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This is a small, privately owned domain in the Fitou appellation. Fitou itself is, in effect, two enclaves in southern Corbières – one lower and maritime, the other one higher and a more continental. Wiala lies in high Fitou, midway between Tuchan and Paziols: dramatic, remote, tough country, wind-harried and starlight-dazzled. The soils are shale and clay-limestone. I was keen to try this wine as almost all Fitou passes through the hands of the Mont Tauch co-operative. Mont Tauch does a good job (it’s one of the Languedoc’s more ambitious co-ops), but it’s difficult for a single entity to convey terroir adequately in all its complexities, and I have always struggled to grasp what (if anything) might truly distinguish Fitou from, for example, Durban or the Hautes-Corbières in general. For this reason, it would be great to see more individual domains in Fitou … like Wiala.

I’ve only tried one of the wines of the two cuvées produced by Wiebke Seubert and Alain Voorons from their organically grown fruit. It’s excellent: a wine which captures the generosity of the Languedoc with remarkable purity and expressive force. This is the 2009 Harmonie, a blend of 45% Carignan with 35% Grenache and 20% Syrah. It’s dark black-red in colour, with engaging scents of fresh black fruits, herbs, flowers and liquorice root. The palate is full and seductive. The tannic presence is very soft, almost feathery, yet it still contrives to give a mouthfilling impression. Complex black fruits (cherry, blackcurrant and blackberry by turns, with some wilder damson and sloe too); the Carignan component seems to carry a little minerality into the back palate, though it’s less mineral than some of the more savage wines of nearby Roussillon. Perfectly judged alcohol (a delicious 14%), acidity (soft and natural) and weight. This wine drank superbly over two nights, and lost none of its poise and freshness; we finished it with the same relish with which we began. I haven’t tasted or drunk a better Fitou, and it thoroughly deserves the gold medal it got at last year’s Concours Générale Agricole in Paris. ◊!

AJ Reviews: all reviews are based on unsolicited samples. Submission of a sample does not guarantee a review. If sending a sample, please use recyclable packing materials (cardboard) if possible. Reviews can be quoted provided www.andrewjefford.com is cited as source. No scores: too boring, too obsessive, too falsely precise. Coups de Coeur (a particular and possibly irrational enthusiasm) are indicated by ◊!