l'Hortus Grande Cuvee 2004

"The aptly-named l'Hortus 2004 Coteaux du Languedoc Pic Saint-Loup Grande Cuvee showcases Orliac's beloved Mourvedre grape (with 40% Syrah and 10% Grenache in support). A nose of cherry, plum, resin, and spices leads to a dense, tightly-grained, salt-, smoke- and stone-tinged palate full of bright, juicy, sappy, and intensely, tartly ripe black fruits. The firm structure and sharply-delineated fruit of this wine are almost as one, and its long finish full of intrigue and promise. I suspect it will be worth giving it at least 3-5 years in the cellar. Production, incidentally, totalled 800 cases."
-Wine Advocate