2010 Domaine Gauby, Cotes Catalanes Vieilles Vignes Blanc, Cotes du Roussillon 1x75cl

Robert Parker 93

Fascinating and alluring aromas of rowan, honeysuckle and pistachio extract greet me from the glass of Gauby 2010 Vieilles Vignes Blanc, along with intimations of the pineapple and lime that then juicily and tinglingly inform a polished, satiny, yet brightly energetic palate performance. Floral perfume and high-toned nut essences persist into a prolonged finish whose tactile impingements of lime zest, pineapple near the core, and musky rose radish are practically electro-charged in intensity and kinetics. This beauty can be expected to dazzle at table through at least 2017.

Gerard and Lionel Gauby ” for much more about whose vineyards, labors, and stylistic evolution see my accounts in issues 183 and 195 ” are demonstrating with their recent expansion of single-vineyard bottlings, results entirely consistent with the superb quality for which they have already become known. a oeFrom April on, we had no rain,a testifies Gerard of vintage 2012, a oebut also no ill-effects from hydric- or heat-stressa ” other than a significant diminution of what are already an estate norm of low yields ” thanks, he avers, to a now long-standing, biodynamic deep root-promoting viticultural regimen. I tasted only selectively components for 2012 Gauby reds from barrel, cask and tank last spring, but they were collectively stunning, featuring heady floral perfumes, amazingly silken textures for their youth, and a sense of levity (weighing-in “at least for the most part ” under 13% alcohol) entirely consistent with density as well as depth. One need not take the Gaubys’ word that phenolic maturity was achieved early, as this is evident in the wines’ combination of ripe flavors with moderate alcohol. The 2010s here have turned out impressively and the best of them ” as I forecasted in issue 195 ” full of intrigue. Yet, the amazing thing is that the more generous 2011s right now upstage most of the 2010s in white as well as red, including in terms of dynamic complexity and the presence of mineral dimensions, a scenario I would never have entertained based on what I knew of these Roussillon vintages in general as opposed to what I found in the glass at this address.

Importer: Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville, PA; tel. (610) 486-0800 [David Schildknecht, 30/01/2014]

Anticipated maturity: 2014-2017