From the south of France, a charming red 'trilogy'

Jean-Louis Poudou, the proprietor of Domaine La Tour Boisée in the Languedoc region of France's deep south, is a veteran winemaker with a romantic's love for the land, the grapes and their collective reflection in the glass. He'll tell you his alluring 2003 cuvée "Marie-Claude," blended from Grenache, syrah and carignan, expresses the natural world he has known since birth - the wild weather, the smooth, soft hills around his village of Laure-Minervois, the ineffable influence of the nearby Spanish Pyrenees.

"This region is like no other," says Jean-Louis, 48, who has operated La Tour Boisée for more than 20 years. "The land has real personality here. We are in the exact south, not southwest or southeast, but exactly at the center (of France) on a line with Paris. We are too far from the Atlantic Ocean to enjoy its benefits, and too far from the Mediterranean. When it does rain, it's likely to rain in torrents - and then for months on end we'll get no rain at all. But we plant 16 varieties of grapes and they all do very well."

That, he explains, is because the soil is an ideal blend of 85 percent clay (which retains the rare rainfall) and limestone, which allows those waterings to seep down instead of drying up. And Jean-Louis' many plots are spread over gradients from about 270 feet above sea level to about 600 feet, which means the grapes mature and different times and thus harvest times can be precisely gauged.

Jean-Louis also practices biodynamic farming, using only natural fertilizers and carefully assisting his vines in step with their natural rhythms. "You can't do it any other way," he says, "and still practice intelligent agriculture."

Yet this intently serious vigneron says he labors at his winemaking tasks for only one reason: he loves it. And he turns instantly light hearted when asked about the charming cuvee "Marie-Claude," named for his wife. "Why grenache, syrah and carignan? It's a trilogy that suits us," he says with a laugh. And then he describes how this lovely wine mirrors the land in its contours and temperament.

We were captured by Jean-Louis and his 2003 "Marie-Claude." We think you will be, too. As for the right time to drink it: "Now," says the producer, "or six-eight-ten years from now. But this is wine for pleasure. There is a French saying that it is better to hold than to hope. Enjoy the glass now. Just go for it."