French red wine values tasted in 2006

The selected vibrant bottlings have given me much pleasure for the price. I have purchased them again for personal consumption. Featured values include 4 bottlings from Provence and other summer reds.

The below wines were tasted in France, in 2006 (between April and December). The tasting notes are listed by increasing prices, with the following format:

Appellation – producer – plot or brand – variety

Approximate price — vintage — general impression – on nose – on palate – after swallowing

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

— 2004 — not flawed (but not impressive either), varietal: the aromas express cabernet sauvignon - yellow pepper and blackcurrant dominate the scent - yellow pepper and blackcurrant, plus a hint of Médoc: like when you cut ivy & you tear the vegetal carpet from the wall, balanced acidity - (be sure to try this wine with a barbecue, the taste is the same as when the wine was one year younger).

This wine is also available in bag in boxes in Norway.

Madiran — Denis Capmartin — Château Barréjat — ("Bag in Box" en poche de 5l)

3 € — [2003] — not very aromatic - very much fruit, balanced

Vin de pays des maures — Richard Martel - La Garnaude

— 2004 — red fruit on the nose - red fruit in the mouth, stuff, slightly more dilute than Olympe, balanced acidity

Vin de pays du Jardin de la France — A.Michel Brégeon — Cabernet

4 € — 2002 — red fruit, balanced acidity

Côtes du ventoux — Cressenton

— 2004 — red fruit - velvety, red fruit, a burned hint, dense but balanced

Vin de pays du var — Patrick Mourlan - Bastide des Oliviers

— 2005 — blackberry - blackberry, lively with a vegetable note (garrigue), firm balance

Madiran — Denis Capmartin - Château Barréjat — Tradition — [Tannat 60%, cabernet 40%]

5 € — 2003 — better than the later bottlings - blackberry dominates the nose - the wine tastes fruity (blackberry), its small grains dry the palate and the taste buds, with balance (does not show the roasted quality of the 2000 vintage tasted at the same age)

Côtes de provence — Richard Martel - La Garnaude — Olympe

— 2002 — blackcurrant on the nose - blackcurrant in the mouth, stuff, slightly denser than the Vin-de-pays, balanced

Corse calvi — Francisci — U Munticellu

7 € — 2002 — raspberry and spice on the nose - the mouth shows purity of fruit, spice, little density, balance

Côte roannaise — Lapandéry Paul & fils — [Gamay]

7 € — 2001 — loafbread, oxydized red fruit - oxydized red fruit, strawberry, balanced

Vin de pays des collines rhodaniennes — Jamet — Syrah

— 2004 — varietal: the aromas wonderfully express syrah - red fruit, violet flower - red fruit, violet flower, much less structure that an AOC (Côte-rôtie), juicy, balanced - similar to the 2005 vintage tasted at the same age

Gevrey chambertin — Domaine Jean-Marie Fourrier — aux Echézeaux

18 € — 2002 — sensual, this wine should overwhelm anybody (geek or not) - cherry, chocolate, toffee - toffee, Morello cherry, a note of vanilla, with balancing acidity [please open in advance and give it plenty of air]

Delivery of vibrant wine anywhere

In order to protect yourself and other people from Covid-19 coronavirus or other epidemics, you might prefer online stores over street stores. Here below are examples of using the search box at FrenchScout.com: