WINE ADVOCATE

  

 

 

David Schildknecht, Wine Advocate, June 2011

Grenache Gris “Brama” 2010

90 Pts

“La Touge” 09

89 Pts

Carignan CDN 08

90 Pts

Grenache CDN 08

90 Pts

“Les Planels” 09

92 pts

Old Vine Syrah 08

93 Pts

Proprietor and passionate biodynamic practitioner Bertie Eden, along with his French-born, Australia-trained cellar master Benjamin Darnault are refining their style without sacrificing richness. Levels of alcohol have also come down a bit, and in the past three vintages have seldom been much over 15%. Eden tends to minimize the differences between the 2008 and 2009 vintages, insisting that his Syrah did not suffer significant stress in the latter. Darnault adds that the presence of springs in the sites where Maris has Syrah planted is critical in drought years, which approach the norm in La Liviniere. I prefer the results here from 2008, but Eden believes the 2009s will need a year in bottle to level the playing field in any imaginary competition between the two collections, and that point they will then seem pretty evenly-matched. (For more about this estate and the evolution of its style, consult my report in issue 183.)

Tasted blind, it was not hard to guess the varietal origins of Maris's 2010 Brama - the first of its kind - rendered in tiny volume from an ancient, largely Grenache Gris vineyard. (Brama is a mountainous site northwest of Felines where Domaine Courbissac also has acreage.) Loaded with ripe, lusciously juicy honeydew melon and pineapple, alluringly and intriguingly accented by mint and narcissus; this benefits from the counterpoint offered by lime peel and crushed stone in its finish. Vinified in a mixture of tank and new but not especially toasty barrique, it represents one more example of the versatility that accrues to one of the world's great yet obscure grapes. It's anybody's guess how this might age, but I suspect if will be best enjoyed over the next couple of years.

The Maris 2009 Carignan Continuite de Nature - blended with around 15% Grenache - evokes dark cherry compote accented by piquancy of cherry pit and high-toned, spirituous suggestions of kirsch. Full and sweetly fruited, it finishes forcefully with a striking sense of energy and invigoration whose effect is diminished only by its alcoholic heat. Eden opines that "the Grenache is just coming through more strongly at this stage, whereas the 2008 is now showing this cuvee's true nature." This will certainly merit revisiting next year and over the next several years.

The Maris 2008 Carignan Continuite de Nature features juicy, sweetly-ripe cassis and blackberry, beguilingly complimented by toasted walnut, cherry pit, dark tobacco, and brown spices. Luscious, rich, and soothing, its slight finishing warmth is largely overridden by sheer generosity of fruit, and mouthwatering salinity. This ought to be worth following for at least 4-5 years.

Pure black raspberry in both confitured and juicy, fresh layers inform a Maris 2009 Grenache whose sheer generosity of fruit overrides the bit of heat generated by its roughly 15% alcohol. A peppery note you might more expect from Syrah adds counterpoint to the finish of this generous, straightforward expression of its grape, which I would plan on enjoying within the next couple of years.

The Maris 2008 Grenache displays ripe red raspberry and strawberry in confitured and fresh form - a nice change of pace from the darker berries that dominate most of the wines from this address. Nutmeg, almond extract and inner-mouth heliotrope perfume seductively compliment this excellent value's sweetness of fruit. It is almost like chamber music compared to the symphonic scope characteristic for Chateau Maris - and what lovely music! I would tentatively plan to enjoy this over the next two years while the fruit is very fresh, though it might well end up evolving interestingly for a couple of years thereafter.

Confitured and liqueur-like black raspberry in the Maris 2009 Grenache Old Vine is accented by slightly acrid smoke and crushed stone mineral notes. Lush and expansive on the palate, this benefits from saliva-inducing salinity in a pure, sweetly-fruited finish that approaches the honeyed. Tasted from tank just prior to bottling, it really responded well to a strong aeration, its fruit intensity reaching almost explosive intensity. Benjamin Darnault says he prefers with Grenache to go into bottle in a slightly reduced state. It should be interesting to follow this wine's evolution over the next 5-7 years.

Effusively-scented with black fruit confiture and floral perfume suggesting lilac and heliotrope, the Maris 2008 Grenache Old Vine's sense of sweetness is reinforced by its lush, glyceral-richness and by notes of praline and brown spices. The generosity of fruit, spice, and inner-mouth perfume is vividly set-off in a long - and for a wine so full-bodied, uncannily buoyant - finish by an undertone of wet stone. This would make a deviously delicious ringer in a Chateauneuf tasting, whereby some celebrated wines of that classic appellation might seem somewhat inelegant alongside. It ought to be worth following for at least 5-7 years.

Mingling intensely resinous evocations of scrubby garrigue with confitured black fruits, the Maris 2009 Syrah La Touge - a cuvee from less-favored Syrah sites and featuring 12-15% Grenache - displays ample body; a rich texture; and a generous as well as invigoratingly pungent finish, though not the infectious juiciness and saliva-inducing savor of its 2008 counterpart. I expect this will be best enjoyed over the next couple of years.

Rich ripe black fruit and roasted red meat juiciness inform a seamless, polished palate in Maris's 2008 Syrah La Touge, with peat-like smokiness, mouthwatering salinity, and the savor of pan drippings rendering its long finish both invigorating and compelling of the next sip. This impressive effort and terrific value should drink well for at least 3-4 years.

Redolent of diverse smoked meats; rosemary; and confitured dark cherry, and blueberry, the Maris 2008 Syrah Old Vines benefits from glycerin-richness in conveying a lush, plush impressions, while retaining a primary juiciness that largely overrides the bit of alcoholic heat generated in its finish. Black pepper, clove, rosemary, bacon, subtly tart berry skins, and saliva-inducing salinity combine for a pungent, invigorating, palate-staining finish that offers perfect counterpoint to this wine's sheer richness of fruit. This was not harvested until late September, surely a factor in its phenolic diversity. I suspect that this terrific value will be worth following for the better part of a decade and quite possibly acquire even more complexity.

Due to have been bottled a few weeks after I tasted it in April, the Maris 2009 Syrah Old Vine reflects its ripeness of fruit in tar and licorice as well as cooked beet root and confitured black fruits. Intensely aromatic, full-bodied, and texturally lush, this finishes with low-toned earthiness allied to striking sweetness of fruit. A sense of mineral dimension and hints of bright berry skin edge emerged as it took on air, and I suspect it will grow in bottle - perhaps even in its final weeks in tank - and be worth following for at least 6-8 years.  

 

 

Wine Advocate, June 2011

Chateau Maris Grenache Gris “Brama” 2010

90 Pts

Chateau Maris  Syrah “La Touge” 2009

89 Pts

Chateau Maris  Carignan "Continuite de Nature" 2008

90 Pts

Chateau Maris   Grenache Nouvelles Fraiches 2008

90 Pts

Chateau Maris  Syrah“Les Planels” 2009

92 pts

Chateau Maris Grenache "Les Combes" 2009

92 Pts

rea Grenache "Les CombesGGGGGGGOld Vine Syrah 2008

93 Pts

Proprietor and passionate biodynamic practitioner Bertie Eden, along with his French-born, Australia-trained cellar master Benjamin Darnault are refining their style without sacrificing richness. Levels of alcohol have also come down a bit, and in the past three vintages have seldom been much over 15%. Eden tends to minimize the differences between the 2008 and 2009 vintages, insisting that his Syrah did not suffer significant stress in the latter. Darnault adds that the presence of springs in the sites where Maris has Syrah planted is critical in drought years, which approach the norm in La Liviniere. I prefer the results here from 2008, but Eden believes the 2009s will need a year in bottle to level the playing field in any imaginary competition between the two collections, and that point they will then seem pretty evenly-matched. (For more about this estate and the evolution of its style, consult my report in issue 183.)

Tasted blind, it was not hard to guess the varietal origins of Maris's 2010 Brama - the first of its kind - rendered in tiny volume from an ancient, largely Grenache Gris vineyard. (Brama is a mountainous site northwest of Felines where Domaine Courbissac also has acreage.) Loaded with ripe, lusciously juicy honeydew melon and pineapple, alluringly and intriguingly accented by mint and narcissus; this benefits from the counterpoint offered by lime peel and crushed stone in its finish. Vinified in a mixture of tank and new but not especially toasty barrique, it represents one more example of the versatility that accrues to one of the world's great yet obscure grapes. It's anybody's guess how this might age, but I suspect if will be best enjoyed over the next couple of years.

The Maris 2009 Carignan Continuite de Nature - blended with around 15% Grenache - evokes dark cherry compote accented by piquancy of cherry pit and high-toned, spirituous suggestions of kirsch. Full and sweetly fruited, it finishes forcefully with a striking sense of energy and invigoration whose effect is diminished only by its alcoholic heat. Eden opines that "the Grenache is just coming through more strongly at this stage, whereas the 2008 is now showing this cuvee's true nature." This will certainly merit revisiting next year and over the next several years.

The Maris 2008 Carignan Continuite de Nature features juicy, sweetly-ripe cassis and blackberry, beguilingly complimented by toasted walnut, cherry pit, dark tobacco, and brown spices. Luscious, rich, and soothing, its slight finishing warmth is largely overridden by sheer generosity of fruit, and mouthwatering salinity. This ought to be worth following for at least 4-5 years.

Pure black raspberry in both confitured and juicy, fresh layers inform a Maris 2009 Grenache whose sheer generosity of fruit overrides the bit of heat generated by its roughly 15% alcohol. A peppery note you might more expect from Syrah adds counterpoint to the finish of this generous, straightforward expression of its grape, which I would plan on enjoying within the next couple of years.

The Maris 2008 Grenache displays ripe red raspberry and strawberry in confitured and fresh form - a nice change of pace from the darker berries that dominate most of the wines from this address. Nutmeg, almond extract and inner-mouth heliotrope perfume seductively compliment this excellent value's sweetness of fruit. It is almost like chamber music compared to the symphonic scope characteristic for Chateau Maris - and what lovely music! I would tentatively plan to enjoy this over the next two years while the fruit is very fresh, though it might well end up evolving interestingly for a couple of years thereafter.

Confitured and liqueur-like black raspberry in the Maris 2009 Grenache Old Vine is accented by slightly acrid smoke and crushed stone mineral notes. Lush and expansive on the palate, this benefits from saliva-inducing salinity in a pure, sweetly-fruited finish that approaches the honeyed. Tasted from tank just prior to bottling, it really responded well to a strong aeration, its fruit intensity reaching almost explosive intensity. Benjamin Darnault says he prefers with Grenache to go into bottle in a slightly reduced state. It should be interesting to follow this wine's evolution over the next 5-7 years.

Effusively-scented with black fruit confiture and floral perfume suggesting lilac and heliotrope, the Maris 2008 Grenache Old Vine's sense of sweetness is reinforced by its lush, glyceral-richness and by notes of praline and brown spices. The generosity of fruit, spice, and inner-mouth perfume is vividly set-off in a long - and for a wine so full-bodied, uncannily buoyant - finish by an undertone of wet stone. This would make a deviously delicious ringer in a Chateauneuf tasting, whereby some celebrated wines of that classic appellation might seem somewhat inelegant alongside. It ought to be worth following for at least 5-7 years.

Mingling intensely resinous evocations of scrubby garrigue with confitured black fruits, the Maris 2009 Syrah La Touge - a cuvee from less-favored Syrah sites and featuring 12-15% Grenache - displays ample body; a rich texture; and a generous as well as invigoratingly pungent finish, though not the infectious juiciness and saliva-inducing savor of its 2008 counterpart. I expect this will be best enjoyed over the next couple of years.

Rich ripe black fruit and roasted red meat juiciness inform a seamless, polished palate in Maris's 2008 Syrah La Touge, with peat-like smokiness, mouthwatering salinity, and the savor of pan drippings rendering its long finish both invigorating and compelling of the next sip. This impressive effort and terrific value should drink well for at least 3-4 years.

Redolent of diverse smoked meats; rosemary; and confitured dark cherry, and blueberry, the Maris 2008 Syrah Old Vines benefits from glycerin-richness in conveying a lush, plush impressions, while retaining a primary juiciness that largely overrides the bit of alcoholic heat generated in its finish. Black pepper, clove, rosemary, bacon, subtly tart berry skins, and saliva-inducing salinity combine for a pungent, invigorating, palate-staining finish that offers perfect counterpoint to this wine's sheer richness of fruit. This was not harvested until late September, surely a factor in its phenolic diversity. I suspect that this terrific value will be worth following for the better part of a decade and quite possibly acquire even more complexity.

Due to have been bottled a few weeks after I tasted it in April, the Maris 2009 Syrah Old Vine reflects its ripeness of fruit in tar and licorice as well as cooked beet root and confitured black fruits. Intensely aromatic, full-bodied, and texturally lush, this finishes with low-toned earthiness allied to striking sweetness of fruit. A sense of mineral dimension and hints of bright berry skin edge emerged as it took on air, and I suspect it will grow in bottle - perhaps even in its final weeks in tank - and be worth following for at least 6-8 years.  

David Schildknecht 

 

92-93 points

Minervois, Languedoc Roussillon, France

Wine Advocate # 183 - Jun 2009

David Schildknecht

Drink: N/A

Cost: N/A

 

From tank, a reductive hint of cassis leaf needed to be shaken off of the Maris 2007 Syrah Old Vine, a bottling based on the estate’s best block, surrounded by garrigue on a deep clay hillside near La Liviniere. A wine of exceptional purity, extreme black fruit ripeness, and a velvety texture emerges, girded by ultra-fine tannins and enlivened by springs of fresh berry juiciness as singular in the context of wine this ripe as is the spring that apparently literally lies beneath this vineyard. A small proportion of this cuvee is kept in tank to preserve freshness, but the harmony of oak (un-toasted at this address) and fruit is also perfectly judged, i.e. the former is scarcely noticeable as such. Cardamom, ginger, black pepper, pencil lead, and sweet floral suggestions add to the complex allure of this long-finishing beauty that deserves to be entered in a World Syrah contest. Interestingly, a single small lot of super-ripe, creamy, super-concentrated Syrah that Eden and Darnault were toying with bottling separately precisely as a sort of trophy wine left me disappointed on account of its finishing heat and faint drying.

 

 

91-92 points

Minervois, Languedoc Roussillon, France

Wine Advocate # 183 - Jun 2009

David Schildknecht

Drink: N/A

Cost: N/A

 

From tank, the Maris 2007 Grenache Old Vine smells remarkably like some amalgam of late-harvested Grenache and Sauvignon, possessing high-toned suggestions of herbal elixir, mint candy, black tea, and of over-ripe honeydew melon mingled with black raspberry and strawberry preserves and distillate. The nose is so invigorating and by itself suggests such lift, that one can scarcely imagine the wine turning heavy on the palate regardless of its alcohol, and one is not in the least disappointed: this exhibits uncanny balance of sheer viscosity and ripeness with vivacity and invigoration. There is an almost honeyed character here and a sumptuous, unctuous texture. This will be bottled ahead of the corresponding Syrah, indeed it will have been bottled by the time you read this.

 

 

2005 Chateau Maris Minervois Syrah la Touge