Tasting notes:

Eighteen years after beginning Domaine Paul Mas, Jean-Claude Mas began a new project: vineyards and a winery to produce the best wines, expressing the terroir of Languedoc. Nestled in the hunting forests between the Thau Lagoon and the Mediterranean, the vines are well protected and are farmed biodynamically. The number 122 on this wine’s label is the plot number and also represents the altitude above the Mediterranean. The wine, a travel retail exclusive, demonstrates the terroir beautifully. Deep purple-ruby in colour, it exhibits cassis and bramble fruit overlaid with toast and dark chocolate oak notes and hints of herbs and peppermint. The palate is full and rich, showing brisk acidity and dense velvet-textured tannins to support the flavours. Rather youthful, the wine could be drunk now, perhaps with beef filet and a creamy green peppercorn sauce. (Patricia Stefanowicz MW)