Languedoc-Roussillon

• Minervois

This is a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Carignan organically grown grapes from the south of France.  Purple/ruby in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose has cherries, black raspberries, slight floral note and slight spice.  Medium bodied.  Good balance.  On the palate, this drinks easy.  Black raspberries, cherries with some spice.  Good finish.  This drinks well on its own and will work with a wide variety of foods (not seafood).  A great choice for Pizza night.  Great value.

Summertime is always a great time for rosé, but of course, all year long is even better. Rosé should always be low alcohol with light, bright fruit, and a wine that works with a variety of foods, and should be a wine that is not overly complicated. Côte Mas, which I have reviewed for several vintages, is a consistently good, inexpensive rosé that works well pretty much whenever. This iteration is comprised of mainly Grenache with Cinsault and Syrah. It offers bright strawberry, cranberry and pomegranate, light rhubarb and fresh cherry.

This winery makes some of the best values in France.  They tend to make big, fruity wines more akin to California than France.  In fact, blind, I thought this was Santa Barbara Grenache.

This is a blend of 60% Grenache, 35% Syrah, and 5% Viognier from southern France.  Salmon pink/orange in color, clear and bright.  The nose has cherries, slight strawberries, floral notes, salinity, and slight citrus.  Light to medium bodied.  On the palate, pink grapefruit comes out along with a touch of strawberries.  There is some residual sugar here making this almost demi-sec.  Tasty.  Good finish.  This is a light and breezy wine that is drinking well and reasonably diverse as far as food pairings.  It would be great with a Beet and Roasted Goat Cheese Salad.  Drink over the next year

This is 100% old vine (averaging 65 years old) Grenache from southeast France.  The nose has raspberries and sour cherries along with a slight floral note.  Medium bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, the wine is concentrated with raspberries and cherries.  Good acidity.  Nice texture.  The wine is  nice on its own, but paired with a Chocolate Pots de Creme, it worked quite well.  Drink over the next five to seven years.  

This white is a blend of Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Macabeu, Vermentino and Marsanne. Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with floral notes in addition to limes, and quince.  Viscous texture.  On the palate, green apples and some citrus.  Nice finish.  Overall, an easy drinking wine that provides nice value.  

Named after "Greta" a "famous" wild pig in the southeast of France.  This is an easy to drink white wine that provides some value.  Light green/gold in color.  The nose is smoky and fruity (sort of like fruit flavored gum).  There is nice acidity and a nice texture.  On the palate, not as much generic fruitiness but it is refreshing.  A hint of bitter almond on the finish.  For the price, this would be a fine choice for a party.  It would work with lighter foods or on its own.  Drink now.  

This is a blend of 55% Grenache, 35% Syrah and 10% Carignan from higher altitude vineyards at the foot of Mt.

This is a Rhone blend wine with 50% coming from California and 50% coming from France, Languedoc-Roussillon, Maury.  The grapes were from the 2013 vintage though that is not on the label.   This wine is only available to members of Orin Swift’s Equinox Wine Club.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is great with black cherries, black raspberries, char, spice and black pepper.  15.4% ABV.  This is not a shy wine.  Great lush texture.  On the palate, juicy black cherries and black raspberries with underlying charred dry earth.  No noticeable alcohol on the nose or palate.  Thi

Another nice value play from Kermit Lynch.  A blend of 60% Carignan, 30% Grenache Noir,  and 10% Syrah.  Purple in color with ruby swirls.  Mostly clear and bright.  The nose has black cherries, black raspberries, slight earthy note and black pepper.  Medium bodied.  Nice acidity.  On the palate, the black cherries come thru.  Some depth.  Light tannins.  Good finish.  This is a tasty wine that drinks fine on its own but works better with hearty food.  It went great with a vegetarian chili.  Drink this over the next five to seven years.