70% Syrah, plus 10% each of Grenache, Mourvèdre and Carignan. Wines that smell of cassis, as this does, are always going to be lovely. Spicy notes of vanilla and cinnamon too. Bittersweet attack, crisp redcurrants vying with sweet brambly fruit. Very concentrated - nice mass. Huge potential. Can already be enjoyed, but best mid 2010-2014

Product Code: DAU407

When I visited the Languedoc and Roussillon, the single best tasting at any grower was with Julien Chapel at Saint Daumary. Julien is a short, neat young man, with a little cellar in Valflaunès. His vineyards are nearby on the flanks of the plateau of Hortus, just to the north of the 685 metre peak of Pic St Loup. These are at the heart of this mountainous appellation north of Montpellier, cooled by wind and some altitude, and long known as a top Syrah terroir. Julien’s little plots are mostly scraped out of the garrigue, the surrounding scrub, on mainly limestone rich soils which suit Syrah, although there is also Grenache on the sandier sites, and he has planted Mourvèdre in his hottest corners.

We have really found a star in this modest and amiable young man, who has taken over part of his father’s land and converted to organic cultivation: he is now in the process of becoming certified. He believes organics delivers better “transmission of terroir”, and it’s hard to argue on this evidence. These superb wines show such pure fruit and lovely floral touches too, and though not cheap, are not in the least expensive given their purity, refinement and ageing potential. All can be enjoyed already, the reds decanted to give of their best. 

Asphodèle, named after the plant which dots the slopes, is Julien's top wine. With 18 months in barrel, it’s oaky, concentrated and has more than a touch of Côte Rôtie about it.