Intriguing if not altogether satisfying, the H&B Minervois is loaded with that leather/tar/meat funkiness so common to the Midi, but thankfully it also has an abundance of brooding dark fruit (blackberry, blueberry, blackcurrant) to provide balance, along with notes of cherry, oregano, fennel, crushed rock, woodsmoke, and characteristic Syrah spice. But while it's complex on the palette, the local terroir ultimately coming through, it needs a long time to open up, several hours at least, and even then it never quite gets past that funkiness, which dominates the nose to its overall detriment.