Winemaker Notes
Blend: 55% Grenache, 10% Carignan, 10% Syrah, and 10% Mourvedre.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Another outstanding wine is the 2013 Cotes du Roussillon Villages. Nicely concentrated, medium to full-bodied and balanced, it offers a touch of oak as well as lots of currants and black raspberry fruits, ripe tannin and a solid finish. It will keep nicely through 2023.
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Wine Spectator
A concentrated, polished red, with lush flavors of cherry compote, ripe plum and mocha flavors, lined with plenty of savory spice and mineral accents that coat the mouth. Well-structured, featuring plenty of tannins and tangy acidity, this is pure and complex.
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).