Named for the location of the estate’s oldest Carignan vines, the Tour Vieille 2007 Collioure Puig Ambeille (from roughly equal parts Grenache, Carignan and Mourvedre) looks set to become an especially eloquent version of this cuvee. A complex nose of brine, iodine, kelp, iris, fennel, roasted meats, purple plum, and black cherry ushers in a richly-fruited, deeply-meaty, savory palate, on which fruit pit bitterness, iodine, and salt add interest and invigoration. This grips impressively, with refined but abundant tannins and a wealth of marine and mineral intrigue. Look for close to a decade’s worth of fascination, and given the modest price asked for previous installments of this cuvee (not rendered every vintage) look for outstanding value. Christine Campadieu and Vincent Cantie operate from an expansive but unromantic modern facility that they built in 2001 above Collioure (new stainless steel tanks having been installed for the 2009 harvest). The view from their cuverie – overlooking ancient Collioure (site of their ancient press house) and dramatically terraced vineyards plunging into the rocky surf – is another matter. If I had my desk there I would have trouble concentrating on work! The outlook was very different when they began just over a quarter of a century ago, they say, as the majority of terraces above this picturesque fishing village had been abandoned, demand for sweet fortified wine was plummeting, and the reputation for dry wine – the Collioure appellation having only been created in 1971 – was undeveloped. (Banyuls and Collioure occupy the same acreage affiliated with four coastal towns.) Importer: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 524-1524