1998 Coteaux du Languedoc

This estate just outside the town of Pezenas is owned by Jean-Claude LeBrun and Chantal Lecouty, former owner and editor, respectively, of the Revue du Vin de France. The historic property is built on the foundation of a Roman villa. The estate was hard-hit by the September 6 hailstorm in '99, losing 40% of its crop. "We picked the grenache in three days and it wasn't really ripe enough," said Lebrun. "The mourvedre was a disaster: the grape sugars were just 10.5% at the time of the hail, and because so many of the vine leaves were destroyed, that messed up the photosynthesis. The fruit was only at 12.6% on October 6." Still, a bit of mourvedre may be added to the blend at the assemblage. The estate's white wine appears to be particularly successful in '99, however. The vines are on a 360-degree "dome" that features soil rich in oyster shells. "We look for surmaturite, texture and richness in the white wine," explained Lecouty. "The model is the Beaucastel Vieilles Vignes." The former owner of the estate, Alain Roux, used a percentage of the white grapes in his red wine and sold off the rest, Lecouty added. Lebrun, a fan of Olympic athletes and American baseball players, describes the estate's top red as "like the thighs of Carl Lewis, with force, suppleness, grace." Nineteen ninety-eight featured a small crop, "but everything ripened quickly and we had to triple the size of the picking team," said Lecouty. "The vines here did not suffer from drought because the blue clay holds moisture and the roots of our vines are deep." (Ideal Wine & Spirits, Medford, MA; also a Peter Vezan selection, importers include Michael Skurnik Wines, Syosset, NY; North Berkeley Imports, Berkeley, CA; and Vintner Select, Cincinnati, OH)