Corbieres

[mrdutton]

So close to Languedoc that some might not even make the differentiation.

1999, Cuvee Charlemagne, Chateau La Pujade, Futs de Chene, Mis en bouteille au chateau, Viviane Mennesson proprietaire a 11200 Ferrals-Les-Corbiers.

Costs $16.26 here in Virginia Beach without the case discount.

Dark purple juice, almost opaque with dark fruit, raspberry and blackberry like on the nose and the palate. Hints of vanilla and chocolate waft across the nose and the tongue along with some mint on the finish. A very smooth velvet mouthfeel with a fairly long velvety finish.

Nice fruit, acid enough to stand-up to a ranch type salad dressing and a one to two (to steal WW's phrase) tongue lapper finish.

Drank this with a simple garden salad with previously mentioned ranch dressing and a very hearty beef vegetable soup for dinner.

I thought it was well worth the price tag and was much more complex than the Castlemarve Grand Cuvee I've mentioned in a previous post.

Try it, you might like it.

[Bucko]

Wines from this area still offer some of the world's best values.