The barrel-fermented Lancyre 2008 Coteaux du Languedoc Grande Cuvee – a Roussanne to which, as usual, around 20% of Marsanne has been added, and which represents the estate’s current release – is alluringly if exotically scented with pear, quince, honeysuckle, marzipan, vanilla, and coconut. These re-merge on a lush, glycerin-rich palate for a rather confectionary impression, yet there is a welcome modicum of primary fruit juiciness. Bitter notes of pear pip and a faintly dull incursion of oak keep the finish here from really singing let alone refreshing. Still, in its way this is certainly impressive, and confirms a generalization that if one is going to take this vinificatory approach to white in the Languedoc, one is apt to have greatest success in the coolest vintages. I would plan to enjoy this over the next year. 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

When Roussanne was first planted here in 1992, Marsanne was introduced as well, and their marriage informs a (one-third new-)barrel-fermented white 2007 Coteaux du Languedoc. Pear, lime zest and sweet, lily-like floral aromas lead to a creamy palate to which pear skin and citrus zest add welcome notes of invigoration. Oak-engendered notes of lanolin and coconut slightly intrude on the purity of fruit in the finish, though some tasters will certainly be more tolerant than I am. I would certainly plan to drink this young, and other than the expenditure of wood, it’s hard to justify its much higher ex-cellar price than the Lancyre Roussanne. Bernard Durand and Regis Valentin continue to render distinctively delicious wines that offer outstanding value of a sort not always to be found in the increasingly renowned Pic Saint-Loup sub-appellation.Imported by Hand Picked Selections, Warrenton, VA; tel. (540) 347 9400