NV Mas Amiel - Maury AOC 30 Ans d'Age (750ml)

Mas Amiel sits near the village of Maury in the Agly Valley, shielded by the Corbières hills to the north and the first steep slopes of the Pyrenees to the south. The estate spans roughly 220 hectares, with about 150 planted to vine, and has been under the ownership of Olivier Decelle since 1999. Decelle has steered the property toward biodynamic farming, relying on natural, environmentally conscious practices, while preserving the estate's long-standing identity as one of Roussillon's defining producers of vin doux naturel.

This cuvée is a blend of Grenache Noir with small portions of Maccabeu and Carignan, sourced from vines grown on decomposed schist and black marl soils facing south. Grapes are hand-harvested, and the wine is fortified through mutage on the skins to halt fermentation and retain natural sweetness. It then ages for a year in glass demijohns set outdoors before moving into large old oak tuns, where it is blended across multiple vintages, each contributing a minimum of twenty years of age, to reach an average maturity of thirty years.

The wine shows a lightening amber hue and an inviting nose of tobacco leaf, praline, coffee liqueur, and roasted almond, giving way to notes of aged orange liqueur and warm spice. Despite its age, it stays lively, with a long finish marked by a gentle, structuring bitterness. It suits roasted nuts, dried fruit tarts, or a coffee-based dessert.