One of the amusing games you can play with French wines is trying to interpret the labels without the aid of a guide or inside knowledge. For example, the label on tonight's bottle bears the following phrases:
- Grande Réserve De Gassac
- Sélection Famille Guibert
- Vin De Pays De L'Hérault
- Par Cave de l'Ormarine GAG
- 2009
- Red Languedoc Wine
If I wanted to tell someone what I'm drinking this evening what's the canonical way to go about doing so? Here's how
CellarTracker breaks it down:
- Grande Réserve De Gassac: Producer
- Cave de l'Ormarine, Famille Guibert: Vineyard
- Vin de Pays de l'Hérault: Appellation
- Red Languedoc Wine: Varietal
So, according to them, the canonical name for this wine is something like "2009 Grande Réserve De Gassac Vin de Pays de l'Hérault". Which seems to be about right; Googling "2009 Grande Réserve De Gassac" primarily turns up references to this and other wines from the same estate.
Now, of course, on to the most important question: How is it? Pretty good, but not stellar. Here's the notes:
- Color: Dark red bordering on purple.
- Boquet: Almost non-existent, though I'm congested so my sniffer might be off this evening.
- Mouth feel: Soft, chewy, good body.
- Taste: Pleasantly tannic
This is definitely a bottle I'd crack open with friends over a good steak.
