L'Oustal Blanc Naick Blanc Vin de Table, Languedoc-Roussillon, France

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While its 2010 counterpart represents among the best of its (scarce) kind, l'Oustal Blanc's vintage 2009 white Naick 9 - not surprisingly for this vintage - lacks the vibrancy that makes the best Grenache Gris so memorable. Nut paste and caramel, white peach and Persian melon lusciously inform a full, subtly creamy palate, while the sort of animal allure one finds in certain wines of this series here assumes a rather sweaty, faintly acrid as well as saline form. The resulting counterpoint, though, is fascinating in itself, and there is certainly impressive palate persistence. I would plan on savoring this over the next couple of years.While Claude and Isabel Fonquerle - for much more about whose domaine and ideals, consult my report in issue 183 - retain their business address and facility in Creissan (St.-Chinian, where they also have a small Cinsault vineyard) for storage and expedition, crush and vinification takes place entirely at their compact, indeed crowded, vintage 1907 cellar in La Liviniere. I had not previously had opportunity to visit the Fonquerles' vineyards and was impressed with their geological diversity, encompassing elements of sandstone and schiste as well as quartzite-rich, Chateauneuf-like galets roules and iron-rich chalk-clay underpinnings that include blue Marne clay seams of the sort associated with the unique water-management of the best Pomerol terroir. "Especially in 2009," notes Claude Fonquerle, "you needed the diversity of cuvees from different sorts of soil to achieve finesse and complexity," and he certainly succeeded, though at the price of bottling any red cuvee Naick, his Cinsault and other fruit from especially friable, light soils having in his view been needed (as had been the case also in 2003) for blending into upper-level cuvees. I would not have been surprised - and some of Claude Fonquerle's own comments pointed in this direction - to have to have found the vintage character of 2008 better-suited to his proclaimed Burgundian ideals and to tempering any temptation of these wines to flirt with alcoholic overload. In the event, though, the seamless ripeness of this estate's 2009s is compelling and by no means precludes vibrancy or refinement. The refrigerated truck used to chill all of the estate's fruit overnight; stringent selection on a vibrating table (it can take a week to fill a single fermenting tank); and the use of a wooden basket press could all additionally be adduced to account for l'Oustal Blanc's high quality even in drought-stressed, hot, vintages with low juice-to-skin ratio such as 2009. And the Fonquerles' impressive 2010s reflected even lower yields and tinier berries than their 2009s. I tasted not only site-specific and single-cepage components from 2010 but also blends that the Fonquerles' considered close to definitive, and on which I have for that reason - not to mention on account of their high quality - elected to report already. (Malo-lactic transformation here normally follows on the heels of alcoholic fermentation, and did so in 2010.) By the way, the cuvee known as Maestoso (for more about which consult my report in issue 183) has been discontinued.Importer: Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville, PA; tel. (610) 486-0800

Although it may not quite reach the impressive potential signaled before bottling by the corresponding 2010, l'Oustal Blanc's 2008 vintage Naick 8 in some ways represents a marriage of the virtues of its two immediate successors. A hauntingly musky florality hangs over the glass. A nutty, rich, lusciously peachy palate akin to that of 2009 is suffused with fresh pineapple, mouthwatering salinity, crustacean shell savor, and seemingly crystalline, tactile mineral elements that help lend vibrancy to an exhilarating, memorably long finish. To a perhaps even greater extent than their best reds, the Fonquerles' examples of Grenache Gris greatness ally generous richness with energy, refreshment, and fascinating detail.While Claude and Isabel Fonquerle - for much more about whose domaine and ideals, consult my report in issue 183 - retain their business address and facility in Creissan (St.-Chinian, where they also have a small Cinsault vineyard) for storage and expedition, crush and vinification takes place entirely at their compact, indeed crowded, vintage 1907 cellar in La Liviniere. I had not previously had opportunity to visit the Fonquerles' vineyards and was impressed with their geological diversity, encompassing elements of sandstone and schiste as well as quartzite-rich, Chateauneuf-like galets roules and iron-rich chalk-clay underpinnings that include blue Marne clay seams of the sort associated with the unique water-management of the best Pomerol terroir. "Especially in 2009," notes Claude Fonquerle, "you needed the diversity of cuvees from different sorts of soil to achieve finesse and complexity," and he certainly succeeded, though at the price of bottling any red cuvee Naick, his Cinsault and other fruit from especially friable, light soils having in his view been needed (as had been the case also in 2003) for blending into upper-level cuvees. I would not have been surprised - and some of Claude Fonquerle's own comments pointed in this direction - to have to have found the vintage character of 2008 better-suited to his proclaimed Burgundian ideals and to tempering any temptation of these wines to flirt with alcoholic overload. In the event, though, the seamless ripeness of this estate's 2009s is compelling and by no means precludes vibrancy or refinement. The refrigerated truck used to chill all of the estate's fruit overnight; stringent selection on a vibrating table (it can take a week to fill a single fermenting tank); and the use of a wooden basket press could all additionally be adduced to account for l'Oustal Blanc's high quality even in drought-stressed, hot, vintages with low juice-to-skin ratio such as 2009. And the Fonquerles' impressive 2010s reflected even lower yields and tinier berries than their 2009s. I tasted not only site-specific and single-cepage components from 2010 but also blends that the Fonquerles' considered close to definitive, and on which I have for that reason - not to mention on account of their high quality - elected to report already. (Malo-lactic transformation here normally follows on the heels of alcoholic fermentation, and did so in 2010.) By the way, the cuvee known as Maestoso (for more about which consult my report in issue 183) has been discontinued.Importer: Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville, PA; tel. (610) 486-0800

The l’Oustal Blanc 2007 vintage Naick 7 (which I last tasted assembled but prior to bottling) is a blend of around 60% Cinsault from Saint-Chinian (raised in tank), with the balance split between Carignan, Syrah, and a smidgen of Grenache from Minervois La Liviniere (raised in older barrique), a blend that requires its bottling as vin de table and hence without a date. Chocolate-covered, cardamom-dusted cherries, wood smoke, and pungent scrubby herbs on the nose usher in a soothing, refreshing palate that testifies first and foremost to the unique charm of properly-ripened old vines Cinsault, but with a bright acidity and berry tart edge born of Carignan. This already irresistible libation finishes with persistently caressing texture, yet with verve and lip-smacking persistence, and should remain a delight for at least 2-3 years. As my reviews of the numerous wines of Claude and Isabel Fonquerle that are legally only vins de table were confined to the on-line version of issue 183, I have taken the liberty of re-publishing in this issue the reviews of two of those that retail for under $25, and are among the finest values today in southern French wines.Importer: Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville, PA; tel. (610) 486-0800

Aromas of nutmeg, sandalwood, pungent herbs, and ripe cherry distinguish the 2006 vintage Naick 6. Bitter hints of cherry pit, black tea, and herbs, along with an undertone of wet stone mark this wine’s palate personality as cooler, more aloof than its year-younger counterpart. But there is a similarly impressive sheer persistence of fresh fruit and herbs, and this should give a whole lot of pleasure for at least a couple more years.As my reviews of the numerous wines of Claude and Isabel Fonquerle that are legally only vins de table were confined to the on-line version of issue 183, I have taken the liberty of re-publishing in this issue the reviews of two of those that retail for under $25, and are among the finest values today in southern French wines.Importer: Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville, PA; tel. (610) 486-0800