2007 Chateaux des Karantes Coteaux du Languedoc La Clape

It's a beautiful summer afternoon, so what better way to enjoy the day than to open a bottle of wine and start cooking?  So that's exactly what I've done, and for tonight's festivities, I've chosen a bottle of Languedoc from one of my favorite winemakers in the region, Chateau des Karantes.  As I've mentioned in the past, I met the winemaker at a tasting here in Grand Rapids in 2008 and I was so impressed with the wines I was an instant fan.  The blending of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre (GSM) has become such a classic in my mind, even as it hasn't seemed to have surged in popularity like some wines.

The wine itself is a wonderful deep purple trailing to bright ruby along the edges.  The nose is a delightful blend of fruit, ripe plum, red berries and apricot, layers with a bit of smoke that creates a wonderful reminiscence of the sweet smell of bacon to wake you up on a Saturday morning.  The taste has some delicate fruit at the outset, transitioning to some licorice and dark chocolate midpalate.  Despite how delicate the flavors can be at times, the wine has a lush, smooth finish that seems to last in the minutes!

Now I'll confess, it's been a bit harder to find wines from this Chateau at my usual wine hang-outs, but I happened up on a few bottles of this wine at a local supermarket.  The great news was that it was market down to $22 (already an unbelievable bargain) and then with an extra 10% discount for buying 6 bottles, I had them for under $20!  The drawback (if you can call it that) was that these bottles were actually signed by the wine maker for an even held a year or two ago, so I faced a dilemma.  Do I save the bottle since it's signed or do I crack it open and drink it, sending the moment to the recycling bin?  Well, I did what any good wine drinker would do, I bought an extra bottle, so I had one to save and one to enjoy with you tonight!

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8, it's definitely a step down from the Diamant (you can see my review of the '05 Diamant here), but still a wonderful example of the quality of the wines of the Languedoc region of France.  And this seems to be a trend, just like last time, I am enjoying this wine with some chicken and veggies with a bit of Indian red curry over basmati rice.  Yum! So if you happen upon a bottle, signed or not, I highly recommend picking one up!