NV Black Knight Coll. Case (2x07, 2x09, 2x12)

<strong>2007 – 93 Points</strong>: The Hegarty-Chamans 2007 Minervois Black Knight features - as it did in 2005 - a tiny lot of exceptionally ripe Syrah, here blended with 30% Grenache and 20% Carignan, and kept in new barriques for just under two years. High-toned distillate and confiture of cassis, black raspberry, and boysenberry inform an effusive nose and lush palate. Deep, meaty richness along with notes of thyme, licorice, and brown spices adeptly compliment the intensely ripe fruit, and a bottle open for a few hours not only displayed even greater intensity of fruit and spice, but more fully revealed the mineral dimension to this cuvee, incorporating smoky notes of peat and black tea; crushed stone; and saliva-inducing salinity. There is an abundance of primary fruit juiciness and a vibrancy of fruit, mineral, and spice interaction here that are uncommon for a wine that possesses such a pronounced sense of confitured and distilled berries, let alone for one that spent so long in cask. (In this last respect, the contrast with the corresponding "No. 1" could hardly, unfortunately, be much greater.) This should be riveting to follow for at least the better part of a decade. May 2011, www.robertparker.com, Drink: 2011-2021<br><br><strong>2009 – 92 Points</strong>: The 2009 Minervois Black Knight is a smoking effort. Made from 70% Syrah, 20% Grenache and 10% Carignan, aged 24 months in barrel, it has superb notes of black raspberry, cassis, toast, creamy licorice and pepper. Medium to full-bodied, ripe, textured and with lots of sweet tannin, it’s a serious, pleasure bent effort that should have over a decade of overall longevity. While I’m not sure on the price here, this is a terrific wine that’s worth seeking out. Apr 2015, www.robertparker.com, Drink: 2015-2025<br><br><strong>2012 – 88-90 Points</strong>: Tasted out of tank, the tiny production 2012 Minervois Black Knight lives up to its name and sports an inky color as well as ripe, rich notes of blackberries, graphite, pepper and underbrush. Firm, edgy and a touch charmless right on opening, it continues to soften up with time in the glass, has ripe, firm tannin and solid mid-palate depth. Made from 70% Grenache, 20% Syrah and 10% Carignan, from schists and limestone soils, it will need 2-3 years of cellaring and drink nicely through at least 2023. Apr 2016, www.robertparker.com, Drink: 2019-2023