2003 Coteaux du Languedoc Clos des Cistes

A big mouthful of a wine, the 2003 Languedoc Clos de Cistes shows the warmth of the vintage with its exuberant, fruit loaded personality. Currants, roasted meats, plum, licorice and underbrush all give way to a full-bodied, hedonistic and sexy Languedoc that has a stacked mid-palate, no hard edges and a clean finish. Drink it over the coming 4-5 years.||These are big, rich, character filled and absolutely singular wines by proprietress Marlene Soria, who first came to the Languedoc in 1991. She fashions three cuvees; the Syrah heavy Clos de Cistes; the more Grenache dominated Marlene N3; and lastly, the Syrah Leone, which incorporates a splash of Mourvedre. Yields here are tiny, and the wines see long macerations followed by an extended élevage in tank and older foudre prior to bottling. While I believe the 2005s are the current releases, I was thrilled to be able to taste a small retrospective of each cuvee. eRobertParker.com.April, 2015