Just south of Aniane, near Montpellier, there is a vigneron so focused on his pursuit of perfection that he consistently makes some of the greatest wines in all of France. In the age of social media and self-marketing, Laurent Vaillé of Domaine de la Grange des Pères is a rare breed: practically a hermit, who doesn’t use e-mail, mostly ignores the phone when it rings, and rarely answers questions in more than one sentence, he is a farmer who almost only works in his vines, uninterrupted on his quest to perfect the translation of his grapes and their terroir. Early in his career, Vaillé trained at some of France’s best wine addresses: Coche-Dury in Meursault and Chave in Hermitage. Now, a few decades later, he has earned his place alongside them in the pantheon of France’s most talented vignerons.
     Recently, our staff tasted our last remaining bottles of Vaillé’s older Vin de Pays de l’Hérault rouge—made mostly of Syrah and Mourvèdre, with a little Cabernet Sauvignon and Counoise blended in—going back to 1999. We also opened a bottle of the more recent 2013, of which we still have a few cases remaining. What did this range of wines show us? First, this is a producer whose sole red wine* can be vastly different from one vintage to the next, not forced into a tight box of what it should be, but naturally expressing the variations of each vintage. Second, each wine, regardless of the vintage, showcased mesmerizing complexity. While the 2007 rouge delivered notes of aged, savory Côte Rôtie, Bordeaux, and even truffly Alsatian Pinot Gris, for example, the 2005 was more youthful, remarkably bright and fresh, despite being older. Similarly, while the 2000 exhibited fragrant notes of mint, chocolate, earth, coffee, and paprika, the 1999 recalled luscious raspberries and pomegranate.   
     It’s hard to say where exactly the 2013 will be in ten or fifteen years, but it is certain to boast even more complexity than it shows now, which is saying a lot. At the moment, it is a young wine—wild and tightly coiled, with notes of cherries, iron, black pepper, blackberries, leather, and pine. It is beautiful, but in a feral way compared to some of the older vintages, which have been tamed by time. Thrilling to taste now, this majestic red will deliver even more down the road, leaving you with a singular, unforgettable wine experience when you ultimately decide to pop the cork.

* Vaillé makes one red cuvée and one white.