The 2007 Coteaux du Languedoc Pic Saint-Loup Les Glorieuses – Grenache and a small amount of Syrah vinified together and with all of their stems – originates in the estate’s oldest vines, planted in an approximately four acre parcel with deep, clay-rich soil. Blackberry, cassis, cedar, juniper, marjoram, and iris in the nose usher in a palate of implosive concentration and a palate-staining persistence (not to mention a bloody depth) worthy of Lady Macbeth. Dark chocolate, peat, iodine, marrow, fruit pits, and crushed stones give this a dark profundity, while sheer energy, salinity, and fresh fruit intensity lend invigorating brightness and an unforgettable savor. The tannins here are so fine-grained that only the wine’s sheer density testifies to their enormity. This should be cherished for a decade or even two by any wine lovers lucky enough to acquire bottles.Christophe Peyrus and Francois Julien had only recently assembled the majority of their 2007 reds when I tasted with them in December, and that collection is as exciting as past experience with Clos Marie and recognition of the potential of this vintage would lead one to expect. “Ripeness came early and homogeneously,” says owner-winemaker Peyrus. “The harvest was very rapid, and the evolution of the wines has been precocious.” Yet even under these conditions, potential alcohol seldom exceeded 14.5% even for the blocks of Grenache, a circumstance Peyrus attributes to his biodynamic methods of cultivation. He is also a partisan of vendange entier (the inclusion of whole clusters in red wine fermentation – in his case generally at least 50%) and says the stems were thoroughly ripe (i.e. lignified) in 2007. It’s a measure of the excitement that within fifteen years, this estate has ascended from obscurity to the top echelon of French wine addresses. There is never a lot of new wood in this dripping-wet cellar, although much of what there is, interestingly, comes from Austrian barrel-maker Franz Stockinger. (The 2007 reds had never been sulfured when I tasted them – that happens here only at bottling, and then only very judiciously.)Imported by Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville, PA; tel. (610) 486-0800 and Beaune Imports, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 559 1040

The 2006 Coteaux du Languedoc Pic Saint-Loup Les Glorieuses – due to be bottled around the time that this report appears – displays more obvious chalky minerality and tannin than its 2007 counterpart, but its viscous richness and its sheer intensity of blackberry fruit, augmented as well by notes of iodine, rosemary, and roasted red meats, are formidable. Faint warmth and the bitter side of resinous herbs in the finish may in part be as in evidence as they are on account of the wine’s relative tannic severity compared with most of the Clos Marie cuvees tasted on this occasion, as well as the fact that it is still saturated with a noticeable level of CO2.Christophe Peyrus and Francois Julien had only recently assembled the majority of their 2007 reds when I tasted with them in December, and that collection is as exciting as past experience with Clos Marie and recognition of the potential of this vintage would lead one to expect. “Ripeness came early and homogeneously,” says owner-winemaker Peyrus. “The harvest was very rapid, and the evolution of the wines has been precocious.” Yet even under these conditions, potential alcohol seldom exceeded 14.5% even for the blocks of Grenache, a circumstance Peyrus attributes to his biodynamic methods of cultivation. He is also a partisan of vendange entier (the inclusion of whole clusters in red wine fermentation – in his case generally at least 50%) and says the stems were thoroughly ripe (i.e. lignified) in 2007. It’s a measure of the excitement that within fifteen years, this estate has ascended from obscurity to the top echelon of French wine addresses. There is never a lot of new wood in this dripping-wet cellar, although much of what there is, interestingly, comes from Austrian barrel-maker Franz Stockinger. (The 2007 reds had never been sulfured when I tasted them – that happens here only at bottling, and then only very judiciously.)Imported by Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville, PA; tel. (610) 486-0800 and Beaune Imports, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 559 1040