Decanterberry Tales - A Willamette Valley Wine Blog - corbieres tag

The Southern French Round-Up

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 17:04:47 GMT

So I had a bunch of bottles open that I'd reviewed recently -- along with a piece of pumpkin pie (thanks Elizabeth!). And I took the opportunity to taste a bunch of them side by side. This is neat because it really makes clear the differences between the wines. Up to bat are the following:

Chateau Lamy, Corbieres, 2005

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:29:33 GMT

Here's another red from Corbieres (see the other reviews). I have to say that these wines are generally cheap, and quite good for the money. Not something you'd sit on for a couple decades, but great table wine.

The nose on this was really musty: mud and peat. But there was also a strong chemical smell (not good). And after all that, just a hint of nutmeg. The taste was a combo of blueberry (subtle) and bark -- not very fruity, almost bitter in its dryness. The finish is really dry -- it's not sweet or fruity at all. You get a sense of blueberry, but just barely. The taste has a subtle flash of fruity sweetness to it (just), but that dissipates into a raw bitterness in the finish (did someone add bitters to this wine?).

The body is pretty light. It wasn't spectacular, yet it was only about $8. Not to shabby.

Cost:

Rating: 6.0

(Carignan: 35%, Grenache 35%, Syrah 15%, Mourvedre: 15%)

Domaine de Fontsainte, Corbieres, 2005

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 21:39:00 GMT

Considering the astronomical prices for Pinot lately, I've been buying a lot more French wines lately -- specifically Cotes du Rhone, and also a bit of Corbieres which is just to the west. I've been finding these wines to be not just a great value, but pretty darn tasty generally. Here's one of these.

The nose was -- seriously -- like PB&J! It was peanut butter. And not just the smell of nuts ... I mean peanut butter. creamy and all. There was fruit too. But then, there's also something earthy and herbal like marjoram. Denise said it smelled like a hippy PB&J -- with fruit spread.

The taste was that raisin and plum. There was also earth, peat and moss. The taste was just a tad sweet. Taste was sweeter than the finish, which as a bit acidic. Aside from that, the finish was mainly raisin, with some of that moss coming through.

Cost:

Rating: 7.5

(70% Carignan; 20% Grenache; 10% Syrah)

Domaine de Fontsainte, Corbieres, Rose, 2004

Thu, 05 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Smell: Grapefruit.

Taste: Grapefruit.

Finish: Am I eating a grapefruit?

Cost:

Rating: 2.0