2008 Vin de Pays des Cotes Catalanes

Funny one this. Rather austere at first – very cool with the granite dominating the rather surly fruit.  But there is no gainsaying its drinkability. It became more appealing during the evening and was an insistent but not oppressive partner to roast quail and Piemontese peppers.  So clean and refreshing it was almost like mouthwash. Not a patch on the obvious seduction of the white Soula but probably the best red one so far. I say, grudgingly. (JR)

The 2008 Le Soula is 38% each Sauvignon and Macabeu along with Vermentino and Grenache that grew together, and tiny amounts of several other cepages. Weighing-in at around 14% alcohol but a mere 3.2 pH, this smells effusively of fresh fig, pineapple, and grapefruit, all of which lusciously and juicily flood the palate, accompanied by high-toned inner-mouth profusion of mint, lavender, honeysuckle, and heliotrope. The leesy, barrel-inflected sense of creaminess here manages to compliment the wine's exuberant brightness, and it finishes both soothingly and refreshingly, if with a hint of heat. I suspect this will be best enjoyed over the next 2-3 years. (Tasted alongside, the 2007 - which included 15% each of Roussanne and Marsanne that I either failed to note or was not informed of when I wrote about it before bottling in issue 183 - retained its invigorating zest and sense of mineral impingement, but displayed a hint of finishing bitterness; marginally less refreshment; and considerably less perfumed allure than this 2008.) Gerard Gauby continues to advise 2001 co-originators and co-owners Roy Richards and Mark Walford (who also constitute the U.K. import company Richards-Walford), but since 2008, young yet internationally-experienced Gerald Standley has been calling the shots as Soula's vineyard and cellar manager. Blends and elevage continue to vary from year to year, as the numerous cepages - planted in many small parcels in the largely granitic northwestern limits and highest elevations of Roussillon - offer considerable flexibility, particularly in white, and the team here is both humbly and astutely conscious of their efforts being a work in progress. The range of microclimates and grape varieties also accounts for a generally protracted harvest; in 2008, for instance, black grapes were picked all the way from the 22nd of September to the 9th of October. If there has been - and there has - a widespread movement in Roussillon toward wines of enhanced freshness, one has to say that Soula was way out ahead of that curve. Demi-muids are favored over barrique, and the share of new wood employed has steadily diminished. Whole-berry fermentation is pursued for the red, with increasingly minimal attempt to extract polyphenols that are not liberated via infusion. The white 2010 Le Soula - as had been the case with its immediate predecessor - was very slow to finish fermenting, and so it was impossible even to assess its components on the occasion of my visit. Importer: Paul M. Young Fine Wines, Los Angeles, CA; tel. (213) 232-5199

Stony, Loire-a-like flint character on the nose, then dry, grainy and tannic on the palate. Crunchy and juicy fruit. Great potential. (RH)