November 29, 2023 - Love this. A steal at the price.
November 28, 2023 - This is a Catalan wine
November 25, 2023 - Messy cork with ample residue had me worried about bottle quality control, but delicious after a 2 hour decant. Lots of fruit, clean finish, very good. Let me say again- LOTS OF FRUIT. But also, again, very good. Happy I have more to see develop over the next few years.Think this has potential to keep the fruit/jammy notes without the heat and amp up the score even further.
July 14, 2023 - Nose is rather muted, but I am just coming off of a cold. Brown sugar, and kind of a spoiled meatiness/stewed fruit on the nose.
Palate is much more expressive. Pomegranate, black plum, black cherry, tar and black olive. Touch of black pepper. Tannins are medium minus and acid is medium. It's ok.
April 29, 2023 - Nose of Dark Fruit with pepper, earth and floral notes. Predominant Plum and other dark fruit on the tongue. Rather tight after a short decant. Long on finish. Moderate tannins and a bit unbalanced that may improve after further decanting.
February 19, 2023 - Horrid. Worst wine I have bought in years. Stewed fruit and high alcohol. I will remove my score based on the possibility of outlier bottle variation.
February 18, 2023 - Wow, Maury !! I love that little commune in the Roussillon !!
Perfect composite cork, easily removed. Medium purple color with good clarity. Consumed over four days in a kitchen counter aging test. A cherry powerhouse on day one that softened considerably each day to reveal a fuller and more balanced wine. Aromas of cherry and rhubarb. Flavors of black cherry cola and glycerine. A very balanced wine that brings back memories of the wonderful meal we had at La Maison du Terroir in the town. A very interesting and wonderful wine from deep in the Southwest corner of the country. There lies Department 66, which serves as the inspiration and namesake for our winery and vineyards in the town of Maury. Roughly two hours east of Barcelona, Spain and thirty minutes inland from the ancient Roman port city of Perpignan, old vine Grenache thrives along with Syrah and Carignan in the "Cotes Catalanes"; a sub-appellation of the Roussillon. The fruit comes from 300 acres of vineyards among the Pyrénées-Orientales mountain range, which were planted more than 60 years ago. The terroir is dominated by black schist, with small deposits of granite and limestone in red, rocky soils known as angile. Similar to the nearby growing region of Priorat in Spanish Catalonia, schist is a crystalline rock based soil that retains heat well but is poor in organic nutrients and nitrogens. Apart from lowland scrub, “garrigue,” and sparse tree plantings, very little agriculture survives here. The intense heat from the daytime sun is reflected back to the gnarled, head trained vines at night, increasing ripeness while maintaining acidity. The result is a very low yield (half ton per acre), but makes for a dark, concentrated, and finesse driven wine that embodies this singular region. General Manager Richard Case and Vineyard Manager & Cellarmaster Bob Doyle continue to make this dream a reality since 2008.
January 27, 2023 - Still liking this wine on the 3rd bottle; opened and let breathe for 3 1/2 hours.
I opened a bottle (the 2nd) a week ago, and only let it breathe for 30 minutes and used an aerator; however, it was horrible. Ended up dumping 1/2 the bottle because it was undrinkable. I don't know whether it was bad or just didn't get enough air.
I enjoyed this (the 3rd bottle) as much as the 1st.
January 21, 2023 - I can see how some reviewers would think it is an over-extracted, over-alcoholed fruit bomb and not like it. I can see how others would think it is a great fruit forward, powerful wine. I like it a lot, but I like Paso Robles fruit forward Rhone blends-which is what it tastes like to me. Maybe some more age will mellow it. However, at this time, it is a very new world style, very warm climate wine. It is not a subtle, food-oriented classic french terroir-driven wine.
January 21, 2023 - Very intense and dark. Mostly Syrah and grenache, I think.