Domaine La Peira 'Les Obriers' 2008
Highly respected consultant oenologist Claude Gros has really struck gold with Les Obriers de la Pèira. His secret is fairly straightforward and centres on traditional winemaking with indigenous varietals (both Carignan and Cinsault pre-date Grenache in the area). The wine is incredibly complex given its price tag, with aromas of tar, roses and spicy fruit; the palate is opulent and super fine-grained with a satin texture.

"As is often the case with wines from Cinsault and Carignan, the 2008 Les Obriers de la Peira displays a smoky aromatic overtone and nut husk bitterness attributable to reduction. The alkaline, stony elements that underlie this rendition of Les Obriers only tend to underscore its initial reticence. Aeration, though, reveals impressive depth of juicy, primary black fruit with the nuttiness emerging in a long finish in the form of delightfully piquant walnut oil and chard, while a mouthwateringly saline aspect adds to the wine’s impressive arsenal of mineral matter. This rather “serious” instantiation of its cuvee will I suspect be worth following for at least half a dozen years. That Les Obriers is La Peira’s least expensive bottling must in large part be attributed to its reliance on two rather unfashionable grapes; but I am coming to believe that it is a mistake to suppose that this fine value cuvee will require drinking any sooner than do its more flamboyant, seductive, and expensive siblings."
- 90 Pts The Wine Advocate