1999 Coteaux du Languedoc Clos Des Truffiers

Jean Rosset owns 45 hectares of vines, including 39 planted to red grapes, in the sprawling appellation of La Clape, near the coast south of Beziers. Virtually all of the vines are planted on hillside sites rich in round stones and chalk; Rosset describes his terroir as "cold soil" and difficult to work. The harvest typically takes place on the late side, with syrah normally picked between September 20 and October 12. I couldn't work up much enthusiasm for the domain's white wine (Rosset is replanting some of his white vines to roussanne, which he believes will bring more complexity and length), but the top estate red, as well as Rosset's new wine from 35-year-old syrah vines in Saint-Pargoire, not far from Domaine Peyre Rose, is among the superstars of the Languedoc. This wine is also vinified, aged and bottled, by special dispensation, at Chateau de la Negly-like Rosset's other wines, with an assist from consulting enologist Claude Gros. x000D x000D x000D x000D x000D x000D Rosset was one of several estate owners who told me that his '99s had much more complexity and depth than his '98s; with more phenolic maturity and browner seeds, it was possible to do more extractive vinification without getting tough tannins. This is a fairly recent source of topnotch Languedoc wine: until the '95 vintage, Rosset sold off most of his production in bulk. Since 1996, he has redone his cellar and reorganized his vineyards to make quality wine. The fruit is now sorted before and after it goes through the destemmer.