2015
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Thézan-les-Béziers, 10km north of Béziers
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| Dry red - full bodied. Aged 5 years in oak barrels and vats |
| 53% Merlot, 47% Petit Verdot |
15.0%
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| Beef, lamb, game, duck, wild mushroom risotto |
Even better
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Now, or to 2035 and beyond
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The estate's flagship red, from 45 year-old vines, this shows a youthful dark purple/carmine with a tiny rim. It positively reeks of brambles, cassis, black cherry, polished leather, cedar and damp earth, with subtle hints of violets and iodine. If it sounds like an A to Z of all of the best wine descriptors, that's because it is - indeed, a really quite remarkably complex and intoxicating nose. As a Bordeaux blend, it smells like a top classed growth from a great year, but with a little bit of Languedoc spice and garrigue herb thrown in for good measure. On the palate, the fruit is beautifully ripe and rounded, almost sweet and luscious, but with plenty of tannic grip and fabulous acidity. And even after 4 years in barrel (followed by a year in vat), you hardly notice the oak, which is (in my book) the sign of a masterful winemaker, at the top of his game. Even at this relatively early stage, there is a warmth and a generosity that makes this wine hard to resist drinking now, whilst clearly also having the structure to age for another 10 years at least - and perhaps 20 or more. Another utterly wonderful wine, from one of the region's finest growers - indeed, a veritable Languedoc "Grand Cru". |
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