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WTN: Cheap shite (Cahors, Fitou, Fronton, etc.)

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Saina

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WTN: Cheap shite (Cahors, Fitou, Fronton, etc.)

by Saina » Fri Nov 10, 2006 5:01 pm

I recently tasted some nice wines from the Southern half of France. Mostly pretty forgettable, if well made wines, but there were a couple wines I'd gladly buy a couple bottles of. Especially the Frontons made a good impression with their mineral rosés.

Cahors

Domaine de Cause Tradition 2004

80% Malbec, 20% Merlot. A nice enough, fruity and moderately tannic wine. Fun, but nothing serious.

Domaine de Cause El Doméni 2004

100% Malbec. A very interesting wine: meaty, bloody, big, structured. Not something I'd necessarily want to buy, but I'm glad to have tasted it as it tastes like Malbec.

Domaine de Cause Dame des Champs 2002

100% Malbec. Disgustingly oaky. Spoofulated. Yuck.


Fitou

Chateau de Nouvelles Fitou Cuvée St. Martin 2003

Carignan 50%, Grenache Noir 30%, Syarah 20%. Peppery and very sweet nose, deep but frankly quite boring.

Chateau de Nouvelles Fitou Cuvée Augusta 2001

Dirty, sweaty. Smells like a bad home-made wine.

Chateau de Nouvelles Rivesaltes Ambré 1996

What a lovely wine! An oxidised, nutty nose, a bit Palo Cortadoish with it rancio but a touch sweeter. The palate is very sweet, not quite acidic enough, but adequate. Nice!


Fronton

Cave de Fronton VdP Académia Rouge 2005

60% Negrette + Cab F & S + Syrah. Ripe, but very savoury, herbal, sweet. The palate is light and acidic, savoury and fun to drink.

Cave de Fronton Exc. du Comté de Negrét Rouge 2003

60% Negrette, 30% Cab F, 10% Syrah. Full bodied and fruit forward as expected for the year, but not overly ripe. Also has a touch of shite. Leafy and savoury palate. Nice!

Cave de Fronton Cap de Bel Rouge 2003

Same blend as above. Nice stuff, really deep and lovable nose of shite, vegetation, herbs. It is sweetly fruity but not flawed like so many 2003s are, with fine acidity and herbal notes. Very nice.

Cave de Fronton Haut-Capitole Rouge 2001

Disgusting megaspoof.

Terreo Malbec Rouge Vin du Pay du Lot 2004

Meaty and red toned, earthy and vegetal. Good acidity. Nice, but the Malbec rosé is better.

Cave de Fronton VdP Académia Rosé 2005

Negrette, Gamay, Cab F. Fun. Yum.

Cave de Fronton Exc. du Comté Negrét Rosé 2005

Even more fun, a touch of minerals add a bit of depth.

Cave de Fronton Haut-Capitole Rosé 2005

Vegetal, dry, fine acidity, a bit more serious than the above rosés.

Cave de Fronton Egoiste 2005

Cool looking bottle, but a bit of a soda-pop rosé. Some nice elements, but too sweet.

Terreo Malbec Rosé Vin du Pay du Lot NV

Bloody brilliant stuff! Shitty, vegetal, mineral, earthy, rustic nose. The palate has fruit, but also high acidity and lots of rustic tastes. Lovely stuff!

Cave de Fronton VdP Académia Sauvignon-Muscadelle 2005

Boring, but well made. Grassy and acidic and fruity, but very forgettable.


Gaillac

Cave de Labastide de Levis VdP Leo & Co Rouge 2005

Duras, Braucol & Syrah. A light wine, primary and fruity. Refreshing.

Cave de Labastide de Levis Gaillac Eldorado 2003

Braucol, Cab S, Duras, Syrah. Dilly oak. Spoof. Yuck.

Cave de Labastide de Levis Gaillac Rouge 2004 Dominique Laporte

Nice, lightish, vegetal, savoury. It does see some oak, but it isn't intrusive. Nice.

Cave de Labastide de Levis Gaillac Labastide Blanc Sec D. Laporte 2005

Sauvignon, Len de L'El, Mauzac. A rather faint scent, grassy and citrussy but very pleasant. Good acidity, a little tart on the finish. Nice enough.

Cave de Labastide de Levis Gaillac Esprit Perlé 2005

Loin de l'oeil, Mauzac, Sauvignon. What a fun wine! Mineral nose, very slight sparkle, good fruit, ok acidity. A pity about the shortish finish, but at 8€ who cares.

Cave de Labastide de Levis Gaillac Esprit Brut

Loin de l'oeil, Mauzac. A little bit pleasantly funky nose. Nondescript palate. Very neutral.

Cave de Labastide de Levis Dominique Laporte Gaillac Doux 2002

Bright, lemony, sherbetty. Light palate, bright and elegant. Nice.


Irouléguy

Les Vignerons du Pays Basque Irouléguy Premia Rouge 2004

Smooth, ok acidity, ripe, simple and forgettable.

Les Vignerons du Pays Basque Irouléguy Domaine de Mignaberry Rouge 2003

Too oaky. Yuck.

Les Vignerons du Pays Basque Irouléguy Agri d'Ansa Rosé 2005

A very nice rosé, raspberryish and high in acid. Very Basque, very good.

Les Vignerons du Pays Basque Irouléguy Xuri Blanc Sec 2005

Very nice, funky, typically Basque salty and green yet lovable flavours - but unfortunately all that is under a wall of oak. Sigh. A waste of such lovely material.


Madiran

Domaine du Moulié Madiran 2001 Tradition

Very ripe nose - a bit spoofy though not oaky. The palate is tannic and has a nice salty mineral note.

Domaine du Moulié Madiran Cuvée Chiffre 2000

Tannat + Cab F. Vegetal, savoury red berries. Good fruit, but nice structure, salty but too low in acid.

Domaine du Moulié Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh doux "L" 2001

Strange, chemical funk. Flawed.

Domaine Labranche Laffont Madiran 2003 Tradition

Jammy. Salty. Odd. The year, I guess.

Domaine Labranche Laffont Madiran Vieilles Vignes 2003

Like above. Too low in acid.

Domaine Labranche Laffont Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh Sec 2005

The Mansengs. Bloody brilliant stuff: bright, acidic, lemony, deep yet pleasantly tart. But again, there is a touch of oak which detracts from my pleasure. Why do they go and spoil such obviously lovely wines with the bloody oak?


Minervois

Domaine de la Tour Boisée Minervois Rouge 2005

I've never understood Grenache, but this seems primary and with pleasant depth. I guess if this is your thing, then the 8,7€ / bottle is good value.

Domaine de la Tour Boisée Minervois Tour Boisée à Mariella et Fréderique

More savoury than the above, but also unfortunately more extract making it a bit clumsy. Ok, I suppose. I don't get it.

Domaine de la Tour Boisée Minervois Tour Boisée à Marie-Claude 2003

Too thick, too extracted, confected. Though they mention that it is 12m in oak, the oak at least isn't too obvious. Everything else is over the top, however.

Domaine de la Tour Boisée Minervois Rosé 2005

Sickeningly sweet nose. Dry palate, but unsniffable.

Domaine de la Tour Boisée Minervois Blanc Sec 2005

Marsanne, Roussanne, Vermentino, Maccabeu, Muscat. Bloody brilliant stuff! A nose of mineral water and very ripe melon. The palate is very sweetly fruity, but with adequate acidity though I guess this area isn't known for its acid-high whites. I love this. The minerality is all-pervading and isn't at all hidden underneath the fruit.

Domaine de la Tour Boisée Minervois Blanc Sec 2002

An oaky version of the previous. Yuck. Absolutely vile marsipan. Too soft. Too acidless. Balanceless.


1èr Côtes de Bordeaux

Château Brethous 2000

Nice, leafy, savoury nose, not too ripe. Very nice and fresh - until the finish which is much too short.

Château Brethous Cuvée Prestige 2003

Vile oak. Short. Hot.

Clairet de Château Brethous 2005

Sweet nose, not acidic enough palate.


Domaine Camin Larredya Jurancon Costes Darrer 2004 Doux

The Mansengs. 50 g/l RS. Fresh, bright fruit. Good acid, maybe a bit too extracted, but the brightness keeps it all together. Nice, lighter sweetie.

-O-
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Re: WTN: Cheap shite (Cahors, Fitou, Fronton, etc.)

by Carl Eppig » Fri Nov 10, 2006 10:00 pm

Thanks Otto. Very interesting.
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Re: WTN: Cheap shite (Cahors, Fitou, Fronton, etc.)

by Bill Hooper » Sat Nov 11, 2006 11:27 pm

Otto,

Tour Boisee makes an amazingly good Marsanne/Maccabeu/Muscat de Petite Grain Minervois Blanc under the Marie Claude designation. The damn things age for years. Although a few notches down the quality pole, for me it's been a nice cheap alternative to Lopez de Heredia and dare I say Musar Blanc in the sherried, maderized, oxidative tradition. They also make a bizarre 23 grape cuvee called 'Plantation 1905'. But like you pointed out, Tour Boisee is into international blockbuster-style reds throughout most of the range. It is difficult to find a house style with them. They go from traditional to international in the blink of an eye.



Prost!
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Re: WTN: Cheap shite (Cahors, Fitou, Fronton, etc.)

by Saina » Sun Nov 12, 2006 11:07 am

Bill, I think we had a chat about the 1905 sometime in the past. It really sounded interesting. Unfortunately that wasn't on show and also unfortunately apart from the unoaked white, these just weren't to my taste.

But as a whole it was so much fun to taste wines from areas that aren't all that well known but where the technical quality is very high. It was a shame to see that spoofulatory practices have been adopted in these areas, though. I suppose it's an inevitable trend.
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Re: WTN: Cheap shite (Cahors, Fitou, Fronton, etc.)

by Dave Erickson » Mon Nov 13, 2006 10:32 am

When you call Cahors "cheap shite" you're walkin' on the fightin' side of me. :evil:
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Re: WTN: Cheap shite (Cahors, Fitou, Fronton, etc.)

by Saina » Mon Nov 13, 2006 3:34 pm

Dave Erickson wrote:When you call Cahors "cheap shite" you're walkin' on the fightin' side of me. :evil:


Oi! I happen to like cheap shite. A hefty dose of dung in my glass is always a bonus, and I don't usually want to spend a fortune on wine.
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Re: WTN: Cheap shite (Cahors, Fitou, Fronton, etc.)

by James Dietz » Mon Nov 13, 2006 4:37 pm

And gobs of the shite!!!

Over what time period were these consumed? One hopes not at one sitting.... :lol:
Cheers, Jim
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Re: WTN: Cheap shite (Cahors, Fitou, Fronton, etc.)

by Dave Erickson » Mon Nov 13, 2006 7:40 pm

James Dietz wrote:And gobs of the shite!!!

Over what time period were these consumed? One hopes not at one sitting.... :lol:


He said "tasted." That's different. It involves spitting, etc. Well, it can, anyway. :D

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