The Gérard Bertrand winery, nestled in the heart of the Languedoc region in southern France, boasts a rich history steeped in tradition and innovation. Established by Gérard Bertrand, a former rugby star, the winery has consistently pushed the boundaries of winemaking excellence. His first vintage was in 1975, following his father and grandfather Paule Bertrand. One notable aspect of Gérard’s commitment to sustainability and quality is his conversion of vineyards to biodynamic wine production. Embracing the principles of biodynamics, a holistic and environmentally conscious approach to farming, Gerard Bértrand has transformed its vineyards into thriving ecosystems that work harmoniously with nature. This conversion involves avoiding synthetic chemicals in favour of natural and organic solutions, emphasizing biodiversity, and aligning viticultural practices with the lunar calendar.
Here are five red wines from five different vineyards owned by Gérard Bertrand. Four of the wines are blends while one wine is 100% Malbec. All these wines are available at BC Liquor stores and a few are on sale till the end of this year.
My Wine Tasting Notes
Gérard Bertrand Corbieres Heritage An 806 2019 (BC $21.99)
A Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre blend. From the winery, “All the grapes are handpicked. The carbonic maceration lasts from 10 to 18 days for the Syrah and a traditional maceration is carried out with a total destemming for the Grenache and Mourvèdre. After the malolactic fermentation, the different grape varieties are blended, and the wine is aged in 225-liter Bordeaux barrels for around 8 months.“
Appearance: A deep dull garnet colour, but clear to the core. About 80% opaque.
Nose: Medium intensity inviting aromas of sweet spices and red fruits, with light touches of toast, nutmeg, black pepper and red cherries. Add cinnamon spice and caramel with decanting.
Palate: Dry, light body with a smooth, soft, lean mouthfeel. Medium acidity and light, fine-grained tannins. Dark fruits, ripe plums, blackberries, cocoa flavours with black pepper mid-palate to the finish. A touch of oak. With decanting the acidity level bumps up a bit and you also get a touch of floral flavour.
Finish: A medium-plus length finishing with blackberries and black cherries, and touches of pepperiness, floral and light tannins. You get some dark fruit flavours with swirling. With decanting, the flavours stay the same, but you can add a touch of chocolate.
Decanting made this wine a touch nicer. This wine pairs nicely with Havarti cheese.
Rating: 
A deeper dull garnet coloured wine. Medium intensity, inviting aromas of sweet spices and red fruits, plus toast and black pepper. A dry wine with a light body, smooth, soft and lean mouthfeel Medium acidity and light tannins. Dark fruits, ripe plums along with cocoa and black pepper flavours. Medium-plus length.
Gérard Bertrand St Chinian Heritage An 1877 2019 (BC $25.99)
A Syrah, Mourvèdre blend. From the winery, “1877 pays tribute to modern times, the revolution brought by the steam engine, and the first Saint Chinian railway that enabled wines to be transported from the regions to capital cities…The grapes are harvested mostly by hand. A double sorting system is carried out in the vineyard and in the cellar. The vinification is traditional and the grapes are therefore destemmed before the maceration phase which lasts between 3 and 4 weeks. The grapes are then pressed and malolactic fermentation takes place. One third of the wine is aged for 9 months in barrels, the rest being kept in vats.”
Appearance: A dull, deep garnet colour, about 90% opaque in the glass.
Nose: Light aromas with smoky/toasty notes, cherries, raspberries, oak and a touch of chocolate. The chocolate aroma gets stronger after decanting and the toast and red fruit aromas diminish.
Palate: This wine is dryish, with a soft, smooth, lean, light mouthfeel. Medium acidity and light tannins. Raspberries and red fruit, juicy berries flavours with touches of floral, oak and minerality. Red cherries show up with swirling. You get some pepperiness on the mid-palate. The mouthfeel bumps up to medium with decanting, plus the wine becomes rounder and the tannins a bit stronger.
Finish: A medium-plus length finishing with raspberries and red fruit, floral, and light pepperiness. Lighter tannins and an off-dry finish. With decanting the finish is not as sweet and you can add red cherry flavour.
Both decantied and undecanted versions of this wine are nice. This wine pairs well with prosciutto. I enjoyed the saltiness of the prosciutto with the fruit flavours of the wine.
Rating: – 
A deep, dull garnet colour. It has light smoky/toasty aromas along with cherries, raspberries, oak and chocolate. Dryish, with a smooth, soft, lean mouthfeel. Red fruit and juicy berry flavours along with touches of floral, oak and minerality. A medium-plus length finish.
Gérard Bertrand Les Aspres Heritage An 1886 2019 (BC $27.99. $24.99 on sale till Dec 30/23 at BCL.)
A Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre blend. From the winery, “In 1886, while Baron Haussmann’s architecture was enhancing urban areas, a legend was born: Mirmanda, a Celtic city inhabited by fairy enchantresses described in a poem named ‘Canigó’ after the mountain overlooking the vineyard. The terroir owes its name to the dry soil that produces this elegant wine…The grapes are harvested largely by hand. A double sorting system is carried out in the vineyard and in the cellar. The vinification is traditional, and the grapes are therefore de-stemmed before the maceration, that lasts between 3 and 4 weeks. The grapes are pressed before the malolactic fermentation. Two thirds of the wines are matured for 9 months in barrels, the rest being kept in vats to be blended in spring. After a light fining, the wines are bottled and kept for several months before marketing.”
Appearance: A dull, almost completely opaque garnet colour.
Nose: Medium intensity, deep aromas, showing earthiness, dark fruit, along with touches of oak, sweet spices, cherries and toast. After decanting the aroma intensity lightens up a bit and you get red fruits and light toast, and the earthiness disappears.
Palate: Dryish, with a smooth, round, thicker mouthfeel. Medium intensity tannins and acidity. Mostly black fruit flavours, with lesser amounts of red fruit, raspberries, hints of floral, black pepper, nutmeg, char and oak. With decanting, the floral becomes a bit stronger.
Finish: A medium-plus length with a slightly sweet finish, showing ripe black fruits and raspberries. Peppery along with some char. Medium-plus tannic finish. With decanting the flavours stay the same and you can add red cherries.
There is not too much difference between the decanted and undecanted versions of this wine, so open and enjoy.
Rating: – A dull, almost completely garnet colour. Deep aromas of dark fruit, with touches of oak, sweet spices and toast. Some earthiness on the nose, but this disappears after decanting. The wine is dryish, with a smooth, round, thicker mouthfeel. Medium tannins and acidity. Mostly black fruit flavours, with lesser amounts of red fruit, floral, spices and oak. A medium-plus length.
Gérard Bertrand Heritage An 1152 Cahors Malbec 2020 (BC $34.99)
From the winery, “The grapes are harvested mechanically, using a machine fitted with a destemmer that separates the harvested grapes from the stems. The winemaking process is traditional, and the grapes are destalked before the maceration phase, which lasts 10 days. A light pump-over is carried out regularly and the temperature is controlled during this stage. The wine is aged for a year in a concrete tank.”
Appearance: A dull opaque ruby colour. Solid almost to the rim.
Nose: Medium-minus intensity aromas of ripe berries, blueberries, black fruits, and touches of plums, sweet spices, vanilla and oak. A more fruity nose after decanting.
Palate: Dry, smooth and round with a bigger mouthfeel. Lighter acidity and medium-plus drying tannins. Berries, blueberries, black fruits and plums on the palate plus hints of vanilla and oak. The tannins soften a little after decanting and you get vanilla, nutmeg, and pepperiness on the palate.
Finish: A medium-plus length with decanting. Finishing with firm tannins and a puckering acidity on the finish. Sweet ripe berries and a hint of floral at the very end. Medium tannins, less puckering sensation after decanting. A medium length and smoother finish.
Decanting is a bit nicer for this wine as the tannins soften and there is less puckering acidity on the finish. An ageable wine.
Rating: – A dull solid ruby colour. Medium-minus aromas of ripe berries, blueberries, black fruits plus spices and oak. A dry wine with a smooth, round, bigger mouthfeel. More berry fruit, blueberries and black fruits on the palate, plus vanilla and oak. A medium-plus length.
Gérard Bertrand Cuvee 100 Les Arbousiers 2019 (BC $75.99. $68.99 on sale till Dec 30/23 at BCL.)
A Carignan, Grenache Noir blend. From the winery, “The story of this wine begins in the 20th century, on the mythical territory of Fontfroide. Located in the heart of the Corbières appellation, Cuvée 100 is a sublime example of Carignan, the region’s emblematic grape variety. From a hundred-year-old plot of land first cultivated in 1920 by Paule Bertrand, Cuvée 100 reveals the best potential of its terroir and the unique know-how of the Bertrand family…After a manual harvest at optimal maturity of the parcel vines, the Carignan grapes are put entirely into vats, together with the de-stemmed Grenache grapes. Following maceration in whole grapes for the Carignan and in the traditional way for the Grenache, the juice undergoes controlled fermentation at 26-27°C, with 10 to 15 days of vatting. Finally, the wine is aged in French oak barrels for 18 months.”
Appearance: A medium-plus clear garnet colour with a tinge of brown.
Nose: Medium-plus to pronounced aromas of fresh juicy berries, red fruits, cedar, and sweet spices, cinnamon in particular. Quite aromatic. With decanting you can add caramel, but lose the cedar note.
Palate: Dryish, soft and smooth with a medium mouthfeel. Higher acidity and medium tannins. Bright acidity and flavours of more red fruit, and less black fruit, along with plum, black pepper, caramel, toast, and cinnamon on the palate. The wine has a higher acidic feel, stronger oak and is quite peppery after decanting. I also pick up cherry and nutmeg flavours.
Finish: A medium to medium-plus length finishing off-dry with flavours of red fruits, black pepper, cinnamon and cedar. Medium intensity trying tannins. The wine becomes quite fruity with black fruit flavours and caramel after decanting.
This wine is quite different than the other blends, with lots of juicy berries and cedar on the nose and caramel and red fruit on the palate. Flavours from the barrel ageing are quite notable. The decanted version of the wine is quite nice but is quite peppery.
Rating: A garnet colour with a brownish tinge. Pronounced aromas of juicy berries, red fruits, cedar and spice upon opening. This wine is dryish, soft and smooth. Higher acidity and tannins. More red than black fruit, plus toast, caramel and spices. Medium to medium-plus length.
Where Can I Buy These Wines?
If you would like to grab a bottle this weekend for your holiday dinner, many are available at BC Liquor stores. Two of these wines are available at Everything Wine.
