Le Clos des Fées 2010

Wine Advocate-Parker :
The 2010 Cotes du Roussillon Villages Le Clos des Fees - as usual, from roughly equal parts Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, and Carignan - was raised in around 60% new and the rest once-used barrels. (The percentage of new wood has in the past been higher.) Caramelized resin and toast character on nose as well as palate; a slight drying and dulling of black raspberry and plum fruit; and a bit of gum-numbing tannin are nonetheless all elements in which oak is implicated. Attractive hints of cocoa powder and licorice add interest here and there is certainly impressive sheer ripeness, but this lacks the primary juiciness not to mention the salinity of the corresponding Vieilles Vignes bottling. Perhaps something about Bizeul's choice of barrels rather than sheer percentage of new wood or utilization of barriques results in the characteristics that I perceive as drawbacks. I would monitor this carefully if planning to hold, but I won't try to project a certain number of years of vigor, and indeed I'll remain hopeful that the aforementioned dulling and numbing prove to be temporarily.