French Wine Gift - Unique Wines from Independent French Growers

Wine of the Month: September 2004

The descriptions found below are the ones you will find with your monthly shipment of two bottles of fine wine from the French Wine Club.

Red: Merlot d’Hauterive 2002

Throughout 1981 and 1982, a stream of decrees flowed from Paris, signed by the Minister of Agriculture, setting out the regulations for a newly coined “vin de pays”. The object was to give pride to a local production that had no identity. Since that time, the junior ranks of French country wine have undergone nothing short of a revolution.

The Aude region is located near the Spanish border, on the Pyrénées Orientales side. It used to be populated with vineyards that were producing wines to be blended for regular consumption. They were mainly planted with Grenache, which seldom gives great wines by itself. The introduction of new grapes such as Merlot proved to be a success for its producer Guilhem Durand.

This Merlot d’Hauterive jumps at you from the glass with a bouquet of spice-laden blackberries, garrigue, and black raspberries. This beauty is loaded with flavor. It's a fruit-rich, generously embracing wine that’s not filtered to retain most of the tannins. To be enjoyed over the next three years.

To order, click here: Bottle ($14.75), Case ($141.60).

White: Domaine des Cassagnoles, Cuvée Gros Manseng 2003

Gros Manseng is a grape used in the production of the famous Jurançon. It is found in the South Western part of France, where it is often blended with Colombard and Ugny blanc. Gilles Baumann has been producing this 100% Gros Manseng successfully since 1997. To be enjoyed while still young, it is a fragrant and fruity wine that hits all the taste buds. This is a powerhouse wine, offering lots of honeyed, citrusy fruit, an onctuous texture, and a surprising elegance and length. It possesses the texture of a white Burgundy, yet with decidedly non-Burgundian flavors. It also offers a good terroir character.

Serve it with full-flavored fish or poultry dishes.

To order, click here: Bottle ($14.75), Case ($141.60).

Previous Wine of the Month Selections:

August 2004:
Red: Domaine du Sacré-Coeur, St-Chinian 2000
White: Domaine de la Bachellery, Vin de Pays d'Oc 2003

July 2004:
Red: Shiraz 2002 Laurent Miquel Nord-Sud
White: Viognier 2003 Laurent Miquel Nord-Sud

June 2004:
Red: Clos de L'Escandil 1999, Minervois La Livinière
White: Domaine Lalanne 2002, Vin de Pays des Côtes de Gascogne

May 2004:
Red: Les Domaines Paul Mas “Vignes de Nicole” - Cabernet Sauvignon-Syrah 2001
White: Les Domaines Paul Mas “Vignes de Nicole” - Chardonnay-Viognier 2002

April 2004:
Red: Cuvée de Pena 2001
White: Vin de Pays de l'Aude: La Noble

March 2004:
Red: Côte Chalonnaise 1999
White: Domaine Schlumberger, Pinot Blanc 2002

February 2004:
Red: Château la Bastide, Cabardes, 1999
White: Domaine de Rieux 2002

January 2004:
Red: Julienas 2001
White: Domaine de Molines 1999, Vin de Pays du Gard

December 2003:
Red: Château Castegens, Côtes de Castillon 1998
White: Domaine de Molines 1999, Vin de Pays du Gard

November 2003:
Red: Moulin d'Eole Costières de Nîmes 2001 (Languedoc-Roussillon)
White: Vouvray 1999, Domaine du Clos de l’Epinay, Cuvée Marcus (Loire Valley)

October 2003:
Red: Domaine du Vieux Chêne, Cuvée des Capucines, Côtes du Rhone 2001
White: Ile La Forge, Viognier 2002, Languedoc-Roussillon

September 2003:
Red: Château Reysson 1998, Cru Bourgeois Haut-Médoc
White: Château les Tuileries 2002

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