The 2013 Banyuls Cuvee Leon Parce is a big, chewy, slightly rustic Banyuls that offers classic candied olive, currants, raisins and spice aromas and flavors. Made from 90% Grenache and 10% Carignan that spent 18 months in barrel, drink this full-bodied, rich, textured dessert wine over the coming 4-5 years (it will keep for longer, if you’re so inclined).

An outstanding Banyuls, the 2011 Cuvee Leon Parce spent 18 months in a combination of different aged barrels prior to bottling. Offering lots of spice, toast, old book and wooden cabinet-like nuances, it has a core of kirsch and darker-styled fruit that carries through its medium to full-bodied, voluptuous and textured profile. Showing balance between its sweetness and alcohol, it should evolve gracefully going forward. Jack Siler Selections (various importers), Paris; fax 011 33 1 45 45 23 59

The Parces' 2008 Banyuls Cuvee Leon Parce - which spends around a year in small barrels - is gorgeously-scented with confitured and distilled black raspberry, maraschino, marzipan, mint, and rosemary. The pungent impingement of resinous herbs persists on the palate, lending a sense of invigoration and counterpoint to what is otherwise a seamlessly sweet, unctuous performance, and notes of bitter chocolate and brown spices add further fascination to the long, soothing yet stimulating finish of a seductive treat that should not wear out its welcome over the next several years. (I tasted the blend that will constitute Domaine de la Rectorie's 2010 Banyuls Cuvee Leon Parce and it is just as impressive as the performance by its "little" sibling - a.k.a "Cuvee Parce Freres" - would lead you to expect. But since the wine was headed for close to a year's stint in barrel, it would have been misleading to supply a tasting note on it at this stage in its evolution.) I did not visit Marc and Thierry Parce's Domaine de la Rectorie this year, though judging by the samples that came my way, that was clearly my mistake. Jack Siler Selections (various importers), Paris; fax 011 33 1 45 45 23 59