The Arrogant Frog

Written By Angus Hughson

Words by Jeni Port

It is testament to a life lived on the land that the man Aussie wine drinkers know of as The Arrogant Frog should be anything but.

Biodiversity advocate, astute businessman, fourth generation Languedoc winemaker producing wines outside the French appellation system in an almost New World freewheeling style, yes.

But, arrogant? No.

Jean-Claude Mas is wiry thin, with tousled, uncontrolled wild grey hair and a ready smile, keen to answer every question and ask a few of his own.

Having inherited Domaines Paul Mas  (https://www.paulmas.com) from his father he has gone on to build a considerable wine empire across the Languedoc comprising 15 winegrowing domains including Château Arrogant Frog, situated near the villages of Gaja and Villedieu.

He has been applauded for reinventing the viticultural traditions of the Languedoc with New World-style wines that have taken a lot of their winemaking inspiration from his time in Italy and the US. They share a lot in common with the freshness and varietal focus that Australian drinkers can easily relate to. They are also ridiculously low in price and, hence, widely popular and accessible. 

Choosing a wide range of grape varieties, especially those suited to a changing climate, is an intrinsic part of Jean-Claude’s continuing success.

Today, sitting at the tasting bar at Dan Murphy’s, Alphington, he talks up marselan, a quality red grape – a cross between cabernet sauvignon and grenache - that is grown widely in China. He has planted it in the south of France and includes it in some of his red blends. He has also recently planted the Spanish variety, albarino, and another grape he calls a “secret.”

“It’s incredible,” he enthuses, “and it’s a secret because I don’t want to share it with the guys from the Jurançon.”

It’s petit manseng, a grape central to the celebrated, classic Jurançon white blend and a grape that is now taking off in the Languedoc.

“It’s an incredible grape. In our climate where we have been hit with (years of) this wet, this heat, this frost, it was incredible,” says Jean-Claude.

And because he can, this year he co-vinified petit manseng with grenache gris. Working outside the confines of the French appellation system has set his imagination free.

On the tasting bench at Dan Murphy’s, he produces another original blend – RosOrange - which true to its name is a vibrant orange colour which shimmers in the glass as it catches the light. A blend of rosé and skin-contact orange (amber) wines comprised of a mix of five red and white varieties, it reveals an almost Aperol-like tangerine intensity, spiced, textural and savoury.

“I thought rosé was boring,” he explains. “Rosé tasted all the same and I thought there was something else; I thought I could enter new aromatic territory. I tried to open the door on a new category of wine and it’s working.” 

Get used to seeing a group of new varietal names on Mas labels that he collectively refers to as hybrid or PIWI varieties – definitely not genetically modified, he stresses - names such as souvignier gris, muscaris, floréal and prior. The project has been a 10-year journey to see how these disease resistant hybrids withstand fungal infections such as powdery mildew. The benefits are many, including reducing the carbon footprint through minimising the use of fungicides. An early success was souvignier gris which now joins sauvignon blanc in a mineral-flecked $15 white. 

To keep prices as low as he does, Jean-Claude looks to generous yields.

“The key to me, if I want to have $15 wines, it’s very easy, I need to aim at 10, 11 or 12 tonnes per hectare.

“If I don’t do that, it becomes complicated,” and, he stresses, “it is becoming complicated.”

His average selling price has been slowly increasing from $18 to $25.

“There is no other future,” he says, prices simply have to rise.

“If not, I have to go to industrial farming, (and use) a lot of water which I don’t have, chemical nitrogen fertilisers, zero organic thinking and this is not my philosophy.”

And then there’s sugar, another no go area. Some producers use sugar to increase the immediate drinkability of their wines as a counter to high acidity or high tannins. Mas dislikes the practice. He won’t have it.

However, savouriness is another matter. His palate appreciates the seasoning effect that savouriness can have on a wine, and a number of his wines use it to great effect.

At around two million cases produced annually, he has no plans to increase production any time soon.

“The beauty of what I am trying to achieve is not volume,” he explains.

“I’ve gone big because it’s the Languedoc, but my size is related to working organic, biodynamic, working to make natural savoury wines without any additives and so on,

“I like to think I have reached the limit in terms of volume, but now it’s a question of improving the way I do it and getting more value out of what I do.”

His ideal vineyard in the south of France is 40 hectares, big enough to run tractors and use human power, work the soil in a sustainable manner and not be forced to turn industrial.

Facing a warm, dry future in a region already warm and dry, he stresses that using irrigation is not the answer.

“First, you need the water!” he says.

 “I don’t see irrigation as a solution, working better your soil is.”
 

Jardin d’Arômes Pays d’Oc Pinot Gris 2023

92pts | $20.00

Jean-Claude Mas admits to a love of pinot gris. Fortunately, he’s in a region well-suited to the grape, producing this charming, floral, clean fruited style. Aromas of pear and apple with white flowers and the lightest of spices. The palate is bright and runs smooth, mouth-filling and well composed, finishing crunchy and crisp in notes of fresh cut apple. Drink: 2025-2028.

 

Vignobles Paul Mas Sauvignon Blanc Souvignier Gris 2024

92pts | $15.00

Souvignier gris is a variety new to many of us, a white German hybrid grape variety that is a cross of seyval blanc and zähringer, created in 1983 and taken up by Jean-Claude Mas as a blending partner for his sauvignon blanc. The grape is disease-resistant and is one of a number of varieties he has planted. Noted for its extract, souvignier gris brings good grip to the palate together with a saline minerally brightness which works well in its marriage to sauvignon blanc and its more outgoing stone fruits, citrus, apple and dusty herbals. With clean, crisp acidity across the palate, this is a wine to enjoy in its vibrant youth. Drink: 2025-2028.

 

Arrogant Frog Chardonnay 2023

90pts | $15.00

The label boasts the sub-heading, “Toasty and Buttery,” and this is the way Jean-Claude definitely prefers his chardonnay. Generous and a fine partner with food, the ’23 doesn’t sacrifice freshness. Indeed, it brings a lively acid drive to a wine that embraces ripe tropical fruits, summer stone fruits and citrus with some attractive citrus peel savoury notes. Inviting and easy to get to know and enjoy. Drink: 2025-2027.

 

Arrogant Frog Pinot Noir 2023

91pts | $15.00

In the south of France, the maker seeks out the “cooler” soils in Limoux for his pinot to prevent any “fast tracking” maturity. For this wine he uses up to five different clones and the wine includes contracted grower fruit – in other words, it’s a big volume seller. Bright and fragrant with black cherry fruits, wild raspberry and spice, Arrogant Frog brings pinot perfume and red fruits to the fore – quite supple in delivery – married to soft tannins. It speaks of its home in the sunny South of France: approachable and offering drinking enjoyment. Drink: 2025-2027.

 

Domaines Paul Mas Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2022

90pts | $22.00

The maker is a big believer in cabernet and seeks vines off gravel soils close by water, in this instance, it’s the Hérault River. The result is a soft, textural red wine at an everyday price. Black and red fruits with gentle herbal notes, earth and spice. A swathe of ripe fruit, mellow and smooth-running, is inviting on the palate supported by red cherry, plum and dark fruits, florals, leaf and supple tannins. Good drinking now with mouth filling generosity. Drink: 2025-2028.

 

Château Paul Mas Clos des Mûres Languedoc 2023

93pts | $25.00

Reinforces the maker’s reputation for producing some of the best value wines in the world. This $25 red hits well above its price point with a ripe, full spectrum of flavours. A blend of syrah (85%), grenache noir (10%) and mourvèdre (5%), Clos des Mûres is part of the producer’s Appellation Series which celebrates the terroir – including ancient fossils - of the Languedoc.  Ripe, dark berry fruits encased in woody spice meet aromatic wild herbs and earth. The mix is warm hearted with a lively mineral-flecked, earthy savoury thread that runs long on supple tannins. Top drinking. Drink: 2025-2030.

The wines of Domaines Paul Mas, including Arrogant Frog, are available through Dan Murphy stores.

Angus Hughson
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