Cazes, Ego, Côtes du Roussillon, Villages, 2014

Founded in 1895, impressively, these wines are still made by the Cazes family, with fourth generation Emmanuel Cazes currently at the helm. An extremely fruit-forward, up front nose of ripe summer berries with a floral touch. The unmistakable footprint of Grenache (40% of the blend) is apparent on the palate with strawberry and raspberry notes in abundance. Warming alcohol is definitely apparent but gives the wine a quiet power, met head-on by the concentrated fruit.

A powerful, assertive wine with three opinionated grape varieties, all trying to get the better of each other. The wine is serious stuff and still needs a bit of time to settle, despite being three and a half years old, but the fruit is rich and dense and the tannins and acid are slowly integrating with the fruit. A hint of scent, with more to come.