TN: 2005 Mas de Daumas Gassac Vin de Pays de l'Hérault

2005 Mas de Daumas Gassac Vin de Pays de l’Hérault - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Vin de Pays de l’Hérault (9/4/2009)
A fascinating wine. Bordeaux meets CdP. What’s amazing is that the wine shows like a cool climate wine despite being grown in a very warm climate. 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot, 4% Pinot Noir, and 3% Syrah. Starts out very slow and simple, but with some airtime, this really comes alive. Lovely black currant fruit, silky texture, and a heap of earth and dusty tannins. On the nose, there’s some discernible garrigue, which gives it that CdP-ness I mentioned earlier. Solid finish and a wine that goes tremendously well with food. Unlike CdP or even modern styled Bordeaux, this wine doesn’t show sweetness, but stays fully dry. That’s a winner for me, but I suspect many who like plush fruit and sweet tannins will not like this wine.

Pelz On Wine: 2005 Mas de Daumas Gassac Vin de Pays de l'Hérault (France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Vin de Pays de l'Hérault)" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

We’ve got one or two of these rattling around somewhere. Sounds like a great food wine with some time still to fully develop. From your notes, I’m thinking we can hold off opening ours for a while longer.

Steve.

In my opinion, this is at least 5-10 years from peak, but it’s drinking well right now if you like the wine with more fruit. In 5-10 years, it’ll be a softer wine that will be pretty funky and tertiary if my intuition is right.