Friday, March 11, 2011

2008 Mas Lavail "Terre d'Ardoise" CARIGNANE "Vieilles Vignes" (VDP Cotes Catalanes, SW France)


A good, solid Carignane. Carignane, however, is a grape that never can achieve greatness. It's almost always going to have straightforward flavors, maybe a bit of coarseness, and usually a short finish. This one had those qualities, but minimized them, and was a good wine.

Dark black ruby color. Old-fashioned, earthy nose with lots of dark cherry and scorced earth mineral scents. Chunky, minerally cherry fruit on entry, but fades quickly in the mid-palate, only to linger, in reduced volume, in the finish. Rustic and inelegant, it's a solid old-style country red. Paired nicely with a baked ziti dish featuring a ground pork and tomato sauce. B-. Was $11.99 at Spec's on Weslayan. Imported by Robert Kacher.

(Sorry, 2007 depicted).

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