As usual, a blend of Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, Carignan, Cinsault, the Cal Demoura 2008 Coteaux du Languedoc Terrasses du Larzac L’Infidele displays ripe black raspberry and cassis shadowed by their distilled counterparts; smoky black tea; resinous herbs; and low-toned suggestions of roasted red meats. There is clarity and refinement here as well as an infectious juiciness – over and beyond the wine’s ample richness and fine tannins – which Goumard is inclined to attribute in part to the introduction of a sorting table, though it surely has something to do with the character of the vintage as well. This long-finishing blend is likely to remain fascinating and delicious for the better part of a decade, though I would by no means spurn its youthful charms. Vincent Goumard – for more about whose estate and methods, consult my account in issue 183 – has more than merely fine-tuned his approach in both the vineyard and cellar. Among the significant changes are an ongoing organic conversion; the introduction of a sorting table with the 2008 vintage; and the harvest of Carignan earlier and at lower alcohol for what Goumard calls “a complete change in the expression of this cepage,” strikingly evident amid the exciting raw materials for the estate’s 2010s. “After fermentation of the 2010 Syrahs, you thought you were in the Northern Rhone,” says Goumard, and the effusively floral and illusively carnal evidence remained abundant when I tasted from barrel in April. Imported by Rosenthal Wine Merchant, Pine Plains, NY; tel. (800) 910-1990.