1993 Vin de Pays de l'Herault

I reviewed the debut vintage of this wine, the 1992, in issue #99, affixing a 90-point score to go along with some enthusiastic prose. Having had the wine several times since, I must say that the 1992's score was 2-3 points shy of how much pleasure it has given me. This wine has become a hot commodity in France, where several wine writers are falling over themselves, proclaiming Domaine de la Grange des Peres to be the next Guigal Cote Rotie La Mouline. However, proprietor Michel Louison might be more legitimately compared to Francois Mitjavile (of St.-Emilion's splendid Le Tertre-Roteboeuf) in that he aims for tiny yields, super-ripeness and extraction, and does not fine or filter the wine before it is bottled. The 1992 continues to be nearly too rich to drink (not for me). The 1993 is more civilized and marginally lighter than the blockbuster '92. The 1993, a 50% Mourvedre/50% Syrah blend aged in small oak casks, is dark ruby-colored, but not nearly as opaque as the 1992. It exhibits an herbaceousness not found in the 1992, which explains the question mark. The wine offers sweet, jammy cassis fruit, full body, and a viscous texture. It is a dazzling, concentrated wine with only one potential flaw - the greenness in the wine's aromatics. I did note that as the wine sat in the glass the herbaceousness became more subdued, with the wine's black fruit, roasted herb, meat, and tar components coming forward. In any event, the unreleased 1994 is supposedly out of this world, so buying the excellent 1993 might be smart politics just to reserve a preferred place when the 1994 is allocated, since none of this wine is likely to go unnoticed on a retailer's shelf. The 1992 is capable of lasting for another 15+ years; the 1993 is a candidate for 10-12 years of cellaring. Jeroboam Wines, New York, NY; tel. (212) 374-9415; fax (212) 925-6474