French red wine values tasted in 2005

The selected French bottlings have given me much pleasure for the price. I have purchased them again for personal consumption. Featured values include Navarre and 9 Languedocs.
 

The below wines were tasted in France, in 2005 (between April and December).
 

 Vin de pays d'oc - les Chais Beaucairois - [image de soleil sur l'étiquette] - Cabernet sauvignon

2004 - USD 5.9 - basic CS, no trace of oak barrel - green pepper dominates the scent - green pepper, blackcurrant, balanced acidity - notice that the wine tastes the same on Day 2

Ed, filiale de Carrefour

 Coteaux du languedoc saint saturnin - Cave des vignerons de Saint-Saturnin - Lucian

2001 - USD 8.9 - a scent of blackberry - onctuous, slightly sweet, blackberry, seems plump on account of weak acidity, the taste is very short

Auchan

 Vin de table de france - Jean-Marie Rimbert - Cousin Oscar on se l'arrache

[2004] - USD 10 - a scent of strawberry - in the palate the wine shows red fruit, fat, an eager body which reminds of Corbières next door, balanced acidity, alcohol is very well integrated, much better supported than by Domaine du Vieux Colombier 2001 - notice that the wine stays cheerful if kept in the fridge for a few days, you will only lose little cohesiveness

 Vin de pays des Coteaux de l'Ardèche - Vignerons Ardéchois - Syrah

2004 - USD 11 - red fruit on the nose and on the palate, easy-going

 Vin de table - Domaine Coste Longue - Pierrette et Claude Navarre - Cuvée Mimosa

[2004] - USD 11 - red fruit, a smoky note, the flavour is typical of low-temperature fermentation - a vivid texture, red fruit, a smoked note, the flavour is typical of low-temperature fermentation, balanced acidity

rte Olargues 34460 Roquebrun, tél : +33 (0)4 67 89 52 31

 Minervois - Château Sainte Eulalie - Tradition

2001 - USD 11 - clear and clean - scents of black fruit, a burnt hint - silky, black fruit, less fresh than Le Lazouzil 2002 - notice that the wine loses some verve between Day 1 and Day 2

Château Sainte Eulalie

 Vin de table de France - Domaine Navarre - Vin d'Oeillades (schistes bruns) - (oeillade, une variété de cinsault aux grains plus allongés)

[2004] - USD 12 - fruit taste - aromas of red fruit, with a minerally hint - savoury, blackcurrant, a note of moss, no overripeness, firm, quiet tannins

 Côtes du rhône - Domaine du Vieux Colombier

2001 - USD 12 - no fuss, the ideal Côtes-du-rhône - fruit - (juicy but not smashing) fruit, solid, broad, balanced acidity, alcohol dominates fruit

Barrière, ham Colombiers, 485 chemin du Pigeonnier, 30200 Sabran, tél : +33 (0) 4 66 89 98 94

 Saint chinian - Jean-Marie Rimbert - Les Travers de Marceau - (cinsault, syrah, mourvèdre, carignan)

2004 - USD 14 - it's all about fruit flavour, this wine is clearly more intense than Cousin Oscar - the nose is intense with a red fruit specific to a low-temperature fermentation (it makes me think of blackberry sorbet), garrigue - concentrated, red fruit, garrigue, silky from entry to exit, less fat than Cousin Oscar, balanced acidity, no bitterness - long, with nougat and blackcurrant

 Saint chinian - Domaine Navarre - Le Laouzil

2002 - USD 16 - harmonious, with a stone note - the nose shows red fruit typical of the Languedoc (blackberry) - red fruit, balanced acidity, does not burden the mouth in any way (unlike the Sainte Eulalie 2001), no tanins left

 Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes - La Préceptorie - La Chapelle de Centernach

2002 - USD 16 - a nose of oak and blackberry - onctuous, silky, with a sensation of very little grains on the tongue, fresh, concentrated but less so than other bottlings by the same estate

 Vin de pays de l'Ardèche - Le Mazel - Briand - (grenache)

2001 - USD 16 - intensity of flavour, red fruit (blackcurrent, blackberry), roastbeef - intensity of flavour, red fruit (blackberry), onctuous from entry to exit, no smoked note, balanced acidity.
Note: some bottles may show a fizzy whisper or an acrid (acetic) hint -- serious airing (with a decanter or by waiting 24 hours) should dissolve these drawbacks.

Quarterly additions

New tasting reports are put on-line every June, September and December. You will be emailed at the date of issue if you subscribe to the newsletter. (There currently are 1219 subscribers.)