The first vintage of the new flagship 2015 Maury Sec First Things First is a parcel selection and a blend of 60% Grenache, 22% Carignan and 18% Syrah that spent just under two years in foudre. Another brilliant wine from this estate, it showed brilliantly from barrel and now from bottle. Black raspberries, dried flowers, exotic spice, and candied orange blossom all flow to a medium to full-bodied, spicy, elegant, seamless beauty that has building tannin, impeccable balance and a great finish. It needs a decant if drinking anytime soon and will be even better with another year in bottle.

Essentially a lot selection of the Serge & Nicolas that saw extended élevage in foudre, the 2015 Maury Sec First Things First shows a greater degree of elegance and polish as a result. Cherry fruit is accented by hints of baking spices and garrigue, plus vague notions of leather and suede that border on being textural elements as well as aromas and flavors. It's remarkably weightless and silky for a wine from Maury. -JC

US-based importer Dan Kravitz began buying up vineyards in Roussillon in 2007, working up to the 18 acres he farms today. This bottling is a selection of some of his best plots; it’s 60 percent grenache off 60-year-old vines blended with carignan and syrah. He ferments the grenache in tank and the rest in 500-liter barrels, offering a wine with both tangy red fruit and softer, warmer notes of mulled fruit with caramel and spice. It’s satiny, with a root-vegetable sweetness and herbal complexity that gives it a lasting savor.