Mas Janeil Côtes du Roussillon-Villages 2003 Tasting Notes

The winemakers of Maury are perhaps best known for their sweet fortified vins doux naturels, but they also produce dry reds that well express their difficult and yet character-filled land. The Mas Janeil (the word Mas is a southern French and Catalan term for Domaine or Chateau, a wine estate) is a Grenache, Carignan, and Syrah blend. The Grenache (60%) is fermented in whole bunches using carbonic maceration, while the Carignan (30%) and Syrah (10%) are de-stemmed and fermented in a conventional manner. The three varieties are aged separately for a year in French oak before blending.

The wine is a middle-intensity ruby with tinges of both garnet and purple, a little hot on the nose (14% alcohol), with notes of cherry and plum and a broad spicy swath of black pepper, white pepper and some clove with touches of black licorice. The fruit acidity has force and yet finesse. The tannins, while hardly shy, are supple and refined. The Mas Janeil finishes with a satisfying triple statement of fruit, acidity and vectored tannin combined with a layer of minerality and a hint of orange zest and some dried fruit.

Despite the $10 price tag, this is not a rustic wine as one might expect, but an elegant statement that I would like to see blind tasted against mainstream red wines of at least twice the price. Distributed by the Lurton family of Bordeaux reputation and worldwide reach, the Mas Janeil is a wine that should fit contemporary needs, all the while honoring a combination of unique geography and traditional grapes.