Assembled (from Syrah with Grenache and a bit of Carignan) just before I tasted it – though not destined for bottling before the end of the year – Lancyre’s tank-rendered 2010 Coteaux du Languedoc Pic Saint-Loup La Coste d’Aleyrac busts with ripe, fresh cherry and black raspberry, its piquancy of fruit pit and undertone of wet stone well-integrated so as to in no way diminish the sheer juicy refreshment of a sustained finish. For now, this is admittedly a bit simple, but it is compellingly exuberant and pure-fruited. Perhaps more complexity will emerge, even short-term. Look for it to offer plenty of pleasure not to mention outstanding value for at least 2-3 years after bottling. Regis Valentin once again displayed many successes across a stylistically diverse range. The 2009s here are however mildly disappointing – a circumstance not unfamiliar from Pic Saint-Loup – especially when directly compared with results from 2008, whose October harvest of Syrah, incidentally, was the latest in the estate’s history. As so often, though, 2010 is especially exciting, and the young reds from this vintage were already too deliciously expressive for me to resist publishing notes. Re-tasting the 2007 reds – on which I had last reported before bottling in issue 183 – they remain impressive (with the exception of the Grande Cuvee, now performing on the lower side of my pre-bottling projection), although their bitter elements and tannin were somewhat enhanced, and I re-rated both the Coste d’Aleyrac and Vieilles Vignes 90 points. Valentin graciously consented on this occasion to my request to taste some older vintages of his Roussanne – bottles of which I was thrilled to discover that he indeed cellars, and that you and I should, too!Imported by Handpicked Selections, Warrenton, VA; tel. (540) 347 9400