The 2006 Collioure les Junquets is pungently scented with lavender, rosemary, and star anise, along with cassis and slightly detached notes of resin, spice, and vanilla from toasted oak. Impressively concentrated on the palate, it remains somewhat superficially marked by its wood, a circumstance which I am inclined to believe might long prevail. But there is considerable compensation in the wine’s complexity, as well as refined tannins. Black pepper and smoke meat along with a reprise of fragrant herbs mark the lingering finish. I would be inclined to drink this in the next 4-6 years and not to bank on the wood element entirely integrating. Jean-Michel Parce’s barrel regimen here required some explanation, after I was offered samples of 2007s, one of which was to my surprise entirely dominated by new wood. It transpires that certain specific barrels of Collioure Cosprons are selected by the U.S. importer – none of them new – whereas there is a single assemblage of all barrels of the other two crus, of which my samples had not been representative. Armed with that information, I was able to achieve from barrel a close approximation to the wines that will eventually appear in the U.S. market, and on which my notes and ratings are based. Parce considers 2007 an exceptional vintage, on a par with 2001 in his estate’s recent history.Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel. (205) 980-8802