Domaine Cambis, Rock de Carignane, St-Chinian Berlou, Languedoc, France 2023

Carignan is put front and centre in the Berlou sub-appellation of St-Chinian, and here the 80-120-year old vines are pushed to their limits, producing small quantities of grapes with intense concentration. This 2023 is just a baby, but it's already showing great complexity. It's deep into its inky blue-black fruit phase, with flecks of blue minerals, freshly sliced mushrooms and ground coffee beans. There's a savoury twist of seared meat, mint and raspberry too. It's dense and concentrated, with elevating freshness and silky tannins. Highly successful, and will age into the medium term.