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WTN: Decent enough Pays d'Oc Pinot Noir

PostPosted: Fri Dec 14, 2012 3:54 pm
by Hoke
Nothing earthshaking. Nothing phenomenal. But nice to know they can make decent-drinking Pinot Noir, even in the Languedoc.

Excerpted from a recent article:

La Châsse is a brand of wines from the Pays d’Oc of Languedoc-Roussillon, along with selections from the Rhone Valley, created by the Gigondas-based Maison Gabriel Meffre. Although headquartered in the Rhone, Meffre has a long and cordial relationship with the wines of the Pays d’Oc through two other familiar labels, Fat Bastard and Wild Pig.

This Pinot Noir is sturdy, with plenty of ripe black cherry fruit, favors ripeness over earthiness, but has enough body and acid and tannic edge that it has some structure and depth to it. It’s discernibly Pinot Noir, a far cry from some of the early wines from this area that were thin and watery and lacking in character.

As a house Pinot or carafe wine it would serve admirably; and at an average retail price point of $11-12 the attraction increases. This price puts it in the category of “supermarket wines,” a term used by self-appointed wine connoisseurs. Gee, wines in a supermarket, priced affordably for everyday consumption, immediately drinkable, decent value, and popular, all from the same place where I buy the foods I eat on a daily basis. How practical.

Re: WTN: Decent enough Pays d'Oc Pinot Noir

PostPosted: Fri Dec 14, 2012 4:43 pm
by ChaimShraga
Hoke wrote:nice to know they can make decent-drinking Pinot Noir, even in the Languedoc.


:D

Re: WTN: Decent enough Pays d'Oc Pinot Noir

PostPosted: Fri Dec 14, 2012 9:02 pm
by Hoke
ChaimShraga wrote:
Hoke wrote:nice to know they can make decent-drinking Pinot Noir, even in the Languedoc.


:D


Yeah, whoda thunk it, Chaim? :?

Re: WTN: Decent enough Pays d'Oc Pinot Noir

PostPosted: Sat Dec 15, 2012 6:08 am
by Tim York
Hoke wrote:
ChaimShraga wrote:
Hoke wrote:nice to know they can make decent-drinking Pinot Noir, even in the Languedoc.


:D


Yeah, whoda thunk it, Chaim? :?


A surprise to me too. I have discovered decent+ Chardonnay in Languedoc, from Domaine Mouscaillo at Limoux to be precise. It benefits from an exposed site in the hills and is surprisingly fresh and mineral.

This price puts it in the category of “supermarket wines,” a term used by self-appointed wine connoisseurs. Gee, wines in a supermarket, priced affordably for everyday consumption, immediately drinkable, decent value, and popular, all from the same place where I buy the foods I eat on a daily basis. How practical.


Over here, the vast majority of wine is bought in supermarkets, somewhere around 80%. It's a matter of lucky dip whether one hits a good one. There are some "independent experts" writing up some of these wines in the media but I have yet to discover a hit/miss ratio from them superior to 50% :( .

Re: WTN: Decent enough Pays d'Oc Pinot Noir

PostPosted: Sat Dec 15, 2012 12:32 pm
by Hoke
It's actually the first PN from Oc I've had that passed the taste test...tasted like PN, not fruity, washed out koolaid, and had good character and body.

Not profound, no. But decent. So I passed a glass to one of the most honest and exacting critics I know: my wife. She happily consumed the rest of the bottle.

Wholeheartedly agree that the focus in the Pays d'Oc should be on varieties other than PN, but this isn't a bad effort for the price.

And supermarkets/big box stores sell the vast majority of wines in this country as well, Tim.