Score: 93/100
At Languedoc producer Mas des Capitelles, ‘Loris’ is special cuvee, a blend of mainly old Carignan vines that are over 80 years old (80%), with 20% Mourvèdre.
Loris comes from low-yielding vines, like old vines do, harvested manually of course and grown not only organically but biodynamically.
The old vine Carignan is vinified using carbonic maceration, although with an extended maceration of over 30 days to allow extracting all the grapes’ goodness. Follows a maturation in French oak barrels for 24 months (for 80% of the blend), and a blending in tank for a further 7 months of ageing at the winery for the whole to come together.
This is an unfiltered organic wine, made with the aim of adding as little sulfites (SO2) to the wine as possible.
Tasting Notes
This Languedoc red comes in a pretty dark red color, intensified by hues of a vibrant purple. It is still looking very youthful, like a concentrated baby of a wine, despite its over 4 years of age already at the time of this tasting.
You could argue the nose also smells youthful. It is so vibrantly fruity and pungently aromatic, filled with powerful notes of cassis (blackcurrant) and fresh yet ripe wild strawberry. Openly fruity is certainly is, somewhat reminding of some Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon with its intense blackcurrant notes. But one can sense depth to the aromatic profile as well, from a wealth of Provencal herbs (thyme and minty rosemary), some black pepper, combined with very well-integrated oaky notes of clove, dark caramel, and dark chocolate.
Clearly a pleasing, salivating, and intriguing wine to smell at, all at the same time!
The palate follows suit, bringing in a round and smooth silky texture, balancing and providing a sense of generosity to an otherwise clearly dry wine. Bursting flavors of dark red berries, a touch of rich raspberry jam, are both deepened and lifted by sweet spices and well-integrated oaky vanilla and wood smoke notes.
Long and layered finish providing a touch of bitterness, but also revealing one after the other a stunning complexity of gorgeous fruit characters together with a myriad of spices and satisfying oaky tones.
Overall
A savory wine, with solid acidity and a bitter edge, that is also filled with so much fruity goodness, and with such a smooth textural element that it still tastes generous and drinks with great ease.
More importantly it makes you salivate, and intrigues more and more at every sip, making you want to go for more and continue endlessly exploring its complexity and utterly satisfying sweet/savory balance.
A clearly authentic expression of terroir and concentrated fruit, perfectly balanced and crafted by clever and respectful-to-the-grapes winemaking.
A wine to experience it certainly is…
Enjoy 🙂
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