Very open, luxuriantly inviting perfume of blackberry liqueur and mocha. Not a block-buster, but suavely refined, with finely integrated oak and velvety cassis and blackberries. Very aromatic. Now-2014

Product Code: FON307

M. Fontaneil, heir to 35 hectares of a family domaine since 1864, is such a gentle, unassuming, softly-spoken man: his personality is at variance with his red wines which shout with vivacious, dense black fruit. New this year - and we just have to wait a few weeks for it to be bottled and shipped - is his 2009 Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes (see p.5). M. Fontaneil’s modesty and reticence shows here. He could label this wine, from Syrah and Grenache, with the prestigious Côtes de Roussillon Villages appellation on the label; but as this wine comes from his young vines he chooses instead to label it simply as a Vin de Pays!

The oaked white Côtes de Roussillon, from old vines of Grenache Blanc (planted 1908!) Roussanne and Malvoisie (all planted together!) is a wine we always like to ship, with the barrel aging lending a nutty roundness to the stone fruit. His sturdy but unoaked red Côtes de Roussillon, from 60% Grenache, 25% Syrah and 15% Carignan grown on schist near Maury, offers both value and authenticity. We again list his flagship red, Le Prieuré. From one parcel near Tautavel on a high, windswept, north facing vineyard marked by galets, rounded stones, this blend of 2/3 Syrah, with Mourvèdre and a little Grenache, is given a 42 day maceration and 18 months in new oak. This can approach Hermitage in style after a few years in bottle.