Syrah, Grenache and Carignan Blend
92 Points
I know from my past posts, you must be thinking, "where oh where are the Cotes du Roussillon? As fortune would have it, I have a map for you!
This wine is the Maverick to Top Gun's Wine World, out of the relatively unknown (at least in local circles) Hills of Roussillon. This area is a place with many identities. It is very close to the borders of Spain and Andorra. The people are French, like their countrymen, but they are also Basque, like many Spanish.
Beloved by some, cast out by others, this region of "France" produces many solid wines that are equal, if not superior to their eastern neighbors of the Rhone Valley. In this case, we are talking about the "big 3" of the area: Grenache, Syrah and Carignan.
Now when I first tried this wine a few months ago, I learned that this wine is (A) Big and (B) Needs to breathe.
Having these instructions, a little bit of patience can go a lllloooonnnnng way. For the first 40 minutes after opening this bottle, the wine is very closed off. The nose muted as well as the flavors on the palate. After 40 minutes? (Let's say 40 minutes and 23 seconds), this wine explodes with flavors of blackberries, beef roast, bacon and pepper with an intensity that doesn't finish slowly.
Pair this wine up with game meats, steak, pork or just a glass.
It is amazing that a wine from the Cotes du Roussillon can have this kind of power! It takes conventional, snooty wines of its cousins and/or naysayers, goes into a 4G negative (inverted)dive and gives them the bird, and then takes a Polaroid. And it does all this under the price point of $15. I can't describe anymore; I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.
Apparently I'm not the only person that thinks highly of this wine. Robert Parker HIMSELF gave this wine a ratings range of 92-94 Points and Wine Spectator thought so much of it that they ranked it in their prestigious "Top 100" list!
Bila-Haut, you can be my wing-man any time!
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