Languedoc-Roussillon’s premium reds – Blind Tasting

Produced from Syrah and Grenache planted in the 1980s, this wine is given a long, nine-week maceration then aged for up to 36 months in foudres and tanks. It has a dark inner core with a touch of maturity at the rim, showing real presence with its depth of dark and red fruit aromas. It's full, round and broad on the palate, the fruit again expressive but backed by a firm tannic base and some stony notes. Length and drive on the finish. A class act.

This is the first vintage of this low-yielding (10hl/ha) Grenache-dominated wine from sandy, limestone-clay soils. The grapes are destemmed and co-fermented, then the wine is aged for 15 months in two-year-old barrels. It has complex notes of red fruit, baked earth and garrigue. There's sweetness from the Grenache but also a lithe feel. It's rounded but harmonious, with a long finish, avoiding any excess.

The second vintage from this biodynamically run vineyard on limestone and marl soils. Carignan, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre make up the blend. Vinification takes place in unlined concrete tanks, with ageing in barrel. This is dark and reticent but with a cool freshness. It's lithe and energetic with finely grained tannins and a clean finish. The oak is integrated and the wine still seems well within itself.

The Carignan for this wine was planted in 1913 on schist soils, and the vineyard has been biodynamically run since 2011, with sensitive winemaking in evidence. It's a youthful crimson colour, very much a wine of reticence and restraint. It's lighter-bodied but fresh, juicy and intense, with clear terroir expression of stony, garrigue notes to the fore as it opens. Fine tannins and texture complete this harmonious wine.

A blend of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre grown on gravel and basalt soils, the grapes undergo long macerations of six to nine weeks. Each variety is aged separately for 24 months in a combination of new demi-muids (600-litres), one-year-old barrels and tank, before being assembled. The resulting wine has a spice, herb and red fruit complexity. It's round and supple on the attack but a fine tannic structure gives length and definition, leading to a fresh finish.

A limited production of 1,000 bottles produced from Grenache planted in 1955 on north-facing, sandy-clay soils. The grapes are vinified with natural yeasts and without SO2, although 1.5g is added at bottling. The wine is then aged for 12 months in 228-litre Burgundy barrels followed by a further six months in tank. This is a pale garnet colour. Elegant in style, it displays gentle red berry and herb notes. The palate is delicate, with fine texture and pebble-sucking freshness followed by a firm but refined finish. There's old-vine intensity here.

An equal parts blend of old-vine Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache and Carignan grown on clay-limestone soils and part-vinified in new 500-litre demi-muids. The wine is aged in new oak barrels for 18 months then bottled unfiltered. It's ripe but reined in, showing a lovely pitch of fruit, pure and a little sweet but with coolness behind. This is a youthful and gourmand wine, clearly modern in style but not overdone, with well defined but polished tannins.

Reserva Especial is produced from a blend of vintages in a solera-like system, and the No 4 combines 2013, 2014, 2015, some 2012 and a final 5% of 2009, 2010 and 2011. It was bottled in 2016. Carignan is the principal variety but Mourvèdre, Grenache, Syrah and Cinsault all appear in the blend too. It has gentle red berry notes with a hint of spice and herb. The palate is more leathery and plummy, yet it is juicy and fresh with clean-cut tannins. It's structured and persistent, with a minerally note on the finish.

This Syrah-based wine is made from hand-harvested and destemmed grapes grown on the sandy clay and limestone soils of St Pargoire. The wine is aged in barrel for 24 months. It's a deep purple-black colour, with a rich and ripe character and a Dundee cake flavour and aroma. It's big, round, broad and suave, a concentrated wine that just about manages balance although the alcohol shows on the finish.

From limestone-clay soils, this Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre blend is aged for 24 months in barrel. It is brisk and fresh on the nose, displaying fruit-forward aromas of raspberry and redcurrant with a twist of herb. The medium-bodied palate, too, is lively, with marked acidity and freshness. It's long and linear, with finely-etched tannins. An attractive wine but perhaps not for the long haul.

This 100% Syrah from limestone-clay soils is fermented in wooden vats then aged for 16 months in new French oak barrels. It has a deep purple-black hue, and the spicy Syrah aromatics come to the fore. Unashamedly modern in style, this is rich, ripe and concentrated with a firm but fine tannic structure. The vanilla touch of the oak is present albeit integrated, and although the winemaking is a little too evident it has potential.

This is a micro-cuvée that's only made in top years from biodynamically cultivated Grenache and Syrah. It's an elegant style with lively, lifted cherry and raspberry aromatics with a spicy note. The palate is pure and juicy with fine, chalky tannins and good length. It should have had a higher score but I thought there was a tiny hint of volatile acidity.

80-year-old Carignan and 60-year-old Grenache is biodynamically cultivated and whole-cluster vinified in gentle fashion. The wine is then aged for 15 months in barrel. It's a mature red colour, opening in the glass to display aromas of herb, hay and red fruits in a subtle, restrained manor. It's round, smooth and supple on the palate, with a slight glow on the finish. It feels like it has reached its plateau of maturity.

This wine is produced from pre-selected, low-yielding (12hl/ha) parcels on schist terraces at the foot of the Canigou mountain. The grapes are placed in a cold store for 20 days then vinified in 500-litre demi-muids. Ageing is also in new demi-muids for a period of 25 months. The result is a modern and overworked wine with plenty of extraction. Mocha, liquorice and pastel fruit aromas lead to a full and generous palate with a sweet and firm finish. It's a little bit too obvious.

The Cabernet Sauvignon for this wine was planted in 1972 on red glacial deposits. It undergoes a classic Médoc-style vinification followed by 12 months in new oak barrels then 12 months in one-year-old barrels. The wine has a crimson hue with notes of dark fruit, blueberry and a touch of graphite. Stern and steely, the tannins appear rather too vigorous and drying compared to the other wines in the lineup. It probably deserves more time and a higher score.

A Mourvèdre-dominated blend from vines grown on schist soils, matured in new oak barrels for 18 months. This warm and distinctly Mediterranean wine has a garnet hue, with a similarly mature aspect to the soft, plummy fruits and rounded tannins. It's reached its plateau, the fruit beginning to dry.

Sourced from an old bush-vine parcel of Grenache grown on limestone-clay soils with a scree of schist, aged in new oak barrels and topped up with some Mourvèdre and Syrah. Bottled unfiltered. It's a ripe, round and polished style but at present the winemaking overshadows the wine. The palate is sweet, rich and weighty, the oak present and joined by a glow of alcohol on the finish. Perhaps needs more time.

This Syrah-based wine is sourced from sandy clay and limestone soils. The grapes are hand-harvested then vinified over a period of 60 days, and it's then aged in new oak barrels for 24 months. It's a deep purple-black colour, rich and very ripe - even overripe - with a Port-like nuance. The palate is big, round and gushing, the oak evident, leading to a tight and slightly dry finish. Just a little too much for my taste.

This organically cultivated, Mourvèdre-based wine is sourced from gravel and basalt soils. The grapes are fermented then aged for 48 months in tank. It's leathery and gamey on the nose, with some herb and garrigue notes. The sweet attack is a promising start but the palate then seems to fall a little flat, missing some relief. It finishes warm and chewy.

This is mainly Syrah and Mourvèdre with an addition of Cabernet Sauvignon and Counoise - all cultivated on stony, galets roulés soils. Maturation takes place in a mix of old and new barrels, and the wine is then blended in tank before bottling. The dark core shows a touch of brick colour at the rim. It's open and aromatic with leather, garrigue and red berry notes. The palate is less satisfying, with a touch of volatile acidity and edgy, drying tannins

A selection of the best barrels from the vintage, this Syrah-dominated blend is sourced from organically cultivated vines on limestone-clay soils. The grapes are destemmed, with pumping-over and delestage used for extraction. Ageing is in barrel. It's a dark, opaque colour, big and extracted with lashings of dark fruit and oak aromas joined by cassis and vanilla notes. The winemaking is still very much to the fore, and the palate is burly, chewy and drying. It lacks freshness and is too much for my taste.