WTN: 1998 Mas de Daumas Gassac

in 2008 we bought a case of 1998 Mas de Daumas Gassac at Christie's in Amsterdam and three bottles was my share and one of them became tonight's dinner wine.
the colour is still rather deep red, not showing too much development. On the nose, however, it definitely feels quite evolved with notes of barnyard (Brett?), molasses and spices, mainly cloves and allspice, but there is also a minty background and black currant fruit that is almost contradictory to the funkier notes.
the palate is refreshing with a good acidity and a fresh fruit, the mintiness also coming through, adding to the impression of freshness. The funky parts now play more in the background. the tannins are definitely there, growing towards the end which is rather astringent, but the tannins are giving a good mouthfeel. The acidity makes the taste linger for quite a while. A charming wine, showing much of Southern France characters, but I also feel it would have been nice to have a Barolo or Barbaresco of similar age for comparison. I feel it is kind of built in the same way with the funkiness, mint, acidity and the dryish tannins. Maybe one day I'll put this wine as a ringer in a Nebbiolo tasting, probably only to find out that my memory fools me and it stands out as something entirely different.

The alcohol is 13% ABV and the cepage is 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest "other noble varieties". The appellation is Vin de Pays de l'Herault. IIRC we paid around EUR 25 per bottle.

Cheers,
Anders

[...]but I also feel it would have been nice to have a Barolo or Barbaresco of similar age for comparison.

That's interesting. I wrote about a year ago that the other "cultish" VdP l'Herault, Granges des Peres '95, was in some ways very like a Nebbiolo! (That's never a bad thing...)

Anders,

very interesting thoughts to compare Mas de Daumas Gassac with Barolo, Barbaresco. 4 years ago I had the chance to taste 1982 Mas de Daumas Gassac which was absolutely rocking! Showed not tiredness. I am remembering that the winemaker always says that his wine need 20 years aging.

Cheers,
Martin

Otto and Martin, as I wrote, I'm not sure my impressions of a similarity between Mas de Daumas Gassac and a Nebbiolo would still be evident in an actual comparison, since one tends to exaggerate the differences when tasting similar wines, but the fact that you seem to have got the same impressions feels reassuring. I hope to get a possibility to make such a comparison one day.

cheers, Anders

Anders,

very interesting thoughts to compare Mas de Daumas Gassac with Barolo, Barbaresco. 4 years ago I had the chance to taste 1982 Mas de Daumas Gassac which was absolutely rocking! Showed not tiredness. I am remembering that the winemaker always says that his wine need 20 years aging.

Cheers,
Martin

The 1985 was quite lovely, too. I loved the funkyness and it was not tired in any way! Terroir Wine Bar still has this on their list. It's a $120 bottle, though.