2016 Coteaux du Languedoc Prestige Rouge

50% Roussanne, 50% Marsanne. Oaked. Very cold sample but, despite that, deeply fragrant. A wonderful, heady, mouth-watering combination of hedgerow blossom and grapefruit and nuts. Sharp definition. Crystalline structure. Long and fine. Excellent. (TC)

The 2016 Prestige is made from 55% Grenache and 45% Syrah that’s from 65- to 80-year-old vines aged all in concrete tanks. It's a huge, opulent, sexpot of a wine that offers crazy good notes of black licorice, roasted herbs, peppered meats, and ripe, black and hints of blue fruits. While this is no doubt a big, rich wine, it has remarkable elegance and purity, and is the finest vintage I’ve tasted to date. Drink it over the coming 4-5 years. This cuvée was first made in 2009 by owner Gerard Bru, consultant Philippe Cambie, and Eric Solomon, and it has knocked it out of the park in every vintage to date.