Domaine Hegarty-Chamans Minervois Black Knight

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The Hegarty-Chamans 2007 Minervois Black Knight features - as it did in 2005 - a tiny lot of exceptionally ripe Syrah, here blended with 30% Grenache and 20% Carignan, and kept in new barriques for just under two years. High-toned distillate and confiture of cassis, black raspberry, and boysenberry inform an effusive nose and lush palate. Deep, meaty richness along with notes of thyme, licorice, and brown spices adeptly compliment the intensely ripe fruit, and a bottle open for a few hours not only displayed even greater intensity of fruit and spice, but more fully revealed the mineral dimension to this cuvee, incorporating smoky notes of peat and black tea; crushed stone; and saliva-inducing salinity. There is an abundance of primary fruit juiciness and a vibrancy of fruit, mineral, and spice interaction here that are uncommon for a wine that possesses such a pronounced sense of confitured and distilled berries, let alone for one that spent so long in cask. (In this last respect, the contrast with the corresponding "No. 1" could hardly, unfortunately, be much greater.) This should be riveting to follow for at least the better part of a decade. (There will be no Black Knight bottling from either 2008 or 2009.)Proprietors John Hegarty and Philippa Crane - along with their cellarmaster-vineyard manager Samuel Berger are turning out many impressive wines. But these are not getting any easier to keep track of than when I reported at length about this estate in issue 183. In fairness, the team here is conscientiously striving to assemble from a considerable array of raw materials those blends treated in those manners that will best showcase the potential of any given vintage. At the same time, they don't want to mislead their customers by utilizing the same label for wines that are quite different in conception, and where quality has proven inconsistent they almost unhesitatingly declassify. As a result, in addition to cuvees bearing the titles "No. 1" through "No. 3" - not all of which are bottled each vintage - there are increasingly many other cuvee designations, and that's not counting the complication that some wines do and others do not receive the Minervois appellation. Experience is tempering not just the cellar practices but also the mix of vines that this experimental-minded team biodynamically cultivates. When the property was purchased nine years ago it included ten hectares of Syrah, for instance, but all except three have been ripped up and replaced with other varieties, as the line between profound ripeness and over-ripeness with that grape in these sites proved both fine and elusive. Berger indicated that he was unlikely to essay a cuvee "No. 1" from 2010, because in his words, "while there was plenty of fruitiness, the phenolic maturation was not sufficiently advanced ? and the Syrah - especially the portion on schist - suffered drought stress, so that the maturation simply plateaued even though the potential alcohol rose. I can't explain," he adds, "why it is that there was less stress on our vineyards in the dry heat of 2009. But all of our varieties achieved excellent ripeness and fine tannins in that vintage," which he compares with 2007. Not all of the blends for 2009 had been determined, but the individual lots that I tasted over and beyond the terrific No. 1 and No. 2 cuvees left little doubt that whatever is bottled from 2009 at the lower end of this estate's price list will merit serious consumer attention. Incidentally, I had the opportunity to taste most of the finished wines here both freshly-opened and from bottles that had stood open for several hours.Importers include ABC Fine Wine and Spirits, Doral, FL; tel. (305) 470-0039 and Vintage Trading Inc., New York, NY; tel. (732) 928-7112

The Hegarty-Chamans Minervois Black Knight represents a tiny lot of exceptionally ripe Syrah blended with small amounts of Grenache and Carignan, and kept in new barriques for 22 months. That certainly didn’t represent over-exposure, though, because this is seamlessly rich, loaded with intense black fruits, chocolate, and brown spices, and “oak” was the last thing on my mind when I tasted it. Game and forest floor nuances offer considerable fascination and this wine’s long finish manages to be both soothing and – in the manner of all of the best wines from this estate – dynamic and invigorating. I wonder whether a hypothetical or perhaps even actual blend of this with the No. 1 would be better than either, but the team here wanted to push the envelope.Londoners John Hegarty and Philippa Crane are putting into action the old adage about starting with a small fortune – theirs having been made in advertising – but they are clearly dedicated heart and soul to their 50 acres sheltered in the foothills of the Montagne Noire, a property acquired and radically renovated in 2002. They are also committed to rendering wines that express their aesthetic, environmental and (biodynamic) viticultural ideals and a spirit of adventure, all symbolized for them by the black sheep on their label. Burgundy-trained Samuel Berger, their articulate cellar master since 2003, is similarly focused and experimental-minded. The vintages tasted have largely not yet been released to the U.S. market, hence the relative absence of suggested retails.Imported by Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 832-9083