Fresh cherry and purple plum wreathed in wood smoke in the nose of Mastassa's 2006 El Sarrat lead to a tart palate impression to which bitter citrus oil and cherry pit notes and persistent salinity lend an additional sense of invigoration. A palpable sense of extract helps buffer the wine's tartness, and its tannins are remarkably refined for a youthful and rather spare wine from these two grapes. As with so many of the reds here, this singular, striking wine will certainly hold for some years, but I don't think this is either intended to or will give up its rather brash personality and almost white wine-like sense of fresh fruit acids. An inaugural cuvee of Grenache with 15% Cabernet Sauvignon called Voodoo - intended to retail for around $130 - was not very forthcoming on the occasion of my visit, and I prefer to withhold judgment on a wine which had just been bottled but - in Lubbe's words, -will not be released for a while-.South African-born and -trained Tom Lubbe arrived to do a stint at Gerard Gauby and fell in love with Roussillon - and with his wife (and Gauby's daughter) Nathalie. In 2001, the couple established their decidedly low-tech domaine. (Sam Harrop - a New Zealand-trained oenological consultant and M.W. well-known for his work on the Loire - is the third, largely hands-off partner in this venture.) Lubbe's biodynamic methods and experimental spirit are in the Gauby mode, but the vinous results are utterly unique, with more than two-thirds of production consisting of distinctively delicious whites. Virtually all of Lubbe's wines stay below 13% alcohol. They also keep quite low pHs, thanks, Lubbe avers, to his care and rejuvenation of the soil. He says he took it as a great compliment when he was falsely accused of having acidified his 2003s! (Incidentally, Lubbe has begun a joint project with Domaine de Majas in cool, high-elevation Caudies de Fenouilledes under the label -Three Trees.- The three wines - designed to sell at a very modest price - looked promising early-on though very bright and, I thought, in need of settling down. Hopefully they will arrive in the U.S. market in time to be reviewed in our August -values- issue.)Importer: Ibanez Pleven Offerings, New York, NY; tel. (917) 613 1793.
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