Perhaps due to the sun-soaked growing conditions in Roussillon, this wine is reliably ripe and flavorful in every vintage-and I’ve tasted it for at least eight years running. But with that said, it is more remarkable still that the wine is not just a warm climate workhorse in stylistic terms, but rather a complex, structured, mineral-tinged object lesson in classy, layered character. Moreover, while the wine is admirably consistent from year to year, it must also be noted that the 2010 is exceptionally good, showing beautifully now but promising to get even better over the next three years. A wine to buy–in quantity.
Château de Caladroy, Côtes de Rousillon Villages (Roussillon, France) 2010
By Michael Franz