Wine & Spirits - June 2021 - 69

Focus Languedoc-Roussillon
style, augments the plummy cherry flavors of
syrah and grenache with the vanilla, dill and
cassia scents of oak. Full-bodied and spicy, it
needs some time to come into balance; if you
open it now, have a steak at the ready. § Jean
Claude Mas Importers, NY
525395

90 | Château Moujan

92 | Domaine de Nizas

$17

2018 Languedoc Le Clos Rouge (Best Buy) ^
From François Lurton's Pézenas estate, this
is a smoky, polished red. Based on syrah with
grenache, mourvèdre and a touch of carignan, it macerated for three weeks in stainless steel tanks before half of it was moved
into oak barrels for six months. The wood
tones sweeten the fruit a touch, turning it
from cherry to blueberry, and boost the texture into the velvety realm. § Old Bridge Cellars, Napa, CA
525353

91 | Vignobles Jeanjean

$25

2019 Languedoc Devois des Agneaux
d'Aumelas ^ Tightly wound, this feels cool
in its bright red-fruit tones, like chilled red
cherries with the leaves still attached. Right
now, the oak flavors are competing with the
fruit, but the energy the wine emanates suggests it's only a matter of time before the fruit
takes over. § Cannon Wines, San Francisco, CA
524433

91 | Château de Lascaux

$25

91 | Château La Négly

$30

2019 Pic St-Loup Carra ^ A blend of syrah
and grenache (60/40) grown on fractured
limestone soils, this is sweet and floral, with
a candied strawberry intensity. It's the notes
of garrigue and the acidity that bring it into
balance, adding a wild energy to the blend. §
Montaigne Imports, San Francisco, CA
524427
2019 La Clape La Falaise ^ Half syrah fermented and aged in new barriques, the rest
grenache and mourvèdre aged in demimuids, this brims with lush, sweet fruit. It's
a steakhouse style, extracted and superripe,
notes of oak char and black pepper spice
adding definition. § Wine Wine Situation, Los
Angeles, CA
525483

$40

2018 La Clape Classique ^ From an estate in
the portfolio of Les Domaines Auriol, this
blends 25 percent cinsault into a syrah base,
with 5 percent carignan. The result brings a
lightness and grace to syrah's warm, expansive black flavors, as well as a little pleasant
grit to the tannins. With notes of cherry,
licorice root and tapenade, the wine carries a Mediterranean coolness that makes it
impressively easy to drink. § Monsieur Touton
Selection, NY
525428

90 | Château de Gaure

$19

2017 Languedoc ^ In 2004, Pierre Fabre
traded a career as an engineer for the life of
a winemaker on a 500-acre estate south of
Carcassonne. He's since created an estate of
gardens, olive groves, woodlands and biodynamically farmed vineyards. This red, a
blend of carignan, syrah and grenache in
roughly equal proportions, captures some
of the wildness of the estate in its sunny
richness and ample herbal notes. Oak adds
a smoky plushness to the fruit and takes the
edge off the tannins. § V.O.S. Selections, NY
525354

90 | Domaine du
Causse d'Arboras

$30

90 | Viranel

$23

2018 Terrasses du Larzac La Sentinelle ^
Part of the Vignobles Jeanjean portfolio, this
organically farmed 40-acre estate sits on a
limestone plateau at just over 1,000 feet in
altitude. A cool site, it grew a juicy, fresh red
in 2019. Vinified entirely in cement, it feels
clean, almost naked, just juicy blue fruit with
a fruit-skin grip of tannins that could take on
a dry-aged steak. § Cannon Wines, San Francisco, CA
524446

$50

2017 St-Chinian Intuition ^ A blend of syrah
and grenache with 10 percent each mourvèdre and carignan, this is floral and spicy, with
brisk acidity that keeps it fresh. Approachable now, it has enough firm, espressoscented tannins to suggests that it might
benefit from more time in the cellar. § Regal
Wine Imports, Moorestown, NJ
525377

2019 Grès de Montpellier Silenus ^ JeanClaude Mas runs this 140-acre estate in conjunction with Italian winemaker Giorgio
Grai. The wine, crafted in a showy, modern

2019 Languedoc Les Darons (Best Buy) ^
Mostly grenache, with 20 percent syrah and
a splash of carignan, this is juicy and spicy,

91 | Domaine Silene

88 | Jeff Carrel

$17

a straightforward mouthful of smashed purple-berry fruit with licorice highlights. § Hand
Picked Selections, Warrenton, VA
524458

88 | Injuste

$13

87 | Hecht & Bannier

$15

2018 Languedoc (Best Buy) ^ A label from
Les Vignobles Foncalieu, this is based on
declassified St-Chinian fruit, with ten percent from nearby vineyards.. It's a steal at
the price, with floral berry and peppery plum
flavors carried on a velvety texture. § Scoperta
Importing Co., Cleveland Heights, OH
524470
2019 Languedoc Syrah Grenache Carignan (Best Buy) ^ Minty fresh, this is bright
and simple, a brisk red with juicy, savory raspberry flavor. § Frederick Wildman & Sons, NY

CABARDES
525427

91 | Domaine de Cabrol

$32

2015 Cabardès Vent d'Est ^ North of Carcassonne, Cabardès combines Mediterranean
warmth with Atlantic coolness. That coolness
is particularly apparent at Cabrol, where the
limestone terraces climb toward 1,000 feet in
altitude, and support cabernet franc as well
as syrah. The two varieties join here to make
a curiously appealing wine, as herbal as it is
fruity, with notes of cedar and dried mushroom that point up its age. It's savory and
restrained, light enough to match well with
vegetable dishes. § V.O.S. Selections, NY

CORBIERES

525415

95 | Domaine d'Aussières

$50

2017 Corbières Château d'Aussières ^ In
1999, the Domaines Barons de Rothschild
(Lafite) acquired this estate, 1,359 acres of
forest, Mediterranean scrub and gardens
buffering 412 acres of vines. This is the
estate's top cuvée, a strict selection made
even stricter in 2017 by two frosts at the end
of April that devastated close to a third of its
WINE & SPIRITS

JUNE 2021

69
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Wine & Spirits - June 2021

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