Winemaker Notes
This cuvée comes from the most southerly wine-growing area in France, on the Mediterranean coast a few kilometers from the Spanish border. It benefits from outstanding climatic conditions and great chalky clay soils. This wine is a beautiful ruby red color with aromas of red berries and violets. It is juicy with blackberry jam, tart plum and earthy fig in the mouth, silky tannins and a long finish.
Blend: 40% Grenache, 40% Syrah, 20% Carignan
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A juicy, mellow and fruit-driven red with cherries, forest berries and baking spices on the nose, following through to a medium body with a subtle and crunchy character on the mid-palate and a vivid finish.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
The Cotes de Roussillon is home to some of the world's best red wine values. The 2022 Clot dei Pila shows aromas and flavors of savory spices, blackberries, and wild herbs. Serve it with a spicy cassoulet. (Tasted: March 21, 2025, San Francisco, CA)
Domaine Boudau is a traditional family domaine located in Roussillon inland from Perpignan and Rivesaltes, at the entrance of the Agly Valley. The domaine was created in the 1920's by Hippolyte Boudau, and originally made the great vins doux naturels of Roussillon: Rivesaltes and Muscat de Rivesaltes. Today the estate covers 50 hectares mainly planted with Grenache, Syrah and Carignan. The Boudau family has some plots of very old-vine Grenache which produces rich and concentrated wines. All vines are grown without the use of any weed-killers. A Southern wine-growing area (the most southerly in France) on the Mediterranean coast a few kilometres from the Spanish border, Roussillon benefits from outstanding climate conditions and terroir. The parcels, on chalky clay soils, benefit all year from the Tramontane (the dominant, very dry, north-westerly wind), and a hot, very sunny Mediterranean climate helpful for vine-growing. The vines average 40 years of age and are manually harvested, sorted by plot and desteamed. This if followed by a very traditional maceration for 15 days with daily punchdowns.
With hundreds of red grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended red wines. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged resulting in a wide variety of red wine styles. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. For example, a red wine blend variety that creates a fruity and full-bodied wine would do well combined with one that is naturally high in acidity and tannins. Sometimes small amounts of a particular variety are added to boost color or aromatics. Blending can take place before or after fermentation, with the latter, more popular option giving more control to the winemaker over the final qualities of the wine.
How to Serve Red Wine
A common piece of advice is to serve red wine at “room temperature,” but this suggestion is imprecise. After all, room temperature in January is likely to be quite different than in August, even considering the possible effect of central heating and air conditioning systems. The proper temperature to aim for is 55° F to 60° F for lighter-bodied reds and 60° F to 65° F for fuller-bodied wines.
How Long Does Red Wine Last?
Once opened and re-corked, a bottle stored in a cool, dark environment (like your fridge) will stay fresh and nicely drinkable for a day or two. There are products available that can extend that period by a couple of days. As for unopened bottles, optimal storage means keeping them on their sides in a moderately humid environment at about 57° F. Red wines stored in this manner will stay good – and possibly improve – for anywhere from one year to multiple decades. Assessing how long to hold on to a bottle is a complicated science. If you are planning long-term storage of your reds, seek the advice of a wine professional.
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).