11th September 2006 2001 Côtes du Roussillon-Villages Tautavel, Le Mascarou, Domaine des Chênes, Roussillon, France, £6.99, Lea and Sandeman Only a few years ago, Côtes du Roussillon was usually dismissed as a place where the sun and wind baked all the life out of the grapes. But a new generation is showing that these wild areas have fantastic potential for wines that ooze with the fiery richness of the far south. This is surprisingly soft, with a rich blackberry fruit that becomes half-submerged in fudge – but it also has a pungent aroma of bay leaf and the acrid smoke of charcoal, and the whole thing throbs with raw energy. Taken from Oz Clarke's Wine Buying Guide 2006 Printable Tasting Sheet