Tasted from the barrel, the 2024 IGP Saint-Guilhem-Le-Désert Cité D’Aniane is very young and fruity, hinting at a beautiful complexity to come. With its bouquet of floral notes, blueberry, blackberry, cumin, star anise, ink, black pepper, tobacco, and red pepper, one can sense the influence of Cabernet Sauvignon, which is once again the dominant grape variety in this cuvée. Fresh and surprisingly salty, this is a supple, easy-drinking red with a tight but very fine structure and a distinguished character reminiscent of a tailor-made three-piece suit, with generosity thrown in for good measure. It will evolve toward greater complexity, finesse, and depth and will be superb over the next 20 years. Drink 2025-2040. For over thirty years, Mas de Daumas Gassac has been one of the most prominent estates in Languedoc. Located in the Terrasses du Larzac region, it was founded in 1971 by Véronique Guibert and her husband Aimé, when the couple fell in love with an old, abandoned farmhouse in the Gassac valley, near the former Aniane Abbey. Contrary to the trends of the time, they planted Cabernet Sauvignon from an old mass selection, and although half of the first production of nearly 20,000 bottles in 1978 was still distributed to friends, things quickly changed. By 1982, the estate had gained recognition that has only grown since then, to the point where today the bottles are quite difficult to find. Until 1985, they only produced red wine, and in 1986, white wine was added to their range. The generational change in the 2000s did nothing to alter the success and quality of the wines, although the range expanded and the vineyard grew. The vineyard is now planted not only with Cabernet Sauvignon, but also with local and foreign grape varieties, with the distinctive feature that the vines are all mass-selected from old, uncloned vines. But the most distinctive feature of the estate is, of course, its wines. The reds show great finesse, and one could almost say that, despite the strong presence of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend, they have a lightness reminiscent of Pinot Noir. As for the whites, this year they stole the show from the reds, verging on perfection with their drinkability and aging potential, complexity, and pleasure. While these wines are certainly not cheap, in my opinion they are well worth the price.