2012 Minervois Les Carretals

My favorite of the 2012s, the 2012 Minervois Les Carretals (named after the vineyard where it comes from) offers deep, layered aromas and flavors of cassis and crunchy dark fruits, licorice, vanilla bean and searing minerality. Medium to full-bodied, concentrated, structured and age-worthy, it will take 2-3 years for this to round into form and it will have a solid 10-12 years or more of total longevity. Vosne-Romanee-based Anne Gros and partner Jean-Paul Tollot (of Domaine Tollot-Beaut) fashion serious, structured and age-worthy efforts from their estate located in the northern part of the Minervois. I spent the better part of an afternoon with Anne, touring all of her vineyards, and the terroir here is spectacular, with diverse soil and exposure between each of the sites. The wines have vibrant, if not crunchy, acidity, good concentration and beautifully made profiles that will benefit from short-term cellaring. While I hate to use the term Burgundian here, these efforts certainly have a tension and energetic feel (while not lacking fruit) that’s unique to the region. Importers include United Estates Wine Imports (Connie and Patrick Allen Selections), Worthington, OH; tel. (614) 543-1427; and North Berkeley Wine Imports, Berkeley, CA; tel. (800) 266-6585