Another treasure from the Languedoc
Heading home last night, I went into the cellar to find a bottle to go with dinner. It's one of the perks of owning the joint and truth be know, a main reason for opening my own retail space to begin with; to finance my obsession.
The bottle I chose was the Domaine Faillenc Sainte Marie Corbières Rouge 2003. I had only tasted this wine once before at a private tasting with importer Neal Rosenthal (ouch! just hurt my toe dropping names). Seriously though, I was invited to a tasting where Mr. Rosenthal was talking about the wines that he imports. Given the set-up and the number of wines we went through, I had no idea how long the bottles has been open before the wine got into my glass. As a general rule, even if I am really excited about a wine (such as this) I won't sell it until I have had a chance to sit with the wine and see how it performs over the course of a few hours. As far as Mr. Rosenthal goes, that is another post altogether. One that will be forthcoming soon.
Before I get into the wine, let me establish a little context. The appellation of Corbières lies in the southern part of France known as the Languedoc. This is the same general region that has been garnering a bit of attention as of late for their political protests. They should be getting more attention for their wines as well. Drink a few of them and you'll understand why they're pissed. Corbières is located more or less dead center between the towns of Narbonne to the east and Carcassone to the west. The appellation is disected north and south by the 'A61' and sits about fifteen mile inland from the Mediterranean Sea. Grower/producers who are both Forward-looking yet maintain a reverence for tradition are producing incredible wines from Corbières, Pic St. Loup, and Minervois just to name a few. If you have not dialed into this part of the world, you are missing out.
Domaine Faillenc Sainte Marie Corbières Rouge 2003
When reading 'more established' wine journals, one will often come across the word 'garrigue', used as a descriptor for the wines of the Languedoc and southern Rhône valley. Literally translated, the word means 'scrub' but as it pertains to wine, it is meant to encompass the multitude of 'shrubs' that proliferate in this part of France i.e. rosemary, lavander, sage, etc...
I can honestly say that I have not come across a better example of 'garrigue' in a wine than I did last night. Upon opening the wine was obviously tight. The nose gave off hints of rosemary and oak but what was initially the main aromatic (and one that stayed throughout the bottle) was a sometimes-not-so-subtle salinity. I wouldn't go so far as to say the wine smelled 'bloody' (a word that I have often used in reference to some Spanish reds) but it wasn't that far removed. The palate mirrored much of this and so the Financial Advisor and myself agreed to give it some time in glass.
After about 25-30 minutes, things began to loosen up a bit. Again, the glass smelled like I had taken a header into my herb garden. Rosemary (in particular the 'piney-ness' of the stems) , lavender, sage, basil, and still that 'salinity' that we started with. Upon further discussion, the F.A. and I decided it was more along the lines of black olive than blood. Be this the maritime influence or the probable presence of olive trees near the vineyard, it is similar to the 'eucalyptus' that people get all silly about in certain California Cabs. The palate began to open up as well yielding dark cherry, blackberry (sans the sweetness) and of all things, black olive. I'm sure this sounds disgusting to alot of people but I just call 'em like I see 'em.
At around an hour, the wine continued to unfold. The tannin which was quite high at the outset was becoming a bit more integrated but still very present. The palate was still progressing and the F.A. commented that it 'just keeps getting better and better'. The extreme heat of this vintage obviously had an impact of the final wine and as it was, I suspect that this wine has the legs to go at least 5-8 years in the cellar.
All this for the low, low sum of +/- $16.00?!?!? Like I said before, if you haven't checked this region out, you're missing out
The bottle I chose was the Domaine Faillenc Sainte Marie Corbières Rouge 2003. I had only tasted this wine once before at a private tasting with importer Neal Rosenthal (ouch! just hurt my toe dropping names). Seriously though, I was invited to a tasting where Mr. Rosenthal was talking about the wines that he imports. Given the set-up and the number of wines we went through, I had no idea how long the bottles has been open before the wine got into my glass. As a general rule, even if I am really excited about a wine (such as this) I won't sell it until I have had a chance to sit with the wine and see how it performs over the course of a few hours. As far as Mr. Rosenthal goes, that is another post altogether. One that will be forthcoming soon.
Before I get into the wine, let me establish a little context. The appellation of Corbières lies in the southern part of France known as the Languedoc. This is the same general region that has been garnering a bit of attention as of late for their political protests. They should be getting more attention for their wines as well. Drink a few of them and you'll understand why they're pissed. Corbières is located more or less dead center between the towns of Narbonne to the east and Carcassone to the west. The appellation is disected north and south by the 'A61' and sits about fifteen mile inland from the Mediterranean Sea. Grower/producers who are both Forward-looking yet maintain a reverence for tradition are producing incredible wines from Corbières, Pic St. Loup, and Minervois just to name a few. If you have not dialed into this part of the world, you are missing out.
Domaine Faillenc Sainte Marie Corbières Rouge 2003
When reading 'more established' wine journals, one will often come across the word 'garrigue', used as a descriptor for the wines of the Languedoc and southern Rhône valley. Literally translated, the word means 'scrub' but as it pertains to wine, it is meant to encompass the multitude of 'shrubs' that proliferate in this part of France i.e. rosemary, lavander, sage, etc...
I can honestly say that I have not come across a better example of 'garrigue' in a wine than I did last night. Upon opening the wine was obviously tight. The nose gave off hints of rosemary and oak but what was initially the main aromatic (and one that stayed throughout the bottle) was a sometimes-not-so-subtle salinity. I wouldn't go so far as to say the wine smelled 'bloody' (a word that I have often used in reference to some Spanish reds) but it wasn't that far removed. The palate mirrored much of this and so the Financial Advisor and myself agreed to give it some time in glass.
After about 25-30 minutes, things began to loosen up a bit. Again, the glass smelled like I had taken a header into my herb garden. Rosemary (in particular the 'piney-ness' of the stems) , lavender, sage, basil, and still that 'salinity' that we started with. Upon further discussion, the F.A. and I decided it was more along the lines of black olive than blood. Be this the maritime influence or the probable presence of olive trees near the vineyard, it is similar to the 'eucalyptus' that people get all silly about in certain California Cabs. The palate began to open up as well yielding dark cherry, blackberry (sans the sweetness) and of all things, black olive. I'm sure this sounds disgusting to alot of people but I just call 'em like I see 'em.
At around an hour, the wine continued to unfold. The tannin which was quite high at the outset was becoming a bit more integrated but still very present. The palate was still progressing and the F.A. commented that it 'just keeps getting better and better'. The extreme heat of this vintage obviously had an impact of the final wine and as it was, I suspect that this wine has the legs to go at least 5-8 years in the cellar.
All this for the low, low sum of +/- $16.00?!?!? Like I said before, if you haven't checked this region out, you're missing out
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