Winemaker Notes
Pairs well with grilled peppers, pork in caramel sauce, rabbit with prunes and fine cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
From Tautavel's limestone-rich soils, the 2016 Grand Terroir Tautavel is a blend of Syrah, Grenache and Carignan, two-thirds of which went into barrel for nine months. It's more floral and perfumed than the Les Aspres bottling, but it's still creamy, lush and opulent, with ripe tannins and plenty of richness without excessive weight. Range: 90-92
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2016 Gérard Bertrand Grand Terroir Côtes de Roussillon Villages Tautavel is a red that shows excellent richness and persistence. TASTING NOTES: This wine is bold and lasting on the palate. Enjoy is generous aromas and flavors of black fruit, licorice, and earth with braised short ribs. (Tasted: January 29, 2020, San Francisco, CA)
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Wine & Spirits
A sleek black blend of grenache, syrah and carignan, this matches its generous oak scents with dense, plummy fruit. It’s spicy and opulent, a saline minerality balancing the mocha richness. It’s a sophisticated Roussillon red for a steakhouse.
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.
Of the five Côtes du Roussillon Villages appellations, Tautavel (recognized since 1997) sits farthest east, on the last granite outcropping before the land slopes to the Mediterranean Sea. The infertile soils here force vine roots to dig deep for water and nutrients, which creates wines with more complexity. Tautavel’s superior quality red wines are blends traditionally based on Carignan, but today tend to include more Grenache and Syrah. The minor variety, Lledor Pelut (a variant of Grenache) is also allowed.
Côtes du Roussillon-Tautavel claims a warm Mediterranean climate but its slight altitude (650 ft) keeps it cooler and drier than the plains.