Monday, July 19, 2010

Today's Random Wine: 2009 Grande Reserve De Gassac

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.

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