2003 Mas de la Barben syrah blend from Languedoc. This was a bit of a disappointment. I expected better from this wine. I could tell straight away when I poured it in the glass that it would not live up to expectations. It had a red brick color that was a little on the light side. The nose was vegetative with spice and a strange chemical component. Someone described insecticide for this wine and I think it does remind me of an ant spry we used to use. It was funky on the palate as well with barnyard and leather flavors. It had a good acidity and a pretty nice up front attack but the good flavors disappeared rather quickly leaving you with the taste like licking a saddle. Certainly an unusual wine. It is just ok. I don’t think I would buy it again.
Languedoc
A Bordeaux Rosé
I picked up this 2006 Bordeaux rosé as part of a Wine Library TV secret four-pack. I never got around to drinking it with Gary V but I did enjoy it anyway. It was not a serious wine but was nice to have out on my patio with some grilled foods. It had nice strawberry flavors and was not sweet at all. I like my rosés dry, thank you very much. This one was dry. It had a bit more body than I expected which was nice. Overall it was a pretty decent bottle.
Wine from Michigan
Yes, Michigan does make some pretty decent wines, especially white wines. About a year ago I was traveling through southwest Michigan and found a winery outlet just off of I-94. The Round Barn winery produced this pinot gris that was really very interesting. It had a great color, first of all. Not too dark but not too light. Definitely had some substance. The aromas of apples and honey and fruit loops greeted me when I brought the glass to my nose. It had a nice crisp acidity with flavors of pears, pineapple and bananas. The nice thing about this wine was how long it lasted in your mouth. Long lingering fruit eventually gave way to a fresh clean finish. I would score this one maybe 89 points. I liked it and now I remember why I bought it.
A Grand Cru
I don’t often drink grand crus but this one came as a good deal from Wine Library. For $20 I think I got a good bargain. This was a very nice wine. As you can see from the back label, it is composed of 80% merlot, 10% cabernet sauvignon, and 10% cabernet franc; a classical Bordeaux blend if I’ve ever seen one.
First of all I was blown away by the color. You can see below it was a deep, rich, dark, purple/red color. You definitely could not see through it. On the nose I was presented with earthy musty notes mingling with ripe red cherries. Solid tannins, big fruit and hints of smoke greeted you on the palate. It also had a slight greenness to it. After a couple hours in the decanter the wine opened up beautifully.
