The Rectorie 2009 Collioure Cote Montagne is Carignan and Grenache, along with some Mourvedre, Syrah, and Counoise, from terraces - as its name suggests - in the appellation's mountainous interior. Ripe purple plum and black raspberry are infused with a peat-like smokiness, and overtones of blond tobacco and game add further intrigue to this cuvee thicker in texture than the corresponding Cote Mer but also a bit more tannic in finish. That said, this is impressively persistent and no doubt capable of delivering considerable satisfaction at table over the next several years. I did not visit Marc and Thierry Parce's Domaine de la Rectorie this year, though judging by the samples that came my way, that was clearly my mistake.Jack Siler Selections (various importers), Paris; fax 011 33 1 45 45 23 59

The Rectorie 2007 Collioure Cote Montagne is largely Grenache, with smaller amounts of Mourvedre, Syrah, Carignan, and Counoise, featuring terraces in the appellation’s interior mountains, as its name suggests. Elevage here is split between foudres and barriques, but as with a number of the Rectorie wines, I detected an abrasive synergy of skin and wood astringency that slightly dried the wine’s finish. That said, the concentration of bitter-edged black and blue fruits and alkaline and stony mineral notes here are impressive in a slightly austere way, with a finish that reminds me of juniper and huckleberries. I would not, however, hazard a guess as to the likelihood of its improving in bottle. Marc, Pierre, and Thierry Parce’s meticulous, biodynamic devotion to (and often, separate vinification of) some thirty terraced parcels along the coast between Collioure and Banyuls and extending well into the interior mountains is strikingly documented by Pierre (a professional photographer) and eloquently articulated in the course of tasting, which makes it a source of frustration as well as disappointment that many of their dry red wines were numbingly and dryly tannic and at times downright funky; their sweets often simply confectionary, with elements of alcohol and wood interfering with rather than framing the fruit. (For reviews of wines from the Parce’s estate in Maury, see under “La Preceptorie de Centernach.”) The Parces are champions of Grenache Gris, but I found the sole example I tasted (in an admittedly incomplete survey of 2006s and 2007s at their two estates) spare, saline, and without much depth.Importer: Jack Siler Selections (various importers), Paris; fax 011 33 1 45 45 23 59