as an evening one, and Wednesday's late close is the night to settle in for a long session.
Soulenq runs a Mediterranean kitchen and a wine shop from the same Euromédecine address, so anything on the caviste shelves can be opened at the table.
OrderA Languedoc bottle chosen off the caviste shelf, opened at your table.
Why locals goA restaurant and caviste pairing out at Euromédecine, well beyond the tourist ring, where the wine shop and the kitchen share a Languedoc list most centre-city rooms cannot match.
TipIt sits north-west of the centre near the hospitals, a tram ride rather than a walk.
Tôt ou Tard works as the Écusson's square-side wine bar in Montpellier, organic and natural Languedoc bottles with tapas on Place de la Chapelle Neuve.
PourAn organic Languedoc glass on the terrace
WineOrganic, natural and local Languedoc bottles
FoodBistro plates and tapas boards
TipSunday evening pours are rare in this city; the plane-tree terrace holds the last sun in the old town.
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