Domaine du Mas Blanc Banyuls Hors d'Âge "Le Colloque" 500mL

Domaine du Mas Blanc, led by the Parcé family, is the benchmark producer and most historic estate in Roussillon's Banyuls and Collioure appellations, with roots tracing back to 1632, though its modern era began in 1921 when Dr. Gaston Parcé started bottling under his own name and became the leading force behind establishing the Banyuls appellation in 1936. His son, Dr. André Parcé, went on to help create the neighboring Collioure appellation in 1971, and along the way forged friendships with the Perrin family of Château de Beaucastel, the Chave family of the Northern Rhône, and the Tempier family of Bandol, whose cuttings found their way into Mas Blanc's dramatic, terraced vineyards overlooking the Mediterranean. Since 1976, winemaker Jean-Michel Parcé has carried the family tradition forward. Le Colloque is made from old-vine Grenache Noir grown on the estate's steep, low-yielding coastal terraces, and crafted in the traditional Banyuls style: aged oxidatively rather than in the more youthful Rimage style, spending extended time in demi-muid casks. The cuvée itself is a rolling blend, roughly two-thirds more recent vintages combined with one-third older reserve wine carried over from the previous blend, giving an average age of around eight years, with older components reaching considerably further back. The result is a wine built to capture both vivid fruit and the hallmark characteristics of real age in a single glass: balanced, poised, and energetic, with the younger fraction contributing vibrancy and fresh fruit while the reserve wine lends depth, complexity, and classic oxidative Banyuls character, dried fig, walnut, dark chocolate, and baked fruit layered over a warm, nutty, slightly rancio-toned finish.