Winemaker Notes
The dominant Syrah grape gives this wine dark and violet hues with the unmistakable Blue fruit flavors of plum and blackberry. Ethereal notes of spices, herbs and mocha linger in the background while hints of black cherry and dark chocolate are woven into a mouth filling wine. It has medium to full body, but has an elegance and power that is rarely found in a wine of this price. The smooth and lingering finish has soft tannins and a velvet touch.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This blend is satisfyingly rich and elegant. Bold aromas of candied red fruit and red flowers on the nose lead into a palate that is full of cassis, rhubarb and cola flavors, yet with a firm structure and long finish.
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Jeb Dunnuck
A perennial over-achiever, the 2019 Cotes Du Roussillon Villages sports a translucent ruby hue to go with an incredibly sexy, pure, elegant character as well as lots of black raspberry fruits, notes of peppery herbs, flowers, and orange blossom-like aromas and flavors. It's rich yet at the same time light on its feet and beautifully balanced. It's going to be a terrific value.
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.
An appellation solely for dry red wines from Roussillon, Côtes du Roussillon-Villages is a step up in quality compared to, simply, Côtes du Roussillon. The area is in the northern third of Roussillon, bordered on its southern end by the Têt River, which runs precisely from west to east. Five villages can append their own name to the Côtes du Roussillon-Villages appellation name: Caramany, Latour de France, Lesquerde, Tautavel and the last, south of the Têt River, Les Aspres.
Côtes du Roussillon-Villages red wines are blends made from Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre and small amounts of Carignan, Cinsault and the lesser known, Lledoner Pelut (a relative of Grenache).