Domaine Lafage Arqueta

Lafage works with the local co-op to produce this wine, which spends winters there before being moved to demi-muids at the winery. The 2017 Arqueta is a medium to full-bodied blend of 45% Grenache, 30% Syrah and 25% Carignan, boasting showy blueberry and cherry fruit and a hint of the brininess for which the Collioure appellation is known. Overall, it's firm, fresh and elegant, but remember, it has six months or so of time in older demi-muids ahead of it.

The aroma is at once intense and subtle, with a light graphite minerality, like rocks, as well as fragrant dark fruit, and the sweetness of cherry. Complex even at this young stage. Beautifully dry texture and the finest of dusty tannins. Has both persistence and real elegance, with a surprisingly juicy finish for such a dry wine – dry in a good sense. Delicious and classic for the region though the tannins are more supple than you might have found with more traditional Collioure. Gorgeous fruit but not just fruit.