Domaine du Mas Blanc Collioure 'Clos du Moulin' 1994

19 bottles available – max. 2 per customer

Farming Roussillon’s steeply terraced slopes since the 1600s, the Parcé family has been the driving force behind the fortified wines of Banyuls, but Domaine du Mas Blanc’s classically-styled and ageworthy red table wines – bottled as Collioure – ­deserve to be better known.

Taking over the estate in 1976, Jean-Michel Parcé inherited 19ha of old Mourvédre, Syrah, and Grenache vineyards, many of which were planted with cuttings from the Parcé’s friends at Château de Beaucastel, as well as Domaines Jean-Louis Chave and Tempier.

Harvested by hand at low yields, trodden by foot, and vinified using native yeasts, Jean-Michel’s wines spend 12 months in old Bordeaux barrels before being aged in his labyrinth of cellars. Built around a core of concentrated black fruit and a structure for ageing, the domaine’s three single-vineyard cuvées each offer their own site-specific complexities.

From a 1.8ha gravel and sand plot, ‘Clos du Moulin’ – 80% Syrah and 20% Counoise – is the most floral of Parcé’s wines, showing dried roses and smoked meat. A blend of Syrah with small amounts of Marsanne and Roussanne (as in Hermitage), ‘Les Junquets’ is combines juicy fruit and earthy minerality. From the estate’s oldest Syrah and Mourvèdre vines planted on clay and schist, the peppery fruit of ‘Cosprons Levants’ is layered with chocolate and leather.

This pristine parcel from the stellar 1994 vintage – “a small crop with real richness and concentration,” according to Jancis Robinson – provides an unmissable opportunity to marvel at the wonders of mature Collioure.

Cassis, espresso, and dried petals – long and smoky. 95 Points, Robert Parker