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!

2002 Woodward Canyon Barbera

So tonight's wine hails from one of my favorite wine regions, Walla Walla and the Columbia Valley of Washington state.  Now you'll recall I just returned from an epic adventure to Walla Walla wine country a couple months ago, but this bottle was purchased on my last trip through Walla Walla when I moved out to the Midwest back in 2004!  In fact, on this last trip I mentioned to the folks at Woodward Canyon that I still had a bottle of the '02 Barbera, and they seemed rather surprised and suggested I might want to drink it soon, as it might be well past it's prime.  So, last Saturday I decided to bring the bottle over to some friends for a wonderful dinner.

Well, thankfully the folks at the winery were way off on their assessment, as this wine turned out to be absolutely wonderful!  The color in the glass was deep ruby, and the nose was a wonderful mix of red fruit, burnt toast, leather and chocolate.  The taste started out with a wonderful mix of fruit, rich blackberries and ripe plum which transitioned to a smokiness mixed with cedar, black pepper and herbs midpalate.  The supple tannins formed a wonderful foundation for the long, dry, smoky finish.

We enjoyed this bottle with a lovely, Pacific Northwest sort of meal, consisting of cedar planked salmon with lemon and a variety of fresh herbs, some grilled beef tenderloin and a lovely selection of grilled veggies from my friends at Schuler Farms.  It was such a delicious meal, and the wine went along perfectly.  Overall, I would rate this one a solid 8.5, and I'd love to get more, but unfortunately that is no longer possible.  I guess maybe I'll have to wait another 8 years to open a bottle I bought on my last trip!

2009 Château Puech-Haut Coteaux de Languedoc Prestige

So tonight I've decided to indulge my appetite for southern France, both in terms of cuisine and wine!  We'll get to the cuisine in a moment, but let's start off with the wine, the 2009 Château Puech-Haut Coteaux de Languedoc Prestige, a blend of 55% Grenache (from 60-75 year-old vines) and 45% Syrah (from 40-year-old vines).

I must admit, my first surprise with this wine was the color, given the light color on the cork, I was expecting this to be a lighter style wine, but the color in the glass was a deep purple, transitioning to a bright ruby along the edges.  The nose was a wonderful blend of leather, black currant, ripe berries, rose petals and moss.  The taste was a wonderful complexity, starting with ripe berry fruit, transitioning to vanilla and anise midpalate, which then gives way to a stunning, long-lasting finish as the lovely, vibrant tannins play off the acid and alcohol.  I could almost smell the salt breeze of the Mediterranean as I sipped this wine before dinner!

Speaking of dinner, I decided to get a bit creative with southern French cooking this evening, mixing a bit of Provence with a bit of the Mediterranean coast.  I sauteed some boneless chicken breasts with thinly sliced shallots and olive oil, and after browning the chicken, I added some sauvignon blanc for some vibrant acidity.  Once the wine reduced a bit, I added some diced plum tomatoes and capers and allowed that to simmer over low heat as the chicken finished cooking.  As the sauce reduced, I tossed the chicken with some al dente angel hair pasta for a lovely dinner to complement this wine! And yes, back to the wine, overall I would rate this one a solid 8.5, as I thought it was a lovely example the the wonderful wines of the Languedoc, at a price that wasn't too outrageous (this one was was just under $18 and will be a future office wine club selection).  Bon appetit!