1995 Domaine l’Aiguelière Coteaux du Languedoc Montpeyroux Côte Dorée- France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Coteaux du Languedoc Montpeyroux (11/24/2019)
It was more evolved than my last bottle, with dark fruit, savory earth, leather and roasted meat, and a touch of bell pepper, and a hint of white pepper appeared with some air. The blind guesses were mostly Loire Cab Franc like 1990 Raffault Chinon Picasses and I can see what led them to it. The color is still pretty dark and it has enough fruit and tannin that I’m in no hurry to drink my remaining bottles. (92 pts.)
1995 Domaine l’Aiguelière Coteaux du Languedoc Montpeyroux Côte Dorée- France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Coteaux du Languedoc Montpeyroux (8/18/2017)
Beautiful pure brambly fruit with a bit of earth and leather, still showing a surprising amount of youth, it is evolving slowly but well. A terrific wine. (93 pts.)
That '04 should be great - at least there’s no reason it shouldn’t be if it’s been stored well. They can last a long while. They’re kind of orange I guess, though not in colour, if that makes sense; they certainly have extended skin contact, tannins, and are prone to throwing sediment with age.
As to Daumas Gassac, I’ve got a case of '83 that I’m making my way through now. There’s a bit of bottle variation - I’d say 1/4 are past it - but most of them are pretty amazing bottles! In my experience these get into their stride at 18-20 years and plateau between 20-30 years in bottle.
Barral Faugères Tradition 2015 : 16/20 – 19/5/2021
Une belle pointe d’évolution pour ce très bon vin languedocien plein et corsé, le laurier et le beau grain tannique traduisant bien la présence du carignan. Sur cette bouteille, comme sur celle bue en juillet 2020 (16,5/20), on bénéficie d’une grande netteté aromatique, fruitée et épicée.
There are so few comments on Faugeres (the AOC, not the fruity St Emilion) that I thought a comment on the 2015 Mas Gabinele [Faugeres] might fit into this thread. Although it’s not labeled as such, I think this US import from European Cellars (Eric Solomon?) is what might be flagged as Traditionelle in their local market. It’s a delicious, interesting wine that manages to pick the perfect balance between acid and fruit – hard to do in the warmer regions of southern France. 14% abv, with a cepage of GSM plus a big dollop of carignane that stays lively, fresh even over 3 days open. I was sipping on a glass as I marinated (and then roasted) a giant slab of pork to top the evening’s ramen, and this Faugeres is able to work well as a kitchen sipper. On the nose: kirsch, cloves, some seaweed and then red/plum fruit on the palate, with a chewiness to the texture. Tannins are low/resolved, acid is medium+, and the finish is properly balanced avoiding extreme extraction/syrupiness. To me, the main issue with the AOC, is that they are hardly imported into the US. I will probably just start buying whatever I see, relying on the filtering quality of an importer; I’d give this an A-. I realize Barral is regarded as the benchmark producer, but this somewhat newer house is worth sampling if one ever runs across a bottle.
