2019 Domaine Cailhol Gautran Villa Lucia Noir Minervois 750 ml

If you wanted to design a landscape and climate for the express purpose of extracting wild power and savory intensity from the dark depths of Syrah, you’d end up with a piece of land that looks almost exactly like Minervois, in France’s Languedoc.

Here are raw, cheek-reddening gusts of wind, schist-ridden soils, and scrubby foothills scented with garrigue that seem reminiscent of the more expensive vineyards of northern Rhône—matched to the dry heat and cold nights of Southern France, creating a perfect cradle for grapes brimming with health and energy.

Olivia and Nicolas Gautran are ambitious—there’s no two ways about it. Even though their Villa Lucia is a stunning bargain by any standard, it’s also one of the more expensive wines in their region. That’s ruffled some feathers, sure, but it’s a testament to their obsessive pursuit of quality and the devoted following they’ve developed among France’s cavistes.

The Gautrans don’t just talk the talk, either. Their vineyards are organically farmed—they finally applied for and received certification a few years ago—and starting in 2014 they started to work entirely without the addition of sulfur for some wines in their cellar, including this 2019 Villa Lucia.

In 2019, 40% of the blend is made of Syrah, with the rest split between Grenache and Cinsault. The family wants plenty of power in their bottles, so the grapes are given an extended maceration—up to five weeks, with daily pump-overs—for maximum extraction, before aging in a mixture of barrels and tanks. For the Villa Lucia, each barrel and tank is tasted separately and as part of the blend, with only the best lots making it into this bottling