Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Chateau d'Angles La Clape Languedoc Classique, 2007

After spending eight years as the winemaker at Chateau Lafitte Rothschild, Eric Fabre chased a dream by buying his own vineyards on the Mediterranean coast. The romantic attraction of the landscape was undoubtedly part of the attraction but, on the chateau's web site, he cites the "potential of the soil, the climate and the grape varieties favoured locally." He clearly has serious intentions about the Languedoc wine that he will be producing there.

Languedoc reds use the same grapes used in the Southern Rhone. For this wine, it's 50% Syrah, 30% Grenache and 20% Mourvedre, and the wine definitely has more structure than the typical Grenache-heavy Cotes du Rhone. Deep, fairly dark ruby. Mostly black fruit tones with purple flowers. Has gamey smells that remind me a bit of a young Bois du Boursan (Chateauneuf du Pape) but without the elegance, of course. Tannins are a bit rough  at this stage, but the label advises drinking within the first years. I don't find anything promising enough to reward keeping.

 

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