Showing the difficulty in the vintage, the 2014 Vacqueyras offers moderate depth and richness, with juicy acidity, medium-body and a clean, simple profile. Drink up.

The 2010 Vacqueyras Seigneur de Fontimple comes from slightly younger vines (30 years of age) and is aged totally in tank. It offers abundant aromas of ground pepper, roasted Provencal herbs, licorice, spice box, underbrush and black cherries. This elegant, medium-bodied, ripe, full mature 2010 is best drunk over the next 2-3 years. 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

Another good value is the 2009 Vacqueyras Seigneur de Fontible, a classic Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre blend that is vinified with carbonic maceration and aged totally in tank prior to bottling. The result is a front end-loaded, richly fruity Vacqueyras offering oodles of peppery garrigue notes intermixed with black cherry and strawberry fruit. Ripe and dense with no hard edges, this fruit-bomb is meant to be consumed during its first 3-4 years of life. Consumers will find it to be irresistible. (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 general style is one of fruity, good quality, commercially-styled wines that represent very good value, and are immediately appealing. All of the 2007s are fruit-laden, lush, and best drunk in their first 3-5 years of life. These wines are aged in tank prior to early bottling 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

The 2006 Vacqueyras Seigneur de Fontimple is a blend of 70% Grenache and the rest Syrah and Mourvedre, plays it a little closer to the vest. It has loads of cherry fruit, slightly more acidity than the other two cuvees, and plenty of charm. This wine should drink nicely for 6-8 years. Importers: Fruit of the Vine, New York, NY, and Vintner Select, Cincinnati, OH; tel. (800) 597-1491