Winemaker Notes
Spicy dark fruits, ground pepper, wild herbs, and hints of olive to go with a medium bodied, rich palate feel. Perfect with ribs, filets, roasted vegetable or fresh goat cheese.
Blend: 60% Syrah , 40% Grenache
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
A 70% Syrah-Grenache blend that offers a lot of wine for the price. Peppery bramble fruits, wild herbs and liquorice adorn the supple palate which has grippy fruit tannins and a lifted violet perfume. Vibrant, with balanced alcohol.
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Wine & Spirits
Mainly syrah, with some grenache and carignan, this is earthy, meaty and layered. The tannins have a felt-like texture, lending richness and depth, letting the wine feel inviting even while the structure is firm and well packed. It’s a lot of wine for $20, especially considering that you could put a few bottles down in the cellar.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Leading off these new releases from Domaine Maris, the 2017 Syrah La Touge (there’s some Grenache in the blend as well) offers plenty of black and blue fruits as well as classic pepper, violets, and earthy aromas and flavors. It’s medium to full-bodied, juicy, balanced, and already delicious.
Rating: 89-91
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Minervois la Liviniere La Touge is an approachable, medium-bodied blend. It's more red-fruited and friendly than the other Maris wines in 2017, showcasing silky tannins and mixed cherries and blueberries, without any obvious oak influence. Rating: 88-90
With bold fruit flavors and accents of sweet spice, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre form the base of the classic Rhône Red Blend, while Carignan, Cinsault and Counoise often come in to play. Though they originated from France’s southern Rhône Valley, with some creative interpretation, Rhône blends have also become popular in other countries. Somm Secret—Putting their own local spin on the Rhône Red Blend, those from Priorat often include Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. In California, it is not uncommon to see Petite Sirah make an appearance.
Granted its own appellation within Minervois in the Languedoc region of France, Minervois La Livinière takes its name from cella vinaria, Latin for ‘wine cellar.’ In the hilly northern end of Minervois, the altitude and dense, rocky limestone soils of La Liviniere produce quality red Rhône Blends made from Syrah, Mourvedre, Grenache and Carignan.