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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Drinking window: Drink between 2016 and 2020 (based on 23 user opinions) |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 90.5 pts. and median of 90 pts. in 4 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Wine Ratings on 8/8/2017 & rated 89 points: An exceptionally tasty southern Rhone blend - sort of? This bottle is actually Cinsault driven, which is certainly in the realm of southern Rhone varietals but most often plays second fiddle to Grenache and Syrah (or doesn't make it into the blend at all). Along with Carignan, it makes up the majority of the blend - and am I ever glad for that! Even from Coravin, the wine was ready to go, initially showcasing floral notes combined with ripe currants, raspberry, and blackberry. A super savoury sense pine/juniper showed itself almost immediately and played at the forefront throughout tasting. Cinnamon and just a touch of oak (vanilla, cedar) made appearances. Despite the very french origins, an unmistakable streak of eucalyptus came out in force on the palate. A finish full of coffee, chocolate, and prune gave hints that the wine is moving towards tertiary but still hanging in the balance. Drinking well now, it seems this bottle could probably go for several more years at the very least. I would have expected this kind of depth and complexity from a wine twice the price - well played! (443 views) | | | Tasted by isaacjamesbaker on 2/7/2015 & rated 89 points: New Languedoc Selections from Weygandt (Weygandt Wines - Washington, D.C.): Smells huge, like massive blueberries topped with pepper and grilled herbs. Actually smooth and creamy, not hot despite the higher alcohol, a bold wine for sure though, mouth-filling. Full of blackberry and blueberry jam, topped with earth, violets, pepper and smoke. Comes from two terroirs, one in Saint Chinian and one in Minervois. A blend of Cinsault, Carignan and smaller parts Grenache and Syrah from two parcels in Saint Chinian and Minervois. The biggest wine in the lot, but very well-made. (1119 views) |
| L'Oustal Blanc (Isabel et Claude Fonquerle) Producer website
Claude and Isabel Fonquerle began farming Minervois La Liviniere in 2002, in partnership with oenologist Philippe Cambie of Chateauneuf du Pape. (They also have a sliver of acreage near one of their two facilities, in the St. Chinian appellation.) Nearly all of their vines are old and head pruned. Fruit is rigorously selected at picking, chilled overnight, and then sorted twice more by bunch and berry before crushing, and fermentative skin contact can run for one or two months! “While Chateauneuf remains the source of my orientation,” says Claude, “Burgundy is my inspiration. The purity of fruit and the minerality in those wines is something magical. Think of Henri Jayer!” I’ve heard that Burgundy line the world over, and I’m not sure to what extent I’d call these wines “Burgundian.” But purity of fruit and elements one can only describe as “mineral,” they surely display in abundance. It would be less misleading – and no exaggeration – to say that this team has already redefined the potential of Minervois, and bottled what are almost certainly the finest and most exciting wines ever grown in that appellation, not to mention their representing extraordinary values. This is not the same as saying “of that appellation,” incidentally, because not all L’Oustal Blanc wines follow the blends permitted or the protocol prescribed for Minervois. The Fonquerle’s mutual inspiration and admiration with horn player Jacques Adnet of the Paris Opera has resulted in the re-christening of their upper-level cuvees with names inspired by music. Not all L’Oustal Blanc wines follow the blends permitted or the protocol prescribed for Minervois. A case in point is their remarkable whites, vinified in new and once-used Vosges demi-muids, and built around a rare stand of Grenache Gris, planted in 1948 under the direction of Baron Leroy (of Chateauneuf and A.O.C. fame) for blending with Grenache (the parcel that now informs Fonquerle’s Prima Dona – see below) to make fortified sweet wine. Macabeu plays a bit part in this l’Oustal white. Surely it’s no coincidence that what I unhesitatingly call the most exciting whites in the Languedoc share these two cepages with the most profoundly delicious whites of Roussillon. “Well, after all,” Fonquerle says when I point this out (discounting the Macabeu), “most of the world’s great wines are mono-cepage.” As my reviews of the numerous wines of Claude and Isabel Fonquerle that are legally only vins de table were confined to the on-line version of issue 183, I have taken the liberty of re-publishing in this issue the reviews of two of those that retail for under $25, and are among the finest values today in southern French wines. - David Schildknecht, The Wine AdvocateRed Rhone Blend Read about the different grapes used to produce red and white Rhone wines
On CellarTracker, Red Rhone Blend is the term for a wine consisting of two or more of the traditional 13 Southern Rhone grape varieties. Typically it's the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre or Cinsault grapes, but can also contain the Muscardin, Counoise, Clairette, Bourboulenc, Picpoul, Roussanne, Terret Noir, Picardan or Vaccarese grapes.
A 'food' wine. Lacking pretension and intended for local consumption with local cuisine. Lacks the 'high' notes on a Bordeaux, more earthy and sharper so often a better partner to meat dishes with a sauce. France Vins de France (Office National Interprofessionnel des Vins ) | Pages Vins, Directory of French Winegrowers | French Wine (Wikipedia)
Wine Scholar Guild vintage ratings
2018 vintage: "marked by a wet spring, a superb summer and a good harvest"
2019 vintage reports
2021: "From a general standpoint, whether for white, rosé or red wines, 2021 is a year marked by quality in the Rhône Valley Vineyards. Structured, elegant, fresh and fruity will be the main keywords for this new vintage."
2022 harvest: idealwine.info | wine-searcher.comFranceBeaune, Bourgogne |
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