French red wine values tasted in 2005

The selected French bottlings have given me much pleasure for the price. I have purchased them again for personal consumption. Featured values include Navarre and 9 Languedocs.

This page skips the tasting notes of the wines that are not imported into the USA. The complete page of french wine values can be found here.
 

The below wines were tasted in France, in 2005 (between April and December).
 

 Vin-de-pays-d'oc - les Chais Beaucairois - [image de soleil sur l'étiquette] - Cabernet sauvignon

2004 - USD 5.9 - basic CS, no trace of oak barrel - green pepper dominates the scent - green pepper, blackcurrant, balanced acidity - notice that the wine tastes the same on Day 2

Ed, filiale de Carrefour

 Vin-de-table-de-france - Jean-Marie Rimbert - Cousin Oscar on se l'arrache

[2004] - USD 10 - a scent of strawberry - in the palate the wine shows red fruit, fat, an eager body which reminds of Corbières next door, balanced acidity, alcohol is very well integrated, much better supported than by Domaine du Vieux Colombier 2001 - notice that the wine stays cheerful if kept in the fridge for a few days, you will only lose little cohesiveness

 Vin-de-pays-des-Coteaux-de-l'Ardèche - Vignerons Ardéchois - Syrah

2004 - USD 11 - red fruit on the nose and on the palate, easy-going

 Minervois - Château Sainte Eulalie - Tradition

2001 - USD 11 - clear and clean - scents of black fruit, a burnt hint - silky, black fruit, less fresh than Le Lazouzil 2002 - notice that the wine loses some verve between Day 1 and Day 2

Château Sainte Eulalie

 Côtes-du-rhône - Domaine du Vieux Colombier

2001 - USD 12 - no fuss, the ideal Côtes-du-rhône - fruit - (juicy but not smashing) fruit, solid, broad, balanced acidity, alcohol dominates fruit

Barrière, ham Colombiers, 485 chemin du Pigeonnier, 30200 Sabran, tél : +33 (0) 4 66 89 98 94

 Saint-chinian - Jean-Marie Rimbert - Les Travers de Marceau - (cinsault, syrah, mourvèdre, carignan)

2004 - USD 14 - it's all about fruit flavour, this wine is clearly more intense than Cousin Oscar - the nose is intense with a red fruit specific to a low-temperature fermentation (it makes me think of blackberry sorbet), garrigue - concentrated, red fruit, garrigue, silky from entry to exit, less fat than Cousin Oscar, balanced acidity, no bitterness - long, with nougat and blackcurrant

 Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes - La Préceptorie - La Chapelle de Centernach

2002 - USD 16 - a nose of oak and blackberry - onctuous, silky, with a sensation of very little grains on the tongue, fresh, concentrated but less so than other bottlings by the same estate

 Fleurie - Alain Coudert - Clos de la Roilette

2002 - USD 19 - blackcurrant - raspberry, a cardboard undertone (which comes with the freshness), structured but not particularly dense, dries the tongue, bright: intense and fresh

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