2007 Vin de Pays Cotes Catalanes Blanc Coume Gineste

Tasted from a large Austrian cask, Gauby’s 2007 Coume Gineste – composed of slightly more Grenache Blanc than –Gris – is saline and citric, bright and refreshing from its nose to a long tail as incandescent as that of a skink or (four-legged) Smaragd. The combination of palpable extract, shimmering minerality, and razor-sharp clarity is remarkable, although right now what we have is at best 30% satisfaction and 70% fascination and potential. “It’s just a baby, after all,” says Gauby. Maybe, but it already has a full set of teeth! Get on line, though, because this is going to be a show-stopper in a few years – even in the short term it may reveal a lot more nuance – and is likely to reward 12-15 years’ cellaring. Gerard Gauby (increasingly assisted by his son Lionel) continues – restlessly, experimentally, but with obvious focus – to pursue his rigorous biodynamic viticultural regimen as well as his stylistic ideals of elegance, refinement, distinctive minerality, and moderate alcohol, none of which – he demonstrates – are incompatible with ripe flavors and sheer density. (One stunningly floral and fruit-filled lot of 2008 Grenache destined for Muntada was harvested at a record-low 13.3% alcohol.) The key quality factor in stony, sun-drenched Roussillon, Gauby opines, is density of root structure sufficient to support steady vine metabolism, because shut-down or stop-start maturation under stress is what ultimately causes tannins to harden and pH and sugars to rise independently of maturation. Reds here from the last five vintages are more exciting then ever, if stylistically distinct from their more obviously robust and alcoholically-rich predecessors. Gauby has been the regional leader in white wines as well, which seem especially to benefit from the high-elevation and mixture of schistic and chalky soils around the town of Calc. A recently-acquired parcel of Grenache Gris vines planted in 1947 that he is “restoring” represents, says Gauby, the last such acreage available in his neighborhood. Propagation of cuttings will take a long time to mature to the point where they bear outstanding fruit, and he has enough old vines to keep him entirely busy and supplied. Apropos white grapes and young vines, Gauby is inter-planting Malvoisie with some of his red vines to achieve an effect similar to that conferred by the occasional blanc and gris vines that are a feature of Roussillon’s oldest remaining stands of Carignan and Grenache. Incidentally, there is an utterly alluring Gauby 2004 vendange tardive still in barrel, subtly oxidizing. Importer: Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville, PA; tel. (610) 486-0800.