2015 Agly Brothers Cotes du Roussillon 750 ml

Deep, brooding, sun-baked stunners from the South of France: We think of Châteauneuf-du-Pape mainstays like Château de Beaucastel and icons like Domaine Gauby—the kind of wines that reliably score 95 points from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, and are worth every penny of their $70 price tags.

That’s why, when we tasted the 2015 Agly Brothers Côtes-du-Roussillon Villages, we claimed every bottle we could on the spot. Crafted by Rhône legend Michel Chapoutier—whose 40 100-point scores from Wine Advocate make him one of the most decorated winemakers in the world—the heady mix of intense and brambly black-fruited aromas, stout structure, and powerful but plush mouthfeel are everything we look for in the best of the South of France.

The pedigree, the price, and an icon-worthy 95 points from Jeb Dunnuck (writing for Wine Advocate)—it all adds up to a bargain at Agly Brothers’ humble $40 SRP. Today, it's just $35. For fans of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and rich Spanish reds, or just wine lovers who want to taste the inspired work of a true master for less, it’s a slam-dunk.

Michel Chapoutier is celebrated for turning top-notch Syrah into wines with power and elegance—he’s done it in his Northern Rhône home, he’s done it in Australia, and with Agly Brothers, he and his partner Ron Laughton (of Jasper Hill in Victoria, Australia) are doing it in the Roussillon. 

Chapoutier headed south to the sun-baked region more than two decades ago, and purchased nearly 200 acres in the Agly Valley, near the Spanish border. He was enchanted by the wildness of the slopes of the valley—the vineyards were bracketed by scrappy brush, sparse trees, and wild herbs. There was a perfume in the air that Michel couldn’t get out of his head, a mix of smoky rosemary, thyme, juniper, lavender, and olive.

Michel suspected what, 20 years later, is dawning on the rest of the wine world: It’s possible to make great wines for less in the Agly Valley, where the rugged soils and harsh climate turn out especially compelling Syrah and Grenache. For Agly Brothers, he focuses on vines planted in the upper Agly Valley—the 50-mile Agly river runs from the Corbières Massif to the Mediterranean—at about 800 feet of elevation. The Syrah, which makes up 70% of the blend, grows on the region’s distinctive dense gneiss soil, while the Grenache grows on south-facing schist—both metamorphic rocks that impart a stark minerality that complements the wine’s ultra-rich fruit. 

The vines are harvested by hand, and the grapes are completely destemmed before fermentation in concrete tanks. A four-to-five-week maceration extracts gorgeous color before the wine is aged for 16-20 months in concrete tanks—not a hint of oak on top of the gorgeous blackberry, herbs, and roasted citrus that characterize the finished wine. 

One sip of this pedigreed 95-point red, and you’ll find the Roussillon just as irresistible as Michel Chapoutier did two decades ago. Fortunately, at this price, resisting is way overrated.