WTN: 2002 Mas de Daumas Gassac Vin de Pays de l'Hérault
Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2006 11:12 pmEver since seeing the inimitable Aimé Guibert in Mondovino I've wanted to try his wine. To my pleasant surprise the wine was easy to find at Vintages, so I set out to buy some. I opened a bottle this Easter weekend and enjoyed it greatly.
What's interesting is just how accessible and open the wine was given only an hour and a half of aeration in the decanter. Having read about the longevity of Daumas Gassac I was expecting a fierce, tannic red - yet this wine is anything but that. What I found was a supple red with impeccable balance.
13% alc. Beautiful translucent garnet colour with a ruby-jewel glint in reflected sunlight, showing excellent density and what appears to be an unfiltered wine (it's not hazy, but neither is it crystal-clear). Complex nose of very ripe strawberry fruit, a roasted note and a very slight overlay of Cabernet spice. On the palate, it's substantial but impeccably balanced and integrated; it gives the impression of having many years ahead of it but already being fully accessible. There is plenty of substance in the wine but no rough edges. There is a sense of purity. Full-flavoured and supple again on the mid-palate, with power - in a velvet glove. A remarkable Languedoc red - a standard-bearer that deserves distinction.
What's interesting is just how accessible and open the wine was given only an hour and a half of aeration in the decanter. Having read about the longevity of Daumas Gassac I was expecting a fierce, tannic red - yet this wine is anything but that. What I found was a supple red with impeccable balance.
13% alc. Beautiful translucent garnet colour with a ruby-jewel glint in reflected sunlight, showing excellent density and what appears to be an unfiltered wine (it's not hazy, but neither is it crystal-clear). Complex nose of very ripe strawberry fruit, a roasted note and a very slight overlay of Cabernet spice. On the palate, it's substantial but impeccably balanced and integrated; it gives the impression of having many years ahead of it but already being fully accessible. There is plenty of substance in the wine but no rough edges. There is a sense of purity. Full-flavoured and supple again on the mid-palate, with power - in a velvet glove. A remarkable Languedoc red - a standard-bearer that deserves distinction.