Not harvested until October 20, and in bottle only ten days when I tasted it, the Lancyre 2010 Roussanne (as always, labeled in European markets “La Rouviere” rather than with the name of its overwhelmingly dominate cepage) is scented with fennel, mint, pear, Persian melon, and diverse floral perfume, all of which follow on a luscious, silken palate, to which finishing notes of cress, white pepper, pear pip, and crushed stone lend invigoratingly incisive, tactile counterpoint. This doesn’t in the least betray its 14% alcohol, inasmuch as one has an impression of levity and refreshment to accompany succulent richness of fruit. There are a lot of experiments in the Languedoc and Roussillon with Roussanne and Viognier (of which this bottling always contains a bit), but few if any have proven more consistently compelling than Lancyre’s, and none I know has demonstrated remotely its track record for felicitous bottle maturation. What’s more, it represents in this instance – and indeed, rather consistently – outstanding value and a few years’ patience will almost certainly be rewarded with equally if not yet more enthralling performances, as witness those of the 2008 or 2005 that I tasted and reviewed alongside. (The 2002, too, was delicious on this occasion, though almost certainly a bit past its prime. I did not, however, taste the 2009.) Regis Valentin once again displayed many successes across a stylistically diverse range. The 2009s here are however mildly disappointing – a circumstance not unfamiliar from Pic Saint-Loup – especially when directly compared with results from 2008, whose October harvest of Syrah, incidentally, was the latest in the estate’s history. As so often, though, 2010 is especially exciting, and the young reds from this vintage were already too deliciously expressive for me to resist publishing notes. Re-tasting the 2007 reds – on which I had last reported before bottling in issue 183 – they remain impressive (with the exception of the Grande Cuvee, now performing on the lower side of my pre-bottling projection), although their bitter elements and tannin were somewhat enhanced, and I re-rated both the Coste d’Aleyrac and Vieilles Vignes 90 points. Valentin graciously consented on this occasion to my request to taste some older vintages of his Roussanne – bottles of which I was thrilled to discover that he indeed cellars, and that you and I should, too!Imported by Handpicked Selections, Warrenton, VA; tel. (540) 347 9400
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