2007 Faugeres Les Bastides

While he reports that the crop for 2007 Maison Jaune was very small - from which he managed at the last minute to save a couple of bottles for his own private cellar - Alquier showed me a 2007 Faugeres Les Bastides that confirms his and this cuvee's continued stature. Toasted hickory and tamarind accent ripe, lightly-cooked dark cherry in the nose and on a broad, rich, palpably dense palate that retains admirable primary berry juiciness and is underlain by humus, peat, and wet stone. The abundant tannins here are fine-grained and well-knit; while the sense of meaty and saline savor serves for a mouthwatering finish. This looks to have minimum ten year potential, and I would be tempted to leave it alone for the first few. In 1996, Jean-Michel Alquier parted ways with his brother Gilbert (whom I visited for my issue 183 report) and in 2002 he ended a long-standing arrangement with importer Kermit Lynch, since which time not a bottle of J.-M. Alquier's wine has been imported to the U.S. - or at least, not that he is aware. Those who like me cherish their recollections - or even a fee remaining bottles - of the 1991 or 1996 Les Bastide (which performed impressively on the occasion of my visit) will be delighted to learn that quality here is at least as memorable today as it was then. Now this Alquier - who already exports nearly half of his production - just needs to get hooked up with an American importer! There is not a lot of wine, since he has done little to expand since the fraternal division of the family's estate, and has only ten hectares in black grapes and one in white. Alquier's early-bottled Les Premieres cuvee - which he shrugged off showing me from vintages 2010 or 2009 - comes from his lower slopes, is aged 14 months in older barriques, and is dominated by Syrah along with Grenache and Carignan. His cuvee Maison Jaune features Grenache, usually vinified with stems and whole clusters; aided in its performance by around 20% Syrah and at most 10% Mourvedre; and gets close to 18 months of elevage in barriques, of which a small share is new. Finally, Les Bastides represents Syrah from his highest-elevation sites - plus at most a touch of Mourvedre - generally 18 months in barriques, 30-40% of which are new. All three cuvees are normally assembled in February, as soon as malo-lactic conversions are finished.