2004 - Domaine Peyre Rose Coteaux du Languedoc Clos des Cistes

The Peyre Rose 2004 Coteaux du Languedoc Rose – or at least, the Grenache-Syrah blend Soria refers to as her “rose” and sells in a clear bottle – is in fact a rather deep red in color and altogether seriously concentrated, structured, and complex enough to explain its having only just been put on the market. Tart red raspberry and cherry mingle with sweetly aromatic, pungent herbs and alkaline and wet stone mineral notes. A savory sense of carnal and crustacean concentration helps give this wine its downright soulful finishing depth, while a satisfying, soothing texture barely permits an impression of fine tannin to register. Enjoy it – should you come upon it – over the coming 12-18 months. Ex real-estate agent Marlene Soria burst onto the Languedoc wine scene when – as an admitted amateur – she vinified under shockingly primitive circumstances a remarkable pair of 1991 Syrah-based reds grown outside Saint-Pargoire in sites strewn with head-sized rocks. At yields of a couple of clusters per vine, it was clear that the critical praise that these early wines received in The Wine Advocate and inside France had to be parlayed into much higher prices if Soria were to make ends meet, not to mention install electricity and build a proper facility. By 1996, the winery – along with new heights of quality and complexity – had been accomplished. The wines still saw no wood; received more than two months maceration; and were bottled only after four years. New heights of price were reached, too. After declining to bottle wine from the difficult 1997 vintage, Soria rendered in 1998 what – on tasting today – prove to be two of the most complex and distinctive wines ever produced in the Languedoc, reminiscent of a cross between Medoc as it was 30 years ago and great Hermitage. Simultaneously with the introduction of oaken foudres (which have been retained for a portion of the wines’ aging), the enamel tanks were re-lined, with the calamitous upshot that tainted vintages 1999-2001 were sold off in bulk. There is no U.S. importer at present, and as a charter importer of Peyre Rose myself, I can testify to the challenge of “explaining” 1998s that on their release in 2002 would have cost $75 a bottle. Today I could kick myself for not having risen to that challenge. As a point of comparison, in the U.K. the 2002s and 2003s retail for 50 Pounds Sterling and in France and Germany for around 50 Euros.