Decanterberry Tales - A Willamette Valley Wine Blog - languedoc tag

Domaine de Nizas, Coteaux de Languedoc, 2004

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 03:46:37 GMT

So here I am at Fred Meyer (a Kroger's grocery store for those living outside of the Northwest), and here's this big sign:

I glance down at the bottle, then over to the price: $16.99!? There was another sign quoting Harvey Steiman (Wine Spectator):

"An intriguing aroma of pine and spice leads into fresh flavors of cherry, garrigue, and mineral. Distinctive, with a rich finish".

Goodness. Okay, grabbing that bottle.

Here's what we found. The nose was dusty, red cherry, maybe some strawberry, and honey. Denise took one whiff and exclaimed that it smelled like baked bread. And it did sort of smell like a honey bread. The body was light. The taste was predominantly red cherry, and a little oak/vanilla. Denise got some rose in the finish and it was floral to me too -- but the finish wasn't very long.

What was striking to me was how smooth this wine was. Super smooth. The taste was a tad sweet for my tastes. It had a lot of honey taste. Denise kept going on about how it was like an active kitchen being use by a cooking mama with a lot of cleavage; baking and baking. Denise obsessed about how this was a bread wine. Anyway ... the best way I can describe it is that it's like a good Syrah (flavors) meeting a good Beaujolais (sweeter and thinner).

Overall, we thought it was a good wine for the money. However, I wouldn't (and didn't) give it a 90. That seems a bit gushing and effusive to us. Still a very good deal.

Cost:

Rating: 7.5

Chateau de Pennautier, Cabardes, 2006

Sat, 10 Jan 2009 16:41:03 GMT

I picked up this wine purely because of the region. I found the Chateau Jouclary so intriguing that I had to try something else from the area. The area is called "Cabardes", which is in Languedoc, and is right next to the much larger "Corbieres" appellation. If you're not familiar with this area, it is really close to Carcassone, which is in-between the Marseille and Barcelona (or more precisely, in-between Toulouse and Montpellier). And it's not too far from Bordeaux either (just to the northwest).

As you an see from the back of the bottle, folks from Carcassone are very proud of the old fortress there. That label claims Carcassone to have "Europe's only completely intact fortified medieval town". Hmmm, not sure about that. Maybe I'm not catching what's unique in all those words (such as in a Clintonian way), but Denise is adamant that, while very beautiful, she's seen other towns with castles just as "intact" in France, let alone all of Europe.

Whichever the case, it's really spectacular regardless. Anyway ...

The nose was bark along with some subtle thyme and moss. Mostly, it's bark. The tase is red cherry and raisin and was a bit fruity from what I expected from the nose. And that bark returned -- it tastes tannic (stems!). It wasn't super grainy, but then it's not smooth either. The finish is very dry -- raisin and stems. However, it's not so dry as to be bad.

So, while I'm still smitten with Jouclary, not everything from Cabardes is golden. This isn't to say this was bad. Actually it was a fine table wine (for about $12).

Cost:

Rating: 6.5

Chateau Jouclary, Cabardes, 2005

Sat, 03 Jan 2009 21:08:31 GMT

Wow, what a find! If you see this and happen to like earthy French wine even just a little bit -- buy this. It cost me $10. And now I have to remember where I got this and search for more.

Denise liked to call this the "old McDonald" wine. She also wanted to make a joke by referring to it as "Belle Ferme" (in homage to Beaux Freres, another favorite of ours). Denise at one point went wild: "it's an old McDonald wine ... with a mushroom here and a peat miss there ..."

The nose was total barnyard -- musty and dank. Hard to tell exactly, but I think the fruit was red cherry (the earth was very much predominant). The fruit was subtle. The taste, again, was barnyard and manure and mushroom. Denise found some subtle strawberry and plum in there too. And later we got some currant as well. It was just slightly bitter, and it was not sweet in any way.

As intrigued as I was, I found this on the web about the appellation:

"... Cabardès is located on the southern slopes of the Montagne Noir, the southernmost outcropping of the Massif Central, just outside the medieval walled city of Carcassonne. Though the appellation was awarded in 1998, wine has been produced here for over a thousand years. There are fewer than 20 estate producers. Its unique climatic situation with influences from both the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea give rise to the appellation's motto "Vent d'Est, Vent d'Ouest." In fact, the A.O.C. laws mandate that a minimum of 40% of the varieties must be "atlantique;" Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon or Cabernet Franc and 40% "mediterranean;" Syrah or Grenache; also a maximum of 20% of Cot or Fer Servadou may be used."

Wacky: it's French, and yet, it's not traditional. Yummy nonetheless.

Cost:

Rating: 8.5

Red Bicyclette, Syrah, 2004

Sat, 06 Dec 2008 22:35:44 GMT

This is one of those Vin de Pays d'Oc wines. This is one of the only places in France where the varietal is clearly marked -- such as "Syrah" in this case. Usually you spin the roulette wheel; sometimes for good, sometimes for bad. And this time? Well, it wasn't so good.

The nose was nice: raisin, prune, subtle vanilla, and something metal. I could overlook that metallic smell if it weren't for the taste. In a word: bitter. Tannic. Branches. Stems. Bitter in a bad way. Oh, and some raisin in-between all that bitterness. And it keeps coming, next with a gritty finish. Raisin and prune is there at the end too, but it's hard to get past that nemesis: it's bitter to the end. For Denise, the bitterness was surrounded with metal: "it smells like metal, tastes like metal, and finishes metal". I didn't get that metal taste, but we both agreed that it was too bitter to enjoy.

Cost:

Rating: 3.0