Yet another wine that makes me believe Southern Rhone reds are prime examples of wines which go through dumb phases. This looks even more closed down compared to my last bottle tasted 17 months ago (see post here).
grenache
Oak and Garnacha – Alto Moncayo 2013 from Campo de Borja
Back in September I held a tasting of top Grenache wines taken from my collection. The lineup consisted of many that I regard benchmark examples of the variety and a few that I have never tasted before. Continue reading
Star buy red – Domain Abbaye Sylva Plana “La Closeraie” 2018, Faugeres, Languedoc
When the Languedoc delivers, it’s hard to beat. Continue reading
Diacono Navarra 2018
Kind of OK cheap Spanish from Auchan. When it fails for is the finish… Continue reading
Savage Thief in the Night 2018
Grenache, Syrah and Cinsault. Replace the latter with Mourvedre and you get a classic Rhone blend. This has nothing to do with Rhone reds, though.
S. C. Pannell Basso Grenache 2017, McLaren Vale
It’s been too long since the last Grenache post on this blog… so here you go. This comes from Australia, from a highly regarded artisanal producer and it does not disappoint.
New wave Priorat – Terroir Històric Negre 2018
Returning to the roots. This Grenache and Carignan blend is made with ancient winemaking techniques, and the result is clearly different from the oaky, heavy interpretations of Priorat most of us are familiar with.
Entry level Priorat Grenache – Scala Dei Garnatxa 2018
Pure Grenache from Priorat. Cheap for the region arguably, but the Rhone offers much better value.
Iconic red from Provance – Chateau Simone Rouge 2012, AOC Palette, Provance
A red that has been on my list for so long. It should be on yours, too. A truly iconic wine of Southern France with a long history and trackrecord (Cellartracker lists 1961 as first vintage).
High alcohol red wines III. – Domaine André Mathieu, la Centenaire Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2016
Hitting 16%, this Chateauneuf du Pape has the highest alcohol in this series. La Centenaire is made entirely from Grenache, which is supposed to handle heat far better than Syrah for example, but to see such alcohol content on the label is not just a bit worrying. Yet this was the winner of the trio (the other two are the El Telar Monastrell and Maccone Primitivo), when it comes to handling alcohol.