The HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Michel Gassier Nostre Pais Rouge and the BULK BUY Domaine Lafage Bastide Miraflors.
Today we've got two fabulous French wines from one of our favorite importers, Eric Solomon's European Cellars.
Why are we so excited about these wines? Let me give you three reasons...
1) The Chateau Puech-Haut Le Prestige.
2) The Andezon Cotes du Rhone Red.
3) The Altovinum Evodia Old Vines Garnacha
All three of these wines, which we absolutely loved, also came from European Cellars. In fact, we loved the Evodia so much that it has even spent time at the top of our Top 10 Reds Under $20 list.
First up is the Michel Gassier Nostre Pais Rouge, a blend of 50% Grenache Noir, 20% Syrah, 20% Mourvedre, 5% Carignan and 5% Cinsault from Costieres de Nimes, Rhone, France. The wine was aged for six months in tank and French oak barrels.
The Michel Gassier Nostre Pais Rouge has an SRP of $25 and is available at for as low as $16.99. 800 cases produced. Sample submitted for review.
From the bottle:
Once upon a time there was a beautiful wild terroir, where life was blessed with sun, celebration and wine. But the terroir fell into neglect and became misunderstood. One day, a winemaker returned to awaken the sleeping beauty. I invite you to discover its pure fruit expression driven by fresh elegance and minerality.
15% Alcohol
The 2012 Michel Gassier Nostre Pais Rouge begins with very pleasing, elegant and balanced aroma full of dark berry, lavender, violet and a little pepper. Tasting the wine shows more rich, dark fruit, plenty of spice, a smooth texture and nice touches of oak and licorice. Add in some nice earthy and mineral notes and there's lots of different things to discover in this one. It ends dry, quite grippy and lasting with a bit of cola and a hint of tobacco.
Next up is the Domaine Lafage Bastide Miraflors, a blend of 70% Syrah and 30% Grenache from Cotes Catalanes, Languedoc-Roussillon, France. 80% of the Grenache was aged for 12 months in concrete tanks and the Syrah in 500 liter demi-muids.
The Domaine Lafage Bastide Miraflors has an SRP of $19 and is available for as low as $12.99. Sample submitted for review.
From the importer:
For well over a decade we have worked with Jean-Marc Lafage at his estate in the Roussillon, and across the border in Spain where he consults on several projects. As good as his wines were, when we first met him, they only get better with each vintage. When we first made his acquaintance in Calatayud, he suggested we visit his estate in the Roussillon and the rest, as they say, is history.
14.5% Alcohol
The 2013 Domaine Lafage Bastide Miraflors begins with a lovely aroma full of black cherry, blackberry, blueberries, plums, spice, pepper, herbal notes and even a little black olive. The wine tastes smooth, rich, juicy and delicious with just a fabulous depth of flavor. It ends dry with a bit of minerality coming through on the finish. This wine is just a pleasure to drink and with good acidity it's a great option to have on hand as it will pair easily with lots of different foods -- I'm thinking a cheeseburger bathed in bbq sauce would be a good place to start!
