The 2012 Vacqueyras Hauts de Castellas is a ripe, medium to full-bodied Vacqueyras that offers up attractive red and black fruits, spice-box, toast and crushed flower-like aromas and flavors. A blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mouvedre that saw roughly 10% new oak, it’s a beautifully-made, character filled effort to drink over the coming 4-6 years.

The 2010 Vacqueyras Les Hauts des Castellas is a Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre blend aged in a combination of tank and oak. A fabulous effort, it exhibits an opaque purple color as well as notes of incense, ground pepper, creme de cassis, kirsch, lavender and licorice. Supple as well as fabulously concentrated, this super-star of the vintage should drink well for a decade. Vignerons de Charactere is a large cooperative that controls nearly 1,300 acres in Vacqueyras from many growers/domaines from which they bottle many of their single domaine wines. The quality is impeccably high as this is one of the best run coops in southern France. These cuvees range in price from a low of $20 to as much as $75, but most are in the $25 range. They are located on the road to Vaison La Romain north of Vacqueyras itself. The wines listed include all my favorite cuvees, and they all merit serious attention. Various American importers, including Importer: W. J. Deutsch and Sons, Ltd., White Plains, NY; tel. (914) 251-9463; Ideal Wine & Spirits, Medford, MA, tel. (781) 395-3300; and Fruit of the Vines, New York, NY; tel. (212) 765-2970

For starters, the 2009 Vacqueyras Les Hauts de Castellas is a Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre blend aged in wood barrels for 12 months that exhibits classic Provencal characteristics of garrigue, lavender, pepper, kirsch and spice. Big, chewy, robust, exuberant, pure and medium to full-bodied with silky tannins, it should drink well for 5-6 years. (Not yet released) This is a well-run large cooperative in Vacqueyras that admirably displays the talent involved. I tasted a dozen separate cuvees from this operation and six of them were potentially outstanding. Most of the others were competent, correct wines. This huge cooperative controls over 1,100 acres in Vacqueyras, and the wines are realistically priced for such high quality. The following six wines should change the mind of anyone with an anti-cooperative prejudice. Importers: Fruit of the Vines, Long Island City, NY; tel. (718) 392-5640; and Vintner Select, Cincinnati, OH; tel. (800) 597-1491

The 2007 Vacqueyras Les Hauts de Castellas is an impeccably made Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre blend offering a deep ruby/purple hue as well as impressive concentration and depth, sweet tannins, and hints of roasted herbs, meat, and black fruits in a packed, rich, medium to full-bodied style. It should drink well for 5-7 years. Importers: Fruit of the Vine, New York, NY; and Vintner Select, Cincinnati, OH; tel. (800) 597-1491

The delicious Les Hauts de Castellas is soft, ripe, and medium to full-bodied, displaying loads of lavender, pepper, and black cherry characteristics. I’ll keep my tasting notes brief as these are all well-made Vacqueyras that represent different blends, usually dominated by Grenache with various percentages of Syrah and Mourvedre added. Vinification tends to be traditional, with carbonic maceration employed for some cuvees. Importers: Fruit of the Vine, New York, NY, and Vintner Select, Cincinnati, OH; tel. (800) 597-1491