Recommendation: Recommended as a buy.
Winery/Producer: Cave de Tain, France.
Grape Variety: 100% Syrah.
Geographic Origin: Crozes Hermitage, Rhone Valley, France.
Vintage: 2009
Price: $16.99
Purchased From: Total Wine; Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Pared With: Grilled chicken with BBQ sauce (tomato, mustard, soy sauce, etc.) basmati rice, spinach and sweet potato salad with oregano oil and vinegar dressing.
Tasting:
He said: Clear purple-red color. Strong dark fruit and earthy aromas. Intense ripe fruit taste that goes into a long dry fruit finish…fruity right to the end. VERY easy drinking, yet quite robust. This is a well balanced Syrah that got better after the dinner with the slightly sweet BBQ sauce.
She said: Definitely better after the dinner was finished. This wine started out on the wimpy side without the body and tannins I expected but as we drank the wine we enjoyed the robustness that we are accustomed to expect from a French Syrah. With red berry aroma and flavor the wine was dry and full bodied with firm velvety tannins that persisted into the long finish. I blame the BBQ sauce on the chicken for muddling the fist tastings and would like to try it with a more suitable dinner or forget the dinner entirely. The wine is delicious on its own for sure and I recommend it although it’s not a under the $15 bargain price.
Comments:
Bar code: 663273310391