2004 Banyuls Rimage Cuvee La Coume

Parce’s 2004 Banyuls Rimage La Coume smells of cherry jam, and honey-laced black tea. Polished and smooth on the palate, with chocolate-drenched and clove-studded purple plums and cherry preserves, it exhibits relative lightness in the company of its stable mates, but admirable clarity and persistence of lovely fruit preserve and chocolate character. The often amazingly complex and always amazingly chocolate-friendly fortified Grenache-based wines of Banyuls (or their dry counterparts from neighboring Collioure) would until recently have remained little-known to Americans had it not been for the Domaine du Mas Blanc of Dr. Parce, where quality has not dipped over at least the past quarter century (since I began tasting them). Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel. (205) 980-8802