The Story:

While Guy Bascou deserves recognition as one of the first, great generation of Cote de Thongue winemakers who created the IGP in the 1980s, his greatest wine achievement lies outside this, as he is arguably the single person most responsible for putting picpoul de pinet on almost every restaurant wine list in the UK.

Condamine L’Eveque is one of the important domaines for the Cotes de Thongue. Guy is contemporaries with Jacques Boyer at Croix Belle and Michel Cros at St Georges d’Ibry. He also has a thirty year long relationship with the Wine Society, which means Condamine l’Eveque is one of the few names from this area with some kind of traction in the UK.

While he’s in some ways a traditional winemaker, he understands the need for clear marketing messages, and that has been central to the success of Picpoul de Pinet. He pinpointed a grape and a location whose drinkable, citrus flavoured wines were underappreciated, delivered an absolutely crystal clear marketing message, with its own slender bottles and then ensured consistency of flavour at an attractive price point from a coherent body of motivated producers. The result is one of those sensations in the UK wine world: apart from prosecco, I can think few wines whose rise in distribution has been so stratospheric. They had to get through the disastrous, frost affected vintage of 2021 where they just couldn’t deliver the amount the UK wanted, but they didn’t lose too much ground. Condamine l’Eveque supply the Wine Society’s own brand Picpoul, if you want to see this in action.

But this is a website about the Cotes de Thongue and while Picpoul has given the Bascous great success, I have a feeling that Guy is actually slightly prouder of his viognier - ‘Leon’ (Price Band B). (The names of the wines come from bishops of Agde: Leon was the name of one of the early bishops: and the bishops’ (“eveque”) link to the domaine is that the Bishops of Agde used periodically to relocate to Nézignan, when the mosquitoes by the sea were bringing disease: with its touch of extra altitude, the village was a healthier place to live in summer time.

Guy is gradually handing over to Guilhem, a former rugby player, but their attitude to wine is very similar.

He’s right to be proud of this viognier: it’s a baby Condrieu. Then to their reds, “Venuste” (price band B) is a syrah, which a touch austere, though I was tasting it after only a few months in bottle. ‘Prime’ is a single cepage Petit Verdot (price band B), and rather a curiosity: he suggest serving it chilled. ‘Dagobert’ is a single cepage Marselan (price band B), which is just a lovely example, with a combination of freshness and roundness in the mouth. “No.4” (price band B) is a lovely combination of marselan, carbernet and syrah with a touch of complexity. Their Syrah-Mourvedre packs a good 14% most years, but is easy to drink.

Finally, their Cuvée Speciale (price band B) is beautiful but perhaps a wine in retreat. Made from merlot and cabernet sauvignon, with eighteen months in barrel, it’s like Bordeaux from a sunny vintage. Absolutely super. But Guilhem points out that there are now only a few parcels of land near the river where merlot can thrive now on his land; its time in the Cotes de Thongue is doubtless coming to an end, thanks to climate change. For the future, they’ve gone back to the past, planting picpoul noir, a grape which was popular in the area in the 19th Century, but is barely grown today.

This domaine delivers lovely wines that punch well above their price point. Enjoy!