Posts Tagged ‘carignan’
Varietal: Blended Red Wine (Syrah; Carginan; Grenache; Mourvedre)
Region: France
Cost: $41
Deep reddish brown in color and featuring aromas of plum, rose, violets and black fruits. Full-flavored dark fruit on the palate that pairs well with beef, lamb, poultry, or BBQ.
Recommendations: When I got this bottle it almost seemed a shame to open it. A 10 year old bottle of French wine doesn’t exactly find it’s way into my wine cellar every day and I kept trying to think of something special to pair it with. Then I realized that if I kept trying to find something spectacular to enjoy it with the wine was never going to get opened.
Dark reddish-brown in color (I hate saying brown, but the complete lack of purple and the shade of red make it about the only real descriptor I can use), with subtle aromas of fruit and florals, calling this wine full-bodied would be an understatement. The flavors of dark fruit are big and soft at the same time, and the slight tannic finish fades away as the bottle is allowed to open up – not that it needs to much.
Paired with a dinner of pasta and red sauce with some fresh herbs thrown in, the Domaine de Villemajou did a great job of neither overwhelming or being overwhelmed by the meal (I have yet to see anything or anyone be just whelmed). After the meal it was great by itself, being full of flavor, but not demanding food to be enjoyable.
This bottle was described to me as a party wine, and I can see how it would be easy to just keep opening bottles of it while entertaining family and friends. Bold and smooth all at once, this is a great wine for just about any meal and any company. While I can understand that the price point may give the value wine shopper pause, it’s definitely one worth getting for a special occasion.
Special thanks to the International Wine of the Month Club for supplying the wine for this review.
Varietal: Blended Red (Sangiovese, Syrah, Carignan, Barbera, Zinfandel, Mourvedre, Montepulciano, Petit Verdot, Tannat, Aglianico, Petite Sirah, Nero d’Avola, Grenache)
Region: California – USA
Cost: $7 – $10
Cherry, raspberry, blueberry, cassis, and chocolate flavors all blend together. Pair this wine with chicken, ground beef, pizza.
Recommendations: I’ll be the first to admit, my wife and I first paid attention to this wine because of the bottle. We thought, if nothing else, it would look good over our cabinets (see my previous post if you haven’t already). Having looked over the list of what was in the wine, we decided that the wine would go better with pizza, and so when we ordered a pizza one evening, we opened the bottle.
I wanted to like this wine, I really did. I’m a fan of most of the varietals that they used to blend it, and I’m a firm believer in table wines that aren’t impressive, but aren’t bad. Unfortunately, the Big House Red just left me shrugging. It wasn’t terrible in a pour the bottle out kind of way, but it just didn’t do anything to make me pay attention – good or bad. Read the rest of this entry »
2007 Moulin de Gassac Rouge
Varietal: Rouge (30% Syrah, 30% Grenache, 25% Carignan, 15% Cinsault)
Region: France
Cost: $19.50
Red and black fruits and smooth French oak on the palate. A combination of tannins and alcohol on the finish for a medium-bodied red wine that will pair with rich pasta dishes, pork, lamb, roasted chicken, and spicy vegetarian dishes.
Recommendation: I’ll be the first to admit that my expertise in wine does not lie in French wine. That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy it when I manage to get my hands on it, but I probably have the least experience with the region. Because of this I was both excited and slightly intimidated when I received this wine.
My wife and I drank this medium-bodied red with a meal of fried salmon cakes and while I was somewhat worried that the wine would overpower the meal at first, the richness of the cakes actually did a good job of pairing with the wine. The flavors of the wine were good, but I do have a complaint – the finish. Maybe it’s the food I paired it with, but I got a very distinct alcohol flavor on the finish that while not overwhelming, wasn’t something I was expecting. Perhaps it’s the Carignan or Cinsault, two grapes that I’m unfamiliar with, and maybe pairing the wine with something richer like a piece of lamb or some pasta would have complimented the finish, but I did find it distracting. I would recommend that you try this wine with a richer dish than I did.
Special thanks to the International Wine of the Month Club.
