Domaine du Mas Blanc Collioure 'L'Agoulle' 2000

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.