OK, so every once in a while a wine comes along that you see in the shops and think - well that looks interesting but it costs far too little money to be any good - fotunately I'd been given the heads up by someone over on the wine pages forum (www.wine-pages.co.uk) that this was definately worth a try - and given it's from the Languedoc, and has a blend of grapes I really like I took the (oh so expensive!!) plunge. Costing just £3.49 - that's right £3.49 - what can you get for that these days - well for that money you can buy this and... that's about it - so what's it like?
The colour is promisingly full, purple with a deep core, the aroma is stunning - if you're going to mark a wines aroma I'd give this 88-91 it really is that lovely - brambles, leather spice, plums a touch of thyme or rosemary in a wine that is beginning to show it's true potential. The palate is, to be fair a little disapointing after the nose - but remember this cost £3.49 it isn't going to be as good as a Lafite or a Latour (although to be fair I have had a 1st growth that have been worse than this). The flavours are still good and interesting, good tannin levels and a nice acidity with flavours of plum, brambles and bitter chocolate - it really is exceptional value for money and my recommendation to take to someone elses house, open it as a treasured bottle and see what they say! My guess is that a significant portion of them will give it the thumbs up and decide it's a lot more expensive than it really is - but I could be wrong there's no accounting for taste!
2 comments:
Dispite the cases of the 2003 vintage on the shop floors, some smaller stores still have the 2001 on the shelves. This is aging fast, but the extra bottle age makes it even better value for money if you can find some and plan to drink it soon.
Hi everyone,
I am posting this from Sapporo, Japan where my palette has finally given up on Sake and Sho-chu. Wonderful though this cuisine is, raw pike fish and sea urchin don't lend themselves to earthy red wines from southwest France, my current viticultural fetish. With my taste buds screaming for grenache, I legged it to the local Mitsukoshi food hall and then onto the well stocked wine department replete with aged expensive bottles of red Burgundy and Bordeaux. Needless to say, the prices were insanely high but it was somehow comforting just to be surrounded by some familiar labels. When I came across the 'La Cuvee Mythique' I thought it was too gimmicky to take seriously, but the price left me with no choice. I picked up a little cheese and fled back to my hotel room. Right now, I'm sitting back in disbelief, gazing at this plump, aromatic succulent beauty. Yes, the nose is exactly as described in the other post and I love the taste and mouthfeel. Brambles, leather, garrigue and sour cherry. The finish is really impressive and I think this wine can be enjoyed alone or as a characterful accompaniment to a wide variety of different foods. An extraordinary bargain!
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