2003 Coteaux du Languedoc Prestige Rouge

Gerard Bru employs both Claude Gros and Michel Roland as consultants, but even with all those heads put together, his 2003 Coteaux du Languedoc Saint-Drezery – a 60:40 blend of Syrah and Grenache from Saint-Drezery (just above the city of Montpellier) – was released late on account of its tight structure and was still restrained in its rather stewed black fruit aroma and firm in feel when tasted early this year. But a fine persistence of rosemary, licorice, black fruits, and meatiness on the palate demonstrate this wine’s promising abundance of material; there is a lot more juiciness than the nose leads one to suggest; and the tightness here is of a finely stitched sort that promises future revelations. Imported by Jeffrey Davies Signature Selections, Highland Park, IL; tel. (847) 403-7215