Tasted assembled from tank, an inaugural 2009 Coteaux du Languedoc Pic Saint-Loup Cuvee Madame represents a demi-muid-aged blend of 90% Syrah and 10% Grenache from one particular parcel, whose fruit Valentin says is special every year (“though I can’t explain why; there’s nothing in the look of the vineyard to suggest this”), but did not, he decided, merit separate vinification in 2010. Cedar, blond tobacco, and marjoram accent ripe cherry and blackberry on the nose as well as on a densely- yet reasonably finely-tannic palate that picks up impressively low tones of roasted red meats, peat, espresso, fruit pit and crushed stone. This finishes with brooding persistence yet a welcome stream of primary berry juiciness and without its oak getting in the way. I’ll be very interested to see how it turns out from bottle and how it ages, but won’t try to prognosticate at this stage.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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