Other things I can't get enough of right now: the brilliant Faugeres reds from Didier Barral. If you consider yourself in any way a southern-Rhone/Languedoc person, you need to know these wines. Barral's idiosyncratic, biodynamically-farmed, concrete-aged (some not all) Grenache, Carignan, Syrah, Cinsault, and Mourvedre grown on schist in scrupulously maintained vineyards have engaged my hoarding instinct in a very serious way. From everything I read he sounds like the Raveneau of red wine. Tends his vines like Bonzai trees. From everything I have tasted, the wines are imbued with a inner-tension that I have only experienced in wines like Raveneau or Keller G Max. We have plenty of the 2007 Faugeres, and small amounts of the 2006 Jadis, 2007 Jadis (largely Carignan and Syrah), and 2007 Les Valiniere (mostly Mourvedre).

"All of Barral’s vines are planted in schist. Sink your nose into one of these and see if you can smell what the schist adds. Here is vibrant, profound fruitiness, a ripe, concentrated palate stainer with a wild side. It is not on steroids—that’s real muscle." Kermit Lynch, Importer

I think David Schildknecht's notes on the 2006 vintage in tank (and the 2007 still fermenting!) are very helpful:

"From tank, the basic Barral 2006 Faugeres - overwhelmingly Grenache and Carignan, never de-stemmed, and raised in tank - offers an essence of chocolate-covered cherries dusted with grated nutmeg and tonka bean. This displays the deep, low-toned richness and plush texture common to all of Barral's wines, no doubt influenced in part by his exceedingly sparing use of sulfur. Exceptionally sweet fruit with vanilla, baking spices, and cocoa powder lend a finishing cast so rich and exotic that one is tempted to ask what sort of toasting Barral orders for his cement. Expect this to perform stunningly for at least a half dozen years."

"Didier Barral is a tireless experimenter who forcefully espouses highly original variations on biodynamics and ideals of integrated farming and viticultural sustainability, among the most conspicuous of which is his deployment of Jersey cattle and horses as both source of fertilizer and sometime crew in managing grassy vineyards that he proudly describes as looking -like the Pampas.- (Except that some of these breezy, forest-rimmed sites are rather steep to support that analogy!). Barral is keenly absorbed in details of preserving plant and insect diversity in his soils as well as in perfecting traditional, open-armed goblet (-head-pruned-) training of all his vines, and his idealism extends to keeping one-third of his vineyard land fallow on a ten-year rotation. Barral grows Syrah on his highest and northeast-facing sites -to preserve freshness and because Syrah is like Chardonnay - it doesn-t like the sun,- whereas his southern exposures permit Mourvedre to ripen already by the end of September. With one exception, even Barral's 2006 raw materials - consistently impressive and almost confectionary in ripeness - were not yet assembled when I visited him last December, so tasting notes on approximations to the eventual wines are impossible. Some of his 2007 lots had not even finished their primary fermentation at that point, yet were capable of displaying almost oceanic depths of minerality and more animal spirits than the hoofed heard wandering the estate's vine rows. Would-be clients would be wise to make plans or supplications to the deities of allocation now, in hopes of getting a small share of Barral's amazing wines. -Ripeness- here, incidentally, encompasses not only intense sweetness of fruit, but alcohol of 15% and up."