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.
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.