15,5/20 On le boira avec une facilité déconcertante, tant il est frais, enjoué. La finale est précise, subtile. 2011 à 2014 – 14,90€
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
Gregory Hecht and François Bannier’s – for more about whose remarkable partnership, consult my account in issue 183 – are living up to the challenge they set themselves, namely to render, as negociants of a unique hands-on labor-intensity, wines that can stand comparison with those of each respective appellations top estates. They continue to focus […]
89/100 Given that their coastal facility on the Etang de Thau puts them cheek-by-jowl not only with the vineyards of Picpoul de Pinet but with a wealth of seafood and seafood restaurants; and that they had established generic bottlings of Languedoc red and rose of exceptional quality-price rapport, Hecht & Bannier’s white 2010 Languedoc was […]
91/100 Constituting 40% Syrah from relatively early-picked schistic sites in St.-Chinian (selected specifically with pink wine in mind) as well as from Minervois, and with 40% Cinsault, the Hecht & Bannier 2010 Languedoc Rose delivers not just fresh, tart-edged cherry fruit, and invigoratingly pungent herbal inflections, but also luscious blood orange and an astonishing array […]
(89-90)/100 For their 2010 Languedoc, Hecht and Bannier introduced into the mix of sources that informed their 2008 and 2009 some additional Carignan from Corbieres and some Cinsault from Saint-Chinian, which has no doubt helped underscore the fortes of this vintage, namely the preservation of fresh fruit liveliness and the showcasing of mineral elements, yet […]
89/100 I have to offer you a fresh note on Hecht & Bannier’s 2007 Languedoc because it has become so much more complex and eloquent since I reviewed it (the first of its kind) in issue 183, and because I was so wrong about its being best enjoyed « over the coming 12-18 months. » Make that […]
90/100 Hecht & Bannier’s 2008 Languedoc incorporates primarily Syrah and a bit of Carignan the Terrasses du Larzac; Syrah from Saint Chinian; and Grenache from the Agly Valley of Roussillon, a mix that held essentially constant for 2009. This is pungently redolent of garrigue and hedge flowers along with distilled essences of purple plum and […]
88/100 The Hecht & Bannier 2009 Languedoc – whose sources are virtually the same as those of its immediate predecessor, and which had only been in bottle for a couple of weeks when I tasted it – once again offers sappy concentration of black fruits (approaching confiture) with a bittersweet cast thanks to fruit pit […]
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 […]
