French red wine values tasted in 2007

The selected French bottlings have given me much pleasure for the price. I have purchased them again for personal consumption. Featured values include five bottlings from the Rhône Valley.

A smaller best-buy page is available which skips wines not imported into the USA.
 

The below wines were tasted in France, in 2007 (between April and December).The tasting notes are listed by increasing prices, with the following format:

Appellation - producer - plot or brand - variety
Vintage - approximate price - general impression - on nose - on palate - after swallowing
 

 Côtes-du-rhône - SCA les Vignerons d'Estézargues - Cuvée des copains
2006 - 3.4 € - yummy served at a cool temperature - red fruit, a note of blackberry sorbet - red fruit, a note of blackberry sorbet, a vegetable hint, does not dry the mouth, easy and round (little acidity)

Where to purchase Les Vignerons d Estezargues wines
 

 Vin-de-pays du Pont du Gard - SCA les Vignerons d'Estézargues - Cuvée des galets - Non filtré
2006 - 4 € - serve at a cool temperature - red fruit - red fruit, shows the biggest body from this cooperative, dense, dries the teeth, round

Where to purchase Les Vignerons d Estezargues wines
 

 Vin-de-pays-du-Jardin-de-la-France - Marc Ollivier - Domaine de la Pépière - Cabernet
2005 - 4 € - bell pepper - green bell pepper, fresh, the incomplete grape maturity is similar to that of the Mouton Cadet 2004 which you will prefer if you need wine to impact your palate

Where to purchase Ollivier wines
 

 Vin-de-pays-du-Jardin-de-la-France - A.Michel Brégeon - Cabernet
2002 - 4.2 € - on the nose red fruit and yellow bell pepper dominate - red fruit and red bell pepper, dense, firm

Where to purchase Bregeon wines
 

 Côtes-du-rhône - SCA les Vignerons d'Estézargues - Le Pape noir
2006 - 5.3 € - serve at a cool temperature, no vanilla, nor tar, nor stewed fruit, nor smokedness - blackcurrant - blackcurrant or blackberry, does not dry the mouth, round : little structure or acidity

Where to purchase Les Vignerons d Estezargues wines
 

 Côtes-de-provence - Richard Martel - La Garnaude - Olympe
2003 - 5.5 € - red fruit scrambled by conventional winemaking - blackcurrant, roastbeef, fresh - aromatic, blackcurrant, roastbeef, moss, not dense, not very drying, balanced, less intense than the Olympe 2002 tasted at the same age
06140 Tourrettes-sur-Loup, 8 r Bourgade, Cave de Tourrettes, M.Orta, tél : 04 93 24 10 12
 

 Vin-de-pays-de-l'Ardèche - Jérôme Jouret - Domaine Les Clapas - Pas à pas - [80%] carignan, [20%] alicante
2006 - 6.3 € - shows a great aromatic intensity even if served slightly fresh - a nose of black fruit, with a note of roastbeef and a hint of thyme - black fruit, neither heavy nor aggressive, but firm (too bad it is sometimes corked!)

Where to purchase Domaine Les Clapas wines
 

 Vin-de-pays-des-collines-rhodaniennes - Jamet - Syrah
2005 - 7.5 € - I love Syrah with such a varietal character ! - black chocolate, flower, blackcurrant, toasted loafbread - blackcurrant, juicy, much alcohol, balanced - blackcurrant - similar to the Jamet 2004 tasted at the same age

Where to purchase Jamet wines
 

 Morgon - Geneviève et Jean-Claude Chanudet - Domaine J. Chamonard - [gamay]
2005 - 10 € - intense blackcurrant, a note of roastbeef, candied fruit - onctuous, intense blackcurrant, a note of roastbeef, there is no banana but the candied fruit typical of a wine that has not encountered sulfites, easy but firm - drink now and every month for the next ten years!

Where to purchase Chamonard wines
 
 

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