Vin de Pays des Cote Catalanes France
Robert Parker 90
"Jean-Marc Lafage and his importer are rendering a huge service to consumers with several white cuvees that represent outstanding values. Among his reds, Lafage has scored a mind-boggling value with his Syrah-based (10% each Grenache and Cabernet) 2005 Cote Sud. Intense aromas of plum paste, cherry, iodine and herbs lead into a richly-fruited, deeply mineral, dynamic palate with layering and interplay of black chocolate, lavender, licorice, cherry preserves, singed meat, salts and iodine. A wine this rich and complex and with a finish this long takes on an aura of unreality when one sees the price! Even alongside “intro-level” wines as amazing as Lafage’s, those of his more expensive cuvees that I had occasion to taste (both from high-altitude vines in the south of Roussillon) do not have to fear comparison, and should be capable of improving for several years."
