Domaine Charvin Vin De Pays De La Principaute D’orange 2005
Here’s the scenario : I’ve just bought two 90% lean beef patties for hamburgers (with swiss cheese, grilled onion and tomato). I go into the wine shop with the goal of finding a suitable red to go with my burgers. I’m thinking Cotes-du-Rhone, maybe even be a little adventurous and go for a Californian Rhone Ranger. Essentially, I’m looking for : red, earthy, with black pepper notes, a medium acidity to fight the 10 percent fat and enough tannins to foil the protein — but not so much that it’s overbearing.
Going through the Cotes du Rhones, I came upon this bottle — which doesn’t make clear what it is, other than a VDP (Vins de Pays). The winery – Charvin – is a relatively unknown (among pedestrian wine buyers) but well-respected producer of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, and is imported by Weygandt-Metzler — who in my experience has been reliable when it comes to price-to-value ratio. Suffice to say, I was not disappointed.
This wine’s nose emits a lot of black pepper, wet earth, and ripe black fruit — cassis, plum. In the mouth it has a surprising amount of jammy blackberry and plum fruit upfront, which is soon joined by spicy black pepper, earthy tobacco, tar, and the slightest hint of anise (makes sense; I found out later it was a Merlot – Grenache blend). Good acidity makes for easy food matching, and supple, firm tannins keep everything together. Alcohol is medium-high, but appropriate for the fruit ; there is no sense of hotness. The finish has good black fruit and drying tannins. It may be too dry and tannic to drink alone, but is absolutely perfect for food. Drink it with burgers – as I did – or have it with a piece of cheese, grilled beef, roasts, sausage. At about twelve bucks, it’s a very good value.
a-7 t-7 b-8 fc-10 v-9 ~ 91 Points
Importer : Weygandt-Metzler
You’d think this site became a pink wine blog …
Where did the summer go? It seems like it just arrived, and now it’s on the way out. Maybe I wouldn’t have realized it had I not seen banners and ads all over the place for Halloween … sheesh! However, the weather is still warm in most parts of the USA, and you can continue to enjoy the pink / rose wines that were released over the last few months. Thank goodness, too, because I have at least a half-dozen reviews of good roses that you can still find and will be fresh enough to enjoy for about another month or so.
Summer is the best time for drinking white and pink wines, but that doesn’t mean you should swear off reds completely. In fact, now is a good time to sample lighter reds that you might not consider during the braising and roasting seasons of autumn and winter.
In the summertime, I’m always on the lookout for a clean, quality Sauvignon Blanc under fifteen bucks. They’re around, but can take some time to find. Usually you’ll find such bargains from Chile or Argentina, and on occasion from New Zealand or South Africa. One good valued example is this Sauvignon from Drylands, which retails for about $14.99 (though some retailers may have it for a few dollars less).