RED BLENDS: FRANCE

+MUST TRY+
Domaine de Fontsainte Corbieres
France: Languedoc Roussillon
Red Blend: 60% Carignan, 30% Grenache Noir, 10% Syrah
2006
88+ pts
$12.99
Scott, Dana and I tried the D.O.C. Wine Bar Old World Red flight last night in the hood--a great buy at $15.00--and of the three wines presented (a 2006 Chianti Classico & a 2008 Austrian Zwiegelt among them), the 2006 Domaine de Fontsainte Corbieres not only emerged as the clear winner, but established itself in my mind as a MUST TRY--especially with a retail price in stores of about thirteen bucks a bottle, and a per-full-glass price at Dunlay's of nine bucks (not a bad restaurant price for a wine with some character, at least in the city). This tasty, interesting red from southern France offers earth, mushrooms, a bit of green vegetable, and even some flowers on the nose. On the palette, there's a complex blend of barnyard, raspberries, green vegetable, a hint of black pepper, and even a subtle florality that makes a quick cameo. And more importantly, there's a natural unity in play here: somehow all of these distinct flavors transition nicely, complement one another. It just works. The nose provides a fairly accurate preview of what's to follow, but once in your mouth--a wonderful weight and pleasant mouth feel, too--the flavors emerge as if on cue: this is a wine with very good timing, and I highly recommend it.

+MUST TRY+
La Chapelle Notre Dame d'Aubune Beaumes-de-Venise
France: Cotes du Rhone
Red Blend: 70% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 5% Cinsault & 5% Mourvedre
2009
90 pts
$12.97
This nice Cotes du Rhone red offers a gorgeous ruby color (and yet it's bright, too), along with the aroma of red berries and lots of black pepper--with just a hint of earthiness on the nose, once it's opened up a bit. And it delivers on flavor, too: raspberries, definite pepper, some fresh earth (a gentle mustiness), and on the very back end, I get a little bitter, dark chocolate. The mouth feel is smooth, and the length is above average on this dry, delicious wine from southern France's Rhone Valley. Very food friendly, too, I think. Looks like I've found my favorite budget-buy red for winter 2010! Bought this wine at Schaefer's in Skokie--well worth keeping a few bottles on hand for holiday entertaining. I know we will.

+CORKED WINE+
Domaine de Courbissac Minervois Eos
France: Languedoc
Red Blend: 60% Carignan, 20% Cinsault, 20% Grenache
2007
Corked
$8.99
Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. For the first time since launching Gio's Wine Notes, I encountered a corked bottle of wine. Was looking forward to tasting the Courbissac Eos Vin de Pays, since this bio-dynamic producer has earned fine marks since launching in 2002. The bouquet on this wine--damp, wet, moldy basement, with hints of sewage--is unmistakable. The taste--yes, I was still curious to taste it, although I did not swallow--was an odd combination of tastelessness and rot. Estimates of the percentage of wine that is corked range anywhere from two to eight percent. When a wine is said to have been corked, it means the cork has been contaminated by a fungus called trichloroanisole (TGA), which then interacts chemically with the wine, tainting it. While the increasingly popular aluminum screw top solves this problem once and for all, tradition and history and romance--and the cork industry, too--are certain to keep old-fashioned, natural corks around for a long, long time. Will get back to you on the Eos as soon as I can find another bottle!

Chateau Cablanc Bordeaux (by Jean-Lou Debart)
France: Bordeaux (Right Bank: St.-Pey-De-Castets)
Red Blend: 60% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon
2006
87 pts
$12.99
This Right Bank Merlot-based red is not bad at all. The aroma is cherries, tobacco and hints of earth, and it possesses a pleasant, soft mouth feel (the Merlot provides the gentle tannins, I suppose). As for taste, I get black cherries on the initial attack, followed by some of of that Old World earthiness I enjoy, and very light tobacco. The flavors offered are subtle (maybe too much so?) but this is still a wine I am enjoying drinking tonight, and can certainly see myself drinking again--and looking forward to it. But where it falls flat is the finish: after the up-front cherries and mid-palette earth, this wine heads for the hills faster than a Tea Party candidate for Congress fleeing reporters posing actual questions. But at about $13.00 (and even cheaper on sale), this everyday affordable Bordeaux is a decent French red at a bargain price.

Vignobles David Cotes du Rhone Le Mourre de l'Isle Red
France: Cotes-du-Rhone
Red Blend: 60% Grenache, 40% Syrah
2006
82 pts
$13.99
This Kosher red from the southern Rhone Valley offers some interest, but in the end, lacks enough flavor to carry the day. The color is attractive (ruby red with purple overtones), and the nose, while a bit tight at first, is certainly appealing (nearly mouth-watering), with dark cherries, berries, and some black pepper, if you're willing to work for it. The mouth feel is very chalky (the chalkiest wine I've ever had)--feels like I just had chalk dust clapped into my mouth from a couple of school erasers, along with some very small bits of chalk on the tongue. As I said, the Le Mourre de l'Isle does offer some unique characteristics. But while this dry, chalky red does deliver velvety tannins, the flavor--dark berries, I guess, with some slight bitter coffee, perhaps, on the finish--is just lacking punch, intensity. It does not taste badly; it just does not taste enough. After my review, I tried it with a grilled burger (a slightly over-cooked grilled burger, since I was busy tasting the wine while the burgers got a little overdone), and between the chalk-dust wine and the dried up burger...let's just say I now feel like I've held sawdust in my mouth for an hour. An interesting but ultimately unappealing Cotes-du-Rhone. Perhaps with more flavor the intense dryness would work, but as it stands, it's not a wine I recommend.

+MUST TRY+
Ferraton Pere & Fils Plan de Dieu Cotes du Rhone Villages Red
France: Cotes-du-Rhone Villages
Red Blend: Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre & Carignan
2008
89+ pts
$13.00
I had this delicious red blend from Cotes du Rhone Villages (AOC) at the legendary Chicago rib joint in Old Town, Twin Anchors, a long-time post-concert Sinatra haunt and the setting for scenes in the 2000 film, Return to Me. I found the nose a little tight, but the glass in which the wine was served was too small, making it tough to open up the aroma with swirling. However, the taste profile was a good match for my palette, with dark fruit (black berries?) and spiciness, with hints, I think, of green vegetables as the wine opened up. On the back end, some lingering funk/mustiness, earthiness. Matured in concrete vats, the wine lacks the oak flavoring that I often find too strong or even fake. Also possesses nice, supple tanins. And when I paired this red with pulled pork and Twin Anchors' zesty barbecue sauce...wow...a phenomenal complement. The pork and sauce seemed to smooth out the wine even further, enhancing my enjoyment of both. Highly recommend this pairing ($8.00 a glass), and this wine, especially at this price per bottle.

La Grange Daniel (by Domaine Alary)
France: Cotes-du-Rhone, Village Cairanne
Red Blend: Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault & Cabernet Sauvignon
2007
87 pts
$11.99 (on sale)
This Vin de Pays (country wine, one designation above table wine in France, offering a wide array of grapes, flexibility for the producer, and good prices, too) is a good buy on sale at $11.99, but I place it below the MUST TRY category. On the positive side, it possesses a very pretty black cherry coloring, and a pleasing vegetable and pepper combination taste profile, along with cherry undertones (I notice the cherry more on the back end). I also find the weight of this wine--medium-light, I'll call it--enjoyable. It's quite drinkable. On the other hand, the finish isn't anything to write home about in terms of length, and it burns a little going down (14% alcohol). While these limitations keep this French country blend, for me, below the 90 point range, as I said, it's still a decent wine at a fair price, and I'll probably pickup a bottle once in a while when I see it on sale at Binny's. A nice everyday wine to enjoy with a burger on the grill, in my book.

+MUST TRY+
Schaefer's Signature Rouge (produced for Schaefer's Wine, Food & Spirits, Skokie, Il: http://schaefers.com)
France: Bordeaux
Unknown Blend (red)
A Non-Vintage Wine
88+ pts
$7.50 on sale; $14.95 otherwise
Had this humble, straightforward French table wine from Bordeaux at a school event recently (I was the bartender, and felt obliged to make sure it measured up), and was quite surprised at the quality of its flavor and finish. A pleasant strawberry flavor (cranberry, too?) with just a hint of spice on the back end, and a decent (but not 90 pt quality) length--all for under eight bucks on sale? At this price, it's a MUST TRY in my book. This is a quality (simple, not complex) Bordeaux at an unbelievable price: the fruit is restrained, not over-the-top. As is common for French table wines, the grape varietals used in production are not identified, but the geographical identity--Bordeaux--suggests a drier, tannic wine, which this certainly is. A nice everyday day French red you can rely on without breaking the bank.