Southern France wines in the Flickinger Fine Wines inventory http://www.flickingerwines.com/wineregions/southernfrench.asp MB ***[*]: It is interesting to follow the progress of a wine from cradle to full maturity: a cask sample drawn in January, tasted in May 1987: opaque, of course: spicy, cinnamon, new oak, sweet raw, blackcurrant (Cabernet Sauvignon) fragrance, figgy, almost port=like, lovely flavour, length and finish. elegant though lean. A good start. Exactly three years later: sweet, full, very rich, velvety. Next, at lunch in 1991: still very deep, full, soft, fleshy, lovely. With the 1983 my second highest mark at the vertical tasting at Gassac in 1994. A really lovely wine, complete, good future. Most recently: still richly impressive, fragrant, harmonious; some sweetness, good flavour, fruit, tannins and acidity. One of my three top marks. Lovely now. Why wait?JR 15.0 (1/2002): Beautiful deep crimson colour. Ripe red fruits on the nose, then lots of acid and jagged structure. Furry tannins at the end. This recalls the 1982 and older vintages. There is not enough fruit and the wine is hollow. The others liked it more than I did.http://www.flickingerwines.com/growers/MasdeDaumasGassac.aspMB ***[*]: It is interesting to follow the progress of a wine from cradle to full maturity: a cask sample drawn in January, tasted in May 1987: opaque, of course: spicy, cinnamon, new oak, sweet raw, blackcurrant (Cabernet Sauvignon) fragrance, figgy, almost port=like, lovely flavour, length and finish. elegant though lean. A good start. Exactly three years later: sweet, full, very rich, velvety. Next, at lunch in 1991: still very deep, full, soft, fleshy, lovely. With the 1983 my second highest mark at the vertical tasting at Gassac in 1994. A really lovely wine, complete, good future. Most recently: still richly impressive, fragrant, harmonious; some sweetness, good flavour, fruit, tannins and acidity. One of my three top marks. Lovely now. Why wait?JR 15.0 (1/2002): Beautiful deep crimson colour. Ripe red fruits on the nose, then lots of acid and jagged structure. Furry tannins at the end. This recalls the 1982 and older vintages. There is not enough fruit and the wine is hollow. The others liked it more than I did.http://www.flickingerwines.com/growers/MasdeDaumasGassac.aspMB ***[*]: It is interesting to follow the progress of a wine from cradle to full maturity: a cask sample drawn in January, tasted in May 1987: opaque, of course: spicy, cinnamon, new oak, sweet raw, blackcurrant (Cabernet Sauvignon) fragrance, figgy, almost port=like, lovely flavour, length and finish. elegant though lean. A good start. Exactly three years later: sweet, full, very rich, velvety. Next, at lunch in 1991: still very deep, full, soft, fleshy, lovely. With the 1983 my second highest mark at the vertical tasting at Gassac in 1994. A really lovely wine, complete, good future. Most recently: still richly impressive, fragrant, harmonious; some sweetness, good flavour, fruit, tannins and acidity. One of my three top marks. Lovely now. Why wait?JR 15.0 (1/2002): Beautiful deep crimson colour. Ripe red fruits on the nose, then lots of acid and jagged structure. Furry tannins at the end. This recalls the 1982 and older vintages. There is not enough fruit and the wine is hollow. The others liked it more than I did.http://www.flickingerwines.com/growers/MasdeDaumasGassac.aspMB ***[*]: First tasted 12 months after the vintage: dark cherry; fruit frull and fruitful; powerful, concentrated, tannic of course. Most recently, after the end of barrel elevage and before going back into steel tank 'to digest the wood taste', prior to bottling in mid-February (2002): fairly deep, plumy; rich, strawberry-like nose, sweet, harmonoius; medium full-bodied (alcohol 13%), rich, soft tannins, good length. Good wine, good future. WS 90 (6/2003): Elegrant, with delicious flavors of cherry, plum and pepper, supported by a firm structure. Finely crafted, with refined tannins that coat the palate. Long lingering finish of vanilla and sandalwood. Drink now. 12,830 cases made.IWC 89+ (8/2002): Full, bright red. Spicy aromas of cherry, plum, raspberry, currant, mocha and smoke. Supple, smooth and sweet, with broad but subdued plum and currant flavors and lovely vinosity. Classy, quite dry and cleanly made, but youthfully restrained today. Finishes with mouthdusting, ripe tannins and very good persistence. Not a wine of huge density but unusually suave for a red wine from the Languedoc. Really needs a good five or six years of cellaring.http://www.flickingerwines.com/growers/MasdeDaumasGassac.aspWA 93 (6/2009): Bay laurel, sandalwood, and plum preserves in the nose of the 2006 Coteaux du Languedoc La Clape L-Ancely mingle on the palate - in archetypal Mourvedre fashion - with dark chocolate, beef blood, and sea water. These descriptions will not strike anyone who tastes this wine as being exaggerated; rather, the intensity of these flavors put this wine practically beyond imagination! Is this elegant or refined? No. If Mourvedre is inherently animal, this is a real beast. But it displays an elemental power that is irresistible, without becoming overbearing, and phenomenally rich ripeness and plush texture, without its 15.6% alcohol engendering heat or roughness in its throat-coating finish. Certainly it will be worth following for at least 5-7 years, and I would not be surprised to find it holding up well for a decade.http://www.flickingerwines.com/growers/ChateaudelaNegly.asphttp://www.flickingerwines.com/growers/ChateaudelaNegly.aspWA 93-94 (6/2009): The 2006 Coteaux du Languedoc La Clape La Port du Ciel was set to be bottled in January, only around three weeks after I last tasted it. Prunes, creme de cassis, cinnamon, and resin rise from the glass. In the mouth, this is viscous to the point of being like a pasty concentrate of plum and black fruits mingled with chocolate, soy, and road tar, tinged with cardamom and cinnamon. It exhibits a correspondingly sticky finishing presence, yet is neither ungainly nor (despite more than 16%) marred by alcoholic heat. Like numerous previous vintages of Port du Ciel, this exhibits a remarkably seamless, plush texture, in keeping with its sheer ripeness. A sort of slow flow of fruit concentrate in the finish gives this an almost liqueur-like impression, and I would be tempted to serve it as an after dinner libation. One could also plan to hold it for at least 6-8 years in anticipation of some refinement.http://www.flickingerwines.com/growers/ChateaudelaNegly.asphttp://www.flickingerwines.com/growers/ChStMartindelaGarrigue.asphttp://www.flickingerwines.com/growers/ChStMartindelaGarrigue.aspJR 17 (10/2010): 70% Mourvèdre, 2% very old Carignan and the rest divided up between Grenache and Cinsault. Fermented in stainless steel but then raised in large oak foudres for over a year. Bright crimson. Full and spicy but clean. Rich and lively and very satisfying and vibrant for the money. Just an undertow of gaminess. Lip smacking - hot and almost baked but it has life and lift too.http://www.flickingerwines.com/growers/DomTempier.asphttp://www.flickingerwines.com/growers/DomTempier.asphttp://www.flickingerwines.com/growers/DomTempier.asphttp://www.flickingerwines.com/growers/DomTempier.asphttp://www.flickingerwines.com/growers/DomTempier.asphttp://www.flickingerwines.com/growers/DomdeTriennes.asphttp://www.flickingerwines.com/growers/DomdeTriennes.asp