Domaine Hegarty-Chamans No 2

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The Grenache-Mourvedre-Cinsault blend that is Hegarty-Chamans 2009 Minervois Cuvee No. 2 - in bottle for only a few weeks when I tasted it in April - smells of cinnamon-dusted, lily-and peony-garlanded, candied cherry. Sweet dark cherry, strong inner-mouth florality, and rich low tones of black fruits and beef broth inform a rich, multi-layered palate whose sumptuous sense of textural richness is reinforced by ample glycerin and 14.3% alcohol, without there being significant heat. Most of the Grenache here - including fruit from vines that were utilized for the estate's ultra cuvee Black Knight in 2007 - was raised in a large wooden fermentor and the rest of the components in tank. This impeccably-balanced beauty retains a wonderful sense of vibrancy even as it soothes, and its alluring spice and floral perfume were only amplified from a bottle that had been opened earlier in the day. I suspect it will be worth following for more than half a dozen years. Proprietors John Hegarty and Philippa Crane - along with their cellarmaster-vineyard manager Samuel Berger are turning out many impressive wines. But these are not getting any easier to keep track of than when I reported at length about this estate in issue 183. In fairness, the team here is conscientiously striving to assemble from a considerable array of raw materials those blends treated in those manners that will best showcase the potential of any given vintage. At the same time, they don't want to mislead their customers by utilizing the same label for wines that are quite different in conception, and where quality has proven inconsistent they almost unhesitatingly declassify. As a result, in addition to cuvees bearing the titles "No. 1" through "No. 3" - not all of which are bottled each vintage - there are increasingly many other cuvee designations, and that's not counting the complication that some wines do and others do not receive the Minervois appellation. Experience is tempering not just the cellar practices but also the mix of vines that this experimental-minded team biodynamically cultivates. When the property was purchased nine years ago it included ten hectares of Syrah, for instance, but all except three have been ripped up and replaced with other varieties, as the line between profound ripeness and over-ripeness with that grape in these sites proved both fine and elusive. Berger indicated that he was unlikely to essay a cuvee "No. 1" from 2010, because in his words, "while there was plenty of fruitiness, the phenolic maturation was not sufficiently advanced ? and the Syrah - especially the portion on schist - suffered drought stress, so that the maturation simply plateaued even though the potential alcohol rose. I can't explain," he adds, "why it is that there was less stress on our vineyards in the dry heat of 2009. But all of our varieties achieved excellent ripeness and fine tannins in that vintage," which he compares with 2007. Not all of the blends for 2009 had been determined, but the individual lots that I tasted over and beyond the terrific No. 1 and No. 2 cuvees left little doubt that whatever is bottled from 2009 at the lower end of this estate's price list will merit serious consumer attention. Incidentally, I had the opportunity to taste most of the finished wines here both freshly-opened and from bottles that had stood open for several hours.Importers include ABC Fine Wine and Spirits, Doral, FL; tel. (305) 470-0039 and Vintage Trading Inc., New York, NY; tel. (732) 928-7112