A blend of 85% Grenache and 15% Syrah, the 2012 IGP Vaucluse Abelard is nominally the more "masculine" of the two red cuvées. In fact, this vintage, the Abelard is softer and plusher, albeit slightly less complex. Smoky elements frame ripe black cherries on the nose, while the medium to full-bodied palate is ripe and supple, giving way to a velvety feel on the finish.

A blend of 65% Syrah, 31% Grenache and 4% Roussanne, the 2012 IGP Vaucluse Heloise spent 18 months in oak prior to blending and bottling. Hints of sweaty leather and scorched meat combine with black olives and raspberries on the nose, while the palate is medium to full-bodied, supple and concentrated, with a long finish. Overall, it does a lovely job marrying fruity and savory elements and bringing them together in a silk-wrapped package.

This late-release version sports a broad and slightly mature feel, with roasted meat, dried bay leaf, tobacco and smoldering alder wood notes swirling around a core of steeped plum, blackberry and fig fruit flavors. Shows a lovely tug of loam at the very end. Distinctive. Syrah, Grenache and Roussanne. Drink now through 2024. 1,000 cases made, 200 cases imported.

Unusual on the nose because it has lots of peppery Syrah character but also a definite red-fruit quality. Beautifully fine texture, great restraint, although it opens up in the glass to a more fragrant side and marked persistence. It smells really cool even though the wine itself is room temperature. Still youthful but coming into its stride, fresh and cool on the finish.

Opaque ruby. Highly fragrant, mineral-accented aromas of ripe dark fruits, candied licorice and woodsmoke develop an Indian spice nuance in the glass. Fleshy and impressively concentrated but energetic as well, offering bitter cherry and boysenberry flavors that become sweeter with air. Finishes with strong, mineral-driven persistence and velvety tannins that sneak up slowly.

The 2010 Heloise is another in a string of fabulous wines from this estate located high up in the Ventoux. The smoky, herbal aromas are reminiscent of Côte Rôtie, and in many ways, this is a more northern expression of the Rhône. It's lithe and medium-bodied, with a silky mouthfeel and long, espresso-tinged finish, all imparting a sense of easy elegance to this blend of Syrah, Grenache and Viognier. It can be drunk now and over the next decade or more.

Pretty pale pink. Fresh fruit that reminds me of a cross between sour cherry and pear, perhaps grapefruit too, but there is also a light stony mineral layer. Although the pH is quite high, it does taste very fresh, more of a textural than an acidic freshness, with a serious weight of fruit on the mid palate even though it is not primarily fruity. Long, sustained, dry but full and rounded on the finish and surprisingly mouth-filling. That stony effect comes back again at the very end, leaving your mouth clean and ready for the next sip. This was still remarkably fresh two weeks after opening.

Pale orangey pink. Lightly smoky and peppery at first, dusty and tangy Victoria plum fruit. Gently chewy in texture but a foundation of fresh red fruit but not simply fruity. There's structure and firm texture here with some red fruit just filling out the core. Fresh and long. Serious rosé with a core intensity with a long stony finish.

Pale peach skin color. A complex, highly perfumed bouquet displays ripe red berry, orange zest, succulent herb and floral qualities and a minerally element emerges slowly. Sappy and impressively concentrated yet lithe, offering intense strawberry, peach and blood orange flavors and a touch of fennel. The mineral note come back strongly on the finish, which hangs on with superb focus and persistence.

The 2016 IGP Vaucluse Viognier is cut from the same cloth and has slightly more acidity and freshness. Tangerine, citrus, and lots of mineral notes all emerge from this medium-bodied, vibrant white that has a classic Viognier character.

Immediately creamy nose that is in harmony with the subtle but correct varietal character of Viognier. There's peach, apricot, even a touch of orange and spice and that creaminess to the aroma, and then the oak and the rich lees texture shows more on the palate. This is very good, the best vintage I have tasted of this wine. It is rich and rounded but fresh too, with the site showing as much as the variety. A long finish that is both mealy/savoury and fragrant. Very good. Not sure how this will age but I don't think there is any hurry to drink it.

As dark at the core as the Héloïse 2012 but with more brick in the colour and at the rim. A little more smudgy. This seems sweeter fruited and a little further down the path of tertiary aromas, though I still find a hint of wild scrub and lavender that is clearly more vineyard than grape variety. The fruit sweetness – including some dried red fruits – is more penetrating on the nose compared with the Héloïse, the developed character is more leathery than black olive, with just a hint of mocha...

This late release shows maturity, featuring enticing truffle and cedar aromas that lead the way for mulled currant and plum fruit flavors. Tobacco, savory and lavender notes curl through the finish, where sweet fruit still lingers. Fully mature, with sneaky depth, this is still providing pleasure. Grenache and Syrah. Drink now through 2022. 1,000 cases made, 200 cases imported.

Full-bodied, backward and tannic, the 2011 IGP Vaucluse Abelard deserves a couple of years in the cellar. It offers hints of asphalt and cola on the nose, followed by flavors of black cherries and plums, marked by a roasted, caramelized sense of sucrosity. This Grenache-dominated blend is full-bodied and amply concentrated, with a long finish.

Deepest crimson, very youthful in appearance. On the nose, riper and sweeter than the Héloïse, even a hint of red fruits as well as the peppery bramble notes and an attractive slight leafiness – even though I sometimes find Chêne Bleu's Grenache is almost more like Syrah in its dry elegance. Smooth yet still a little chewy (without food) with the sweetness of Grenache and a start of its leathery development. Not as elegant as the Héloïse in this vintage but generous and chewy with a long way to go, and a more savoury side starting to show in a meaty, black-olive flavour on the finish...

Lastly, the 2011 Ventoux Abelard is, as always, more Provençal in style and always reminds me of a top Gigondas. Based largely on Grenache, it boasts rocking notes of blackberries, black cherries, licorice, and black olives. This full-bodied 2011 has a ripe, sexy style, no hard edges, and perfect balance. Drink it any time over the coming decade.

Even though this has more Grenache, it smells darker than the Héloïse. Thicker texture, a little more chewy and savoury, but satisfying and all in harmony and with good freshness on the finish. Needs longer to come round fully.

Vivid ruby. Assertively perfumed blackberry and cherry liqueur aromas are accented by hints of vanilla and star anise. Broad and rich, but shows very good energy and nerve to the black and blue fruit and spicecake flavors. Finishes supple, sweet and very long, offering fine-grained tannins and a hint of candied lavender.

When tasting the 2010 Abelard alongside the Heloise, the derivation of the names becomes obvious. Abelard is the bigger, richer wine—the more "masculine," to deploy a somewhat dated/sexist stereotype. This full-bodied Grenache-dominated (85%) wine is packed with black cherries, star anise and other ground spices, and features a wonderfully long silky finish. Despite the size and concentration, the wine is complex and elegant, not an easy feat. It should drink well over the next 10-15 years.

Mid gold. Inviting mature, golden and lightly honeyed aroma. But still so fresh even with the breadth of flavour that seems to be from bottle age. The palate is rich, golden and complex, honeyed and a little toasty, like still champagne, and just a touch of the cedary character of a mature oak-aged white – reminds me a little of traditional white rioja even though the oxidative character is much more restrained. Also showing a slight note of bitter orange and pear eau-de-vie (without the alcohol). Excellent freshness...