2010 Faugeres Maison Jaune

From cask, Alquier's 2010 Faugeres Maison Jaune displays a remarkably bright fruit cast, something he says he is at special pains to achieve. Ripe strawberry and red raspberry - tinged with vanilla and spice, and suffused with salt and crushed stone - linger with infectious juiciness and sheer mouthwatering persistence. In 1996, Jean-Michel Alquier parted ways with his brother Gilbert (whom I visited for my issue 183 report) and in 2002 he ended a long-standing arrangement with importer Kermit Lynch, since which time not a bottle of J.-M. Alquier's wine has been imported to the U.S. - or at least, not that he is aware. Those who like me cherish their recollections - or even a fee remaining bottles - of the 1991 or 1996 Les Bastide (which performed impressively on the occasion of my visit) will be delighted to learn that quality here is at least as memorable today as it was then. Now this Alquier - who already exports nearly half of his production - just needs to get hooked up with an American importer! There is not a lot of wine, since he has done little to expand since the fraternal division of the family's estate, and has only ten hectares in black grapes and one in white. Alquier's early-bottled Les Premieres cuvee - which he shrugged off showing me from vintages 2010 or 2009 - comes from his lower slopes, is aged 14 months in older barriques, and is dominated by Syrah along with Grenache and Carignan. His cuvee Maison Jaune features Grenache, usually vinified with stems and whole clusters; aided in its performance by around 20% Syrah and at most 10% Mourvedre; and gets close to 18 months of elevage in barriques, of which a small share is new. Finally, Les Bastides represents Syrah from his highest-elevation sites - plus at most a touch of Mourvedre - generally 18 months in barriques, 30-40% of which are new. All three cuvees are normally assembled in February, as soon as malo-lactic conversions are finished.