(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 […]
93/100 The Hecht & Bannier 2008 Cotes du Roussillon Villages displays the vibratory kinetics; abundance of vivacious fruit – yet here possessed of almost liqueur-like sweetness; and complexity of mineral elements that one has come to associate with the best wines of this vintage. Lily and heliotrope mingle with the aromas of ripe black raspberry, […]
(90-91)/100 Chocolate-covered plum and cherry; cassis and blackberry headily scent and lushly saturate the plush palate of Hecht & Bannier’s 2009 Cotes du Roussillon Villages a less complex or dynamic wine – tasted from tank just prior to bottling – than its 2008 counterpart (which was a hard act to follow by any measure) but […]
(91-92+)/100 Tasted as a pre-assemblage from barrel, the Hecht & Bannier 2010 Cotes du Roussillon Villages is colorfully fruited with suggestions of black raspberry, blackberry, cassis, and blueberry, all alluringly wreathed in heliotrope and lily. Overtly chalky and smoky crushed stone and peat notes serve for counterpoint on a richly-textured, ripely-fruited yet vivacious palate, and […]
92/100 Speaking (as I was under « Minervois ») of « Syrah-centrism, » that grape also dominates Hecht & Bannier’s 2008 Saint-Chinian, with support from Grenache and Mourvedre. This vintage is also dominated by fruit from schistic rather than chalk-clay vineyards. High-toned kirsch mingles with thyme, arbor vitae, and floral distillates on the nose. Bright, sappy cherry-dominated fruit picks […]
(93-94)/100 In keeping with the warm, stressful conditions of its vintage, Hecht & Bannier 2009 Saint-Chinian – due to be bottled this summer – favors Syrah from chalk-clay rather than schist sites. (Usually, more Syrah from Berlou goes into this blend; this year, it was diverted into the A.O.C. Languedoc bottling.) A chewy streak of […]
(92-93+)/100 Tasted as a definitive blend although the actual assemblage would not take place for months and bottling not until mid-2012, Hecht & Bannier’s 2010 Saint-Chinian represents a felicitous marriage of virtually all of their sources (which are far fewer for this appellation than for their Minervois) of dominant Syrah – on both schist and […]
92/100 Having lost part of their usual supplies of Mourvedre and Syrah to hail, Hecht and Bannier sourced some Grenache from the western edge of the appellation for their 2008 Faugeres. A vivid evocation of crushed stone as well as of high-toned intimations of herbal and dark berry and plum distillates runs all the way […]
(93-94)/100 Around 60% Syrah, 30% Mourvedre, and the rest Carignan and Cinsault, Hecht and Bannier’s 2009 Faugeres – tasted as a pre-assemblage – is dominated by very ripe yet fresh blackberry, purple plum, and dark cherry. Seamlessly sweet and finely polished – almost creamy – I concur with Hecht when he claims that « even though […]
