Fenouillèdes Roussillon
January 2005

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Old vine Grenache, Carignan, Mourvèdre & Syrah-powered reds; a few interesting dry whites and Muscats; plus fab Vins Doux Naturels (sweet fortified white, amber and red wines) from Fenouillèdes country. This beautifully rugged, northwest corner of the Roussillon forms the 'border' between French Catalonia and the Pyrenees and Corbières hills. Most of these wines were tasted blind and others in the growers' cellars during an eye-opening trip in cold, crisp yet sunny Jan 2005. More Fenouillèdes here and here.

Côtes du Roussillon & Villages

2003 Domaine Hylari - Perfumed spice plus a hint of oak, chunky blackberry/cherry fruit, concentrated yet pretty firm and closed up on the finish at the moment; however, shows nice bite, elegance and ripeness with well handled oak. 87-89

2003 Cuvée des Schistes, Vignerons de Cassagnes-Belesta - Enticing floral liquorice nose, attractive soft fruit followed by firm tight finish and good length too. 90

2003 Bastoul, Domaine des Soulanes - Rather firm and closed up at first; however, it certainly seems to have subtle fruit concentration at heart, with fair power too without being heavily extracted. 87-89

2001 Domaine Salvat - Very ripe toffee fruit scented with violets too, attractive 'sweet' texture leads to firmer finish, not so concentrated but shows a bit of finesse. 89-91

2003 Domaine Terre Rousse - 'Tar' and ripe plum fruit with rustic edges, firmly structured yet also has attractive texture and weight. 87-89

2004 Domaine Barriot (barrel samples pre-blending) - Shows good pure fruit and concentration, a light touch of spicy chocolate oak adds texture to the firmly structured yet attractive mouthfeel, stylish balanced length. Look forward to retasting the finished bottled wine, could be a 90 pointer.

2001 Tautavel Prieurée, Domaine Fontanel - Lovely nose offering ripe smoky fruit and herbs, shows a touch of wood but it works, firm yet rounded tannins, power yet a touch of elegance too on the finish. 89-91

2004 Domaine du Possible (vat sample) - Pretty forward on the nose showing ripe and rustic liquorice fruit, nice grip and length on the palate. 87

2004 Domaine Rivaton (vat sample) - Quite chunky fruit and structure, tight long finish, shows promise. 89

2003 Dona Baissas Prestige - Lovely ripe fruit with herbal and rustic edges, firm rounded tannins finishing with a touch of elegance too. 90

2004 Jean Louis Majoral (vat sample)  - Aromatic pure fruit, good texture and concentration, very firm tannins but well handled overall. 89

2003 L'Alba, Domaine Tribouley - Peppery farmy nose, shows good concentration and finely grippy tannins. 89-91

2003 Le Ciste, Domaine Laguerre - Aromatic fruit and very firm grip, yet this has concentration and roundness on the palate; shows potential. 89

2003 Pesquié, Domaine Jorel - Sweet raspberry fruit aromas, juicy yet firm palate, attractive style drinking now. 87-89

2002 Clos del Rey - Pretty rich extracted fruit and chocolate oak, firm in the mouth yet nicely textured; perhaps a little too extracted but this has much better concentration than most of the 2002s. 87

2003 Latour de France, Domaine de la Balmière - Smoky and rustic offering attractive fruit, good concentration and lingering balanced grip. 89-91

2003 Symphonie, Domaine des Collines des Vents - Enticing ripe fruit with lavender notes, leading to firm tannins in the mouth yet with underlying sweetness; has power and elegance too. 89-91

2003 Tramontana, Domaine de la Capeillette - Sensuous black cherry fruit, the palate's rather closed up but overall it's well balanced and promising. 89-91

2003 Trois Pierres, Domaine de l'Ausseil - Attractive smoky nose with menthol undertones, very grippy yet shows concentrated fruit, tight structure and good length. Should improve with a little bottle age. 89

2003 Voluptas, Domaine Semper - Very fruity on the nose and not overtly oaky; tighter palate and more chocolate textured, pretty firm yet mineral too, very light toast and liquorice on the finish; dry bite bordering on being a little extracted, but there's freshness there too despite the rather heavy 15+% alc. 87

Whites

2004 Vin de Pays (VDP), Domaine Terre Rousse - honeysuckle with light creamy tones, concentrated with mineral intensity balancing the malo-lactic fatness; lovely. 90+

2004 Côtes du Roussillon (CDR), Domaine des Vents - oily aromas lead to a zingy palate, weighty and textured yet crisp and long. 88-90

2004 VDP, Mas Karolina - zesty citrus style, perfumed and quite rich with nice bite. 87-89

2002 CDR, Domaine de la Serre - Aniseed and mineral notes, concentrated and complex with long finish. 88+

2004 Corbières, Domaine du Grand Arc - Lifted citrus Sauvignon Blanc-esque style, zingy with nice extract and length. 87+

2003 Terra Novo, Vignerons de Maury - Lightly toasty with dominant aniseed characters, has good weight of fruit v zing and length. 87+

2004 VDP, Domaine Arguti - Perfumed anise on the nose boosted by light cream and toast, tight and long palate; a bit closed up but could be good. 88+

2003 Muscat sec, Domaine Jouret - very perfumed Muscat style with citrus peel notes, zesty and crisp length. 87-89

2004 Muscat sec, Domaine de la Balmière - a bit closed on the nose, gummy extract with crisp citrus depth. 87

Vins Doux Naturels

Rivesaltes Hors d'Age, Dona Baissas - lovely aged richness and pecan nut character, elegant bite counteracts the sweetness with the alcohol also cutting through the finish nicely. 92-94

1991 Rivesaltes Ambré, Domaine du Rancy - rich complex toffee fruit with a lingering coating of sweet baked nuts; wow. 90-92

1997 Rivesaltes Ambré, Domaine Hylari - quite intense toffee and walnut notes, shows attractive bite and length v warming sweetness. 90

2002 Rivesaltes Grenat, Domaine de l'Ausseil - a little closed on the nose but shows attractive chunky black fruits and tannins, sweetness v grip; quite young but will develop nicely. 92

1983 Chabert de Barbera, Cave de Maury - volatile mature tawny style, nutty and tangy; Port like but grippier with sweetness and firmness on the finish; lovely aged character lingers. 90

2003 Maury, Preceptorie de Centernach - ripe spicy fruit with tobacco tones, good grip and balance, tight and concentrated. 90

2003 L'Oursoulette Grenat, Domaine Comelade - lots of raspberry jam on the nose then turning tobacco and spice, elegant palate with nice dry coating of tannins v sweetness. 90

2004 Muscat de Rivesaltes, Domaine des Vents - very floral and honeyed too, zingy with zesty concentration v sweetness, long finish. 90

2004 Muscat de Rivesaltes, Domaine Andreu - quite zingy and concentrated v sweet grapey fruit, lightly zesty with lively bite. 87

2004 Muscat de Rivesaltes, Vignerons de Lesquerde - again shows tight zingy mouthfeel v richer sweetness, stylish elegant finish. 87