Mas de Lavail Desirade 2021 - Côtes du Roussillon Villages, France

16/20 Le Revue du de France (2018 vintage)
19/20 Hamburg Wine Side (2017 vintage)
91/100 Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (2016 vintage)

Gold - Concours General Agricole Paris (2018 vintage)

1 Star - Le Guide Hachette des Vins (2016 vintage)

Organic

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate "A wonderfully gluggable red, the 2016 La Desirade is a blend of 50% Syrah, 25% Grenache and 25% Carignan aged in 50% new oak. Wiry, herbal notes bring complexity and freshness to the purple berry fruit of this medium to full-bodied wine, bolstered by silky tannins and a dry, savory finish." (2016 vintage)

Le Revue du de France "The nose is sanguine. It drew its insolent power from the fifty or so springs that the Grenache, Carignan and Syrah vines list. Leather and liquorice, notes of graphite, pencil lead are its markers. The attack and the sweetness of the tannin are raised in the same spirit by the terroir of Maury." (2018 vintage)

Hamburg Wine Side "Black tea, dark fruits, vanilla, power and complexity, length, melting. An absolute bang!" (2017 vintage)

Le Guide Hachette des Vins "A deep garnet wine with black reflections, evocative of red fruits. The velvety and supple attack gives way to an ample palate, with tones of cooked fruit and pepper, supported by an already well-rounded tannic structure. Nice final balance." (2016 vintage)

50% Syrah 25% Carignan 25% Grenache Noir

Organic wines are made from grapes grown without pesticides, following strict organic standards. Organic wines are produced in vineyards that do not use synthetic chemicals.

Mas de Lavail is a family-owned estate in the heart of the Maury Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée, one of the oldest Appellations in the area of Roussillon, which was designated in 1936. The winery, Mas de Lavail was founded in 1999 with the purchase of the property by the Batlle family. The estate is situated in the heart of the MAURY Appellation, surrounded by the two ranges of the Corbières, on clay-limestone soil.

Part of their land stretches beneath the Cathar castle of Quéribus, resting on black schist soils. The name "Maury" derives from these black lands, known for their unique ability to retain the Sun's heat and release it to the vines during the cooler evenings. As a result, the Grenache and Carignan grapes show the estate's devotion to their terroir and winemaking craft which is evident in the exceptional wines they produce.

Organic agricultural practices are now at the forefront of the wine-growing approach to achieve full organic certification, alongside the preservation of existing biodiversity. Clearly, Grenache is the star here, as per the requirement of the Maury and newly designated Maury Sec AOCs, however, Syrah and Carignan (both Blanc and Noir) are far from just supporting acts, in fact producing stunning examples. Cropping is averaged at 29 HL per hectare across the domain, with the estate ranges at far less, and production levels of less than 10,000 cases annually point to grapes with exceptional concentration.

Côtes du Roussillon Villages is an appellation for dry red wines from the Roussillon wine region of southern France. It represents wines which are a step up in quality from the more generic Côtes du Roussillon appellation. The grapes most commonly used in Côtes du Roussillon Villages wines are Carignan, Grenache and Syrah.Côtes du Roussillon-Villages is a sub-appellation in the northern half of the appellation in the valley of the river Agly, from the best slopes around the valley. The appellation is in the foothills of the Pyrenees and the better wines are normally produced from vines on the slopes, not in the valley floors. It is purely for red wines, with stricter appellation regulations than regular Côtes du Roussillon.

The blend allowed is: Carignan (maximum 60%), Syrah, Mourvèdre (minimum 30% combined), Grenache noir, Lladoner. Note that a minimum of three varieties are allowed in the blend."

Syrah is a dark-skinned red wine grape. Its origins have been popularly debated, but its modern viticultural home is unquestionably the northern Rhône Valley of eastern France. In Australia, Syrah is the flagship variety and has developed such a distinct personality that it is essentially regarded as a distinct variety, is commonly known as Shiraz.

Carignan (also known as Mazuelo, Bovale Grande, Cariñena, Carinyena, Samsó, Carignane, and Carignano) is a red grape variety of Spanish origin that is more commonly found in French wine but is widely planted throughout the western Mediterranean and around the globe. Along with Aramon, it was considered one of the main grapes responsible for France's wine lake and was a substantial producer in jug wine production in California's Central Valley but in recent years, it has been reborn as a flagship wine for many cellars in the south of France as well as in Catalonia.

Grenache is a red-wine grape grown extensively in France, Spain, Australia and the United States and is one of the most widely distributed grapes in the world. Grenache is the French name for the grape, but it has a number of synonyms. In Spain, where it is one of the country's flagship varieties, it is known as Garnacha, and on the island of Sardinia it has been known for centuries as Cannonau. In France, Grenache is most widely planted in the southern Rhone Valley and throughout both Provence and Languedoc-Roussillon. It is most commonly found alongside Syrah and Mourvedre in the classic Southern Rhone Blend (notably in Cotes du Rhone wines), and is the main grape variety in Chateauneuf-du-Pape.