Last week I had a couple of French wines that featured blends of the great grapes of the South, but unfortunately with different results. First up was the 2005 Calvet-Thunevin Cuvee Constance, a Vin de Pays from Cotes Catalanes in Roussillon. This wine is a blend of 60% Grenache, 30% Syrah, and 10% Carignan, and is quite a bargain. It is full of dark fruits and has a generous finish for a wine in this price range (about $15). It is the entry-level wine from this producer, and well worth searching out if you like Rhone varietals.
Over the weekend, I went to the cellar and pulled out a 2000 Domaine de la Mordoree Lirac Cuvee Reine des Bois. Mordoree makes great Chateauneufs, but also great Liracs, and this was the oldest of several Liracs I had. Unfortunately, I seem to have found a limit on again the Lirac (especially in my passive cellar) as this wine was past its prime. It wasn't undrinkable, but had acquired a heavy dose of soy flavors that many reds past their prime get. The soy unfortunately overtook the fruit flavors that still remained and left this as a disappointment. It's a good learning for me though, and as I still have bottles from vintages 2003-2006 in the cellar, I'll adjust accordingly on their drinking windows.
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