Maury at m-wines.com

It seems that Maury Sec, the newly created appellation for the table wines of Maury, as opposed to the fortified vins doux, is starting to make waves.   A sample bottle arrived the other day, from a new mail order company, www.m-wines.com.  which has been set up by wine enthusiast, Philip Morton, who has encouraged a handful of wine growers to make their absolute favourite wine, with no expense or effort spared.   And so Thomas Raynaud, who is the winemaker at Château St. Roch in Maury has produced a Maury Sec from the 2011 vintage.  It arrived in a beautiful box, a handsome bottle with a dramatic label.   I have to admit that I was a bit nervous.  It looked like the sort of bottle that could easily blow your head with an assault of new oak  and over extracted tannins, but appearances can be highly deceptive.  This wine has style.  The blend is 50% Syrah, 40% Grenache and 10% Mourvèdre.  A deep young colour, and a discreet structured nose.   And the palate was beautifully balanced.  Despite the 22 months of ageing in barriques, the oak is very well integrated, with an elegant balance of spicy fruit and tannins, a streak of freshness, that can be rare in Roussillon, and a long finish.  The alcohol, which can sometimes be a problem in Roussillon, was well integrated too.  The wine had sufficient weight and fruit to support 14.5⁰.   It is still very young – an optimum drinking time was given of 2015 to 2017, but we decanted it to allow it to breathe, and it was simply delicious with sausage and mash on a damp autumn evening.   At £35 it is expensive, well above the average offering from Roussillon, but the quality is also well above average, making a fair rapport qualité prix.     

www.m-wines.com