Mas Amiel - Maury Millésime 1980

Bettane & Desseauve

About the wine:

This Maury, approaching 40 years of age, displays notes of smoke, caramel, nuts, redcurrant, blackcurrant, and dried fruit, all with ease and balance.

About the estate:

In Maury, Mas Amiel comprises 150 hectares of vineyards in production, spread across 132 plots, overlooked by the Cathar castle of Quéribus. Olivier Decelle (also owner of Château Jean Faure in Saint-Émilion) has acted as a patron, gradually restoring it to peak production condition, assisted in this effort since 2007 by Nicolas Raffy, a lover of these lands. With the transition to biodynamics, the character of the wines will certainly continue to evolve in the years to come. While natural sweet wines have by no means been neglected, the focus has shifted toward the production of very modern dry wines, with a broad range covering all styles. An essential source!

Guide Hachette des vins

About the wine:

Still deeply colored, it reveals notes of leather, cocoa, and dark tobacco upon aeration. The palate is intense, full-bodied, generous, and velvety. The sweetness of the fruit complements the tobacco and cocoa. A remarkable rancio finish rounds out the tasting experience.

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About the wine:

The alluring 1980 Maury Vintage offers aromas of aged nuts, as well as abundant cherries, even after nearly 40 years of aging. It is fresher and more vibrant than the NV 40 Ans, though perhaps slightly less complex. Medium-bodied to full-bodied, it finishes with a silky, long finish.

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About the wine:

A complex nose of blond tobacco and anchovies, with a lovely burst of candied lemon on the palate and a nice salty finish.

About the estate:

In the heart of the Maury terroir, at the foot of the hillside, stands a grand estate with rows of half-barrels where the wines age for a year in the sun before being transferred to the cask cellar for decades. Mas Amiel, the first estate in the Olivier Decelle portfolio, is a chapter in the history of Roussillon. An estate that celebrates the tradition of great natural sweet wines, while innovating with dry wines, featuring a refined, vibrant, and perfectly balanced style, rooted in a heritage of old vines. Nicolas Raffy, a talented Catalan winemaker, proudly champions wines from calcoschist, black marl, and granite soils. He has identified steep plots and adapted his blends, aging methods, and harvest dates so that the dry Maury wines can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the VDNs at the very top. The estate is now undeniably one of the leading names in the region. In recent years, the progress made with the dry wines has been spectacular. The third star is on the horizon.

James Suckling

Jeb Dunnuck