Château de Jau Côtes du Roussillon Villages – A Weekday Winner

45% Syrah, 30% Mourvèdre, 15% Carignan and 10% Grenache from Côtes du Roussillon, France.

SRP of $14 and available for as low as $11. Sample received courtesy Pasternak Wine Imports for review purposes.

From the bottle:

“This delicious red wine is blended from low-yielding grapes grown in our exceptional vineyards in the foothills of the French Pyrénées. Our terroir is dominated by ancient river bed soils and mountainous black slate soils that produce dark red, dry, rich wines with firm structure. At the Château de Jau, we serve this wine with a mixed grill of lamb and sausage.

13.0% Alcohol”

Côtes du Roussillon is a small appellation in Southern France, right next to Spain. Wine has been produced here for centuries. Today’s wine comes from Côtes du Roussillon Villages, which is the northernmost part of the appellation at the foothills of the Pyrenees. The wines are generally considered better than the rest of the appellation since the grapes are mostly grown on the slopes of the mountain.

The 2008 Château de Jau Côtes du Roussillon Villages begins with aromas of plum, blackberry, lavender, spice and a little vanilla. This wine needs a little time to open up, but when it does it is quite nice. Tasting the wine shows good tannins and acidity plus some pleasant spice. I’m guessing they don’t eat a lot of cheeseburgers in Côtes du Roussillon but they’ve made a wine that would pair nicely with that meal. The wine ends with a tasty, slightly sweet finish. Overall a pretty good weekday wine that will pair with lots of different grub. This one held up just fine on day 2 as well.

See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.

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