After my recent rant on the ageability of Southern Rhone reds, this came as a reminder that I was probably too harsh. Here we have a humble supermarket  villages wine – a so called “named” village, Seguret – which I bought many years ago for 6 Euros and which was hardly made to age this long (it’s over 6 years old now). Yet this is not declining at all, to my biggest surprise. I think it’s even better than after release!

This is how full maturity looks when everything is OK. With the first tertiary notes it’s singing. Quite differently compared to aged Bordeaux and Burgundy wines in terms of aromatics, reminiscent to an LBV port perhaps, but without the high alcohol. Dried plums on the nose, with a touch of Mediterranean herbs and even truffles. Starts to mellow on the palate but still structured with nice, grippy tannins. At its peak, absolutely enjoyable. I tasted it a few times since release and this is its best showing, it gained complexity during the years. 87-88 points (rated 86 in the early stage). Drink now. 14%.