Before I get carried away with Bordeaux 2015, I thought I’d let you in on some mature vintages of Languedoc top-end pioneer Mas de Daumas Gassac I’ve tasted recently. I last wrote about this property a few years back, then looking at the 2007, 2004 and 2001 vintages. The verdict was that you need to give the reds time in bottle to show their best. Over the past couple of months, I’ve re-tasted the 2004 and the 2001 and the other night I had the 2000. The tastings reconfirm that Daumas Gassac is a wonderfully rewarding buy for those with patience and a cellar and who enjoy sturdy reds that are characterful, warm and opinionated.

Mas de Daumas Gassac needs little introduction, established by the idiosyncratic Aimé Guibert and his wife Véronique in the 1970s, the estate pretty much pioneered the concept of high end, boutique Vin de Pays. The first wine was made there in 1978 and for some time the estate’s red had a strong claim to being the grand cru of the Languedoc.