Press Review

14/20

90/100 Pureed raspberry, plum and spice flavors are lined with dusty tannins in this fresh, focused red. Hints of milk chocolate add a touch of richness, with floral and spice notes lingering on the crisp finish.

14/20

91/100 Suave and rich, with effusively fruity flavors of blackberry, dark plum, blueberry and spice. Features medium-grained tannins, with some graphite and mineral notes. Finishes with bittersweet chocolate accents. Drink now through 2018.

Prix / Plaisir : Excellent *** – Note sur 20 : 14

La sélection de Jacques Dupont Qualité : Bon Prix / plaisir : Bon

15/20 Le Languedoc Rouge 2011 précède un Minervois 2010 au fruit croquant et épicé.

Ample, savoureux et remarquablement équilibré, un splendide languedoc de syrah au rapport qualité-prix impeccable. chez Monoprix.

90/100 Hecht & Bannier is a high quality ngociant specializing in the wines from the Languedoc. If you ever want to explore how the wines from the different appellations in this part of the South of France differ, pick up bottlings from Hecht & Bannier and taste them side by side. The winemaking style is […]

90/100 Chewy yet plush, with plenty of cream and spice to the red raspberry and plum flavors, which feature hints of red peach. The firm finish of slate, smoke and spice is filled with minerally notes. Syrah and Grenache. Drink now through 2017. 500 cases imported. US$25. -K.M.

17/20 Syrah, Grenache, matured for 24 months in 600-litre demi muids. Dark crimson. Not a lot on the nose – just a murmur of fruit and graphite. Concentrated on the palate, dark fruit with a firm handshake of tannin. Liquorice and peppercorns, with a dark undertow of plums and wild fragrant herbs. Almost slightly salty. […]

15,5/20 Le minervois se montre poivré et crémeux dans sa texture. 12,5€

4 étoiles **** Des notes réglissées, poivrées, de fruits noirs grillés, de garrigue. Bouche charnue, réglissée, avec des tanins épicés. Pour un gibier en civet.

Aiguisé. Belle réussite, ce 2009 qui a gardé le croquant du fruit frais sans rien perdre de son style solaire et épicé. Un vin aiguisé, frais et puissant, fruité et floral, aux tanins fins. 9,90€ Monoprix

This relatively new label (founded in 2002) taps into some of the region’s top vineyard areas benchmark versions of the wines. While the dry Minervois areas relies heavily on Carignan, Syrah is dominant in this bottle, from a variety of mostly clay and limestone sites. It’s brimming with well-tailored fruit and subtle accents of violets […]

15/20 Un joli minervois fruité, intensément épices, fruits noirs. Beaucoup de charme ! 2011 à 2014 – 11,90€

87/100 Medium-bodied, with good cut to the berry and dried cherry flavors, which are accented by notes of savory herb and mineral. Crisp finish. Syrah, and Grenache. Drink now. 1,500 cases imported. – K.M. – US$21

90/100 Bottled in July, 2010, Hecht and Bannier’s 2008 Minervois, strikes pungently herbal themes – here, especially, lavender and rosemary – such as found in the corresponding A.O.C. Languedoc bottling, allied to tart-edged but ripe, juicy cherry and a saliva-inducing evocation of salted pan drippings. Bite of black pepper and piquant pungency of rosemary add […]

(88-89+)/100 Hecht and Bannier’s 2009 Minervois – assembled in tank when I tasted, and set to be bottled in July – was given a bit of exposure to some new demi-muids (whereas, for example, the 2008 had virtually no new wood) and at least temporarily that may have robbed the undeniably concentrated and ripe black […]

(90-91+)/100 Hecht and Bannier’s 2010 Minervois is as usual Syrah-dominated, with Grenache and Carignan (whose levels had yet to be fine-tuned) filling merely supporting roles, and despite my skepticism about the Syrah-centric appellation rules and official politics in this sector of the Languedoc, one has to say that Hecht and Bannier’s bottlings make a strong […]

15,5/20 – 11.90€

14,5/20 Minervois souple et onctueux avec une finale gourmande et ronde. 2010 à 2013 – 11.90€

17/20 Very dark, dramatic crimson. Really herby and savoury on the nose – lots of interest here! Rich, silky start. Very appetising and juicy. Only just ready to start as this has a heavy charge of (fairly ripe) tannins. Really good wine. Long and interesting. Beautiful polish. Drink 2010-2014

15/20 Vin profond, savoureux et au caractère épicé, qui a conservé une superbe fraicheur jusque dans sa finale croquante, sur les agrumes et le poivre noir. Un profil méditerranéen et harmonieux. 11,90€

Dégustation de Vins de Fêtes Ce vin livre une jolie version de la syrah qui le compose en grande majorité. Puissant et intense, il envahit le palais d’une matière fruitée, réglissée et épicée, dénuée de toute lourdeur, à accorder avec du gibier ou une volaille en cocotte. Le duo de négociants-éleveurs quadrille le Languedoc-Roussillon à […]

The Santé Gold Star Award This award recognizes food, wine, and spirits products of exceptional merit as chosen by our restaurant professional reviewers. Congratulations for your outstanding contribution to the world of food, wine, & spirits.

Un vrai vin d’automne, ample et chaleureux, généreux, fruité, avec des notes un peu animales sur fond de cerises confiturées et une finale cacaotée. Sur une terrine de sanglier, une pintade – 8,90€, Monoprix

14.5/20 – 11.90€

17/20 Aged in demi- muids. Syrah with Grenache. Very deep crimson. Sweet, sumptuous, rather burgundian nose and all the vigour of a fine Chateauneuf on the palate. Should be GV. Very long and no hurry to drink this. Tannins a- plenty. 14% – Drink 2010-14

(90-91)/100 Hecht & Bannier’s 2007 Minervois leans heavily on Syrah from La Liviniere, along with some Grenache and Carignan. Prior to bottling (and with the blend subject to small final adjustments), it smells of cassis, marjoram, and white pepper. Lush and silken in texture on the palate, it combines richness with vivacity and freshness of […]

90/100 Mint, marjoram, rosemary, roasted meats, and black fruit compote are liberally doled out to the nose and palate from Hecht and Bannier’s 2006 Minervois, which favors overwhelmingly Syrah, plus some Grenache and scarcely any Carignan or Mourvedre. A welcome fresh, subtly tart juiciness (reflecting the vintage’s relatively high acidity) builds in the finish, while […]

90/100 Summer drought and early September rains took their toll on the number of lots that could be selected by Hecht and Bannier for their 2005 Minervois, and hence the volume of finished wine, but the results are unusually fine-grained and brightly black-fruited for this vintage (so many whose wines are reduced, tough-textured, or generally […]

88/100 A supple red, with red plum and licorice flavors that are flanked by smoke, spice and paprika. The finish is filled with notes of kirsch and pepper. Drink now through 2013 –KM

14/20 – 11,90€

88/100 A 2005 Minervois leans heavily on Syrah (along with some Grenache) from La Liviniere, and was vinified in a combination of tank, demi-muids and barriques (none new). While certain normally desirable parcels had to be left out of this blend, the proprietors report, because some sites suffered more from early September rains, both the […]

**** Hecht & Bannier are Languedoc-Roussillon negociants sourcing premium fruit from carefully selected growers and sites. François Bannier provided this information directly to Winecurrent subscribers. “2005 was a very dry year and we sourced prime fruit (approximately 80% Syrah, 20% Grenache) primarily from the La Livinière and Aignes areas. We achieved a silky texture and […]

This is mostly Syrah with a bit of grenache added. It’s a bright and peppery wine that offers concentrated red fruits, Provencal herbs, black pepper and truffle salt highlights. Its tannins are smooth but a little chalky, lending some definition and texture to the finish. US$ 21

89/100 In the nose Hecht & Bannier’s 2004 Minervois (a Syrah-Grenache-Carignan blend) mingles dried and distilled fruits (cassis, cherry, cranberry) with garrigues and ocean spray minerality. Brimming with sappy fruit, resinous herbs, and a meaty pan dripping-like essence, this wine displays a lovely counterpoint of creamy texture with bright, subtly tart fruit and a satisfyingly-long […]

17/20 Fragrant, rather sumptuous on the nose. Well integrated ripe cherry fruit and oak. Fine grained tannins. Quite an ambitious wine. Probably best kept a bit. 13,5%. Drink 2008-2012.

15,5+/20 Spicy, big, pretty heavily oaked. Did this spend just a bit too long in wood ? Hot finish. The 2005 seems a much happier, better balanced wine even if – or because – less concentrated. Furry, insistent tannins. It may just need time… 14,5%. Drink 2009-2012.

15,5/20 – 11,90 €

15/20 Ce joli Minervois a des tanins un rien secs qui ne lui permettent pas d’atteindre le raffinement du Côtes du Roussillon Villages 2003. 2007 à 2010 – 11,90€

15/20 Ce joli Minervois a des tanins un rien secs qui ne lui permettent pas d’atteindre le raffinement du Côtes du Roussillon Villages 2003.

Awarded a Silver medal by the Tasting Panel at the Japan Wine Challenge 2007.

15/20 Notes d’olive noire et de chocolat, tanin ferme, vin bien construit, respectant parfaitement le terroir. 11,90€

16/20 – 11,90 €

90/100 Big, ripe, full-bodied red from the south of France, with a meaty aroma of roasted plums and dense flavors of boysenberry and licorice. Dark chocolate fills the finish. Drink now through 2008. 600 cases made – $19 — K.M.

86/100 A simple, fresh, fruity wine. Ripe Cinsault gives it some weight, but Syrah’s dark fruits spiced with pepper and herbal notes prevail. — R.V.

88/100 Packed with bramble, black plums, and leathery, dense tannins, this is strong stuff. Bitter cocoa flavors and pepper show the ripeness and firmness of the wine, which, at 14.5% alcohol, is no lightweight. —R.V.

16.5/20 Seems much better balanced than the 2003 even thought the fruit has obviously suffered a bit of drought stress in 2002 too. Good acidity and slightly hot on the finish.

15.5/20 Deep crimson. Warm, ripe and spicy with a very strong impression of alcohol and sweetness. Pretty dry tannins – far from the silky norm! 14.5% on the label and certainly pretty hot. A big mouthly… a little bitter and inky on the finish. Slightly hollow towards the end. Unbalanced.

7.5/10 – 17 €

86/100 – 17 €

86/100 – 17 €

88/100 Peppery aromas and flavors fill this lively red. At mid-palate, smoke, red cherry and spice come to the fore, with plenty of muscle. Some tannins on the finish. Drink now through 2007. 500 cases made – US$ 25 —K.M.

86/100 – 17 €

7.5/10 – 17 €

Fascinating, ambitious, accomplished new negociant with winemaking expertise from Ornellaia. The Faugères 2001 is good too. Turbo-charged intensity. £10.75