Master Of Wine, Five Wines You Should Know

Today's video will cover five overlooked wines from southwest France. Three of the five can be found at Total Wine and More. Good examples can also be found through specialty retailers along with availability on the international market. These are some of the most interesting and compelling wines coming out of all of France and my guess is you're probably not giving these the attention that they deserve. The focus here is on the part of France that is east and south of west of Languedoc-Roussillon and north of the border with Spain up against the Pyrenees. It's not one single prominent region but rather a patchwork of many different wines that are distinctively unique from one another. The first wine up comes from Dordogne. This region is east and south of Bordeaux. This one is rather straightforward and easy to understand as wines are made from many of the same grape varieties found in Bordeaux. In this case, the wine is made from 60% Sauvignon Blanc, 20% Semillon, and 20% Muscadel. It comes out of stainless steel. It sees no time in oak. It's a short-lived wine, best within a few years of the vintage. I picked it up at Total Wine for $16.99. That's before any discount. Very pale appearance with a slight greenish tinge. This is a wine that is built entirely on the primary fruit character, citrus. There's a melon note here reminiscent of honeydew. That floral component from the Muscadel is quite evident. It's a bit of a springtime white flower character but nice intensity, good purity, smells really nice. On the palate, again, that primary fruit character is really what shows through. The acidity is quite lifted, very typical for this sort of wine. This has zero oak to it. I mean zip, zero, nil. It's all out of stainless steel. And again, this is to retain that bright fresh character. The alcohol on this wine is 12.5 and that's actually a little bit lower than many of the recent vintages. 2023 for Bordeaux and neighboring Bergerac, a bit more of a classic or cooler vintage. And the alcohol levels tend to be a little bit lower. Nice length on the back palate. It's a simple wine but it has good purity to it. It's put together very well. Now if you're a fan of New World Sauvignon Blanc, this could be a very good option. It's also a bit reminiscent of Entre du Mer in Bordeaux. So if you're a fan of that, it'll give you a good idea of what to expect here. If you've not yet subscribed to my channel, please do it right now. Hit the like button. Definitely hit that notification bell. Share with your like-minded wine friends. And if hype is an option, please hit that as well. All these things help to get my videos out to a broader audience. It's much appreciated. Girosone is home to some of the most distinctive wines in all of France. 2023, Domaine de Cinq, Sensations made from Gros Monsaigne, Petit Monsaigne, and Petit Corbeau. This is a white wine only appellation. This is a dry version. Some interesting sweet examples are produced as well. This will be the most difficult wine to find in today's video. If you can't find this specific wine, look for others labeled Girosone Cinq. The price on this bottle is around $25. Golden yellow color with medium depth. This shows an intensity and freshness. Lemon, lime, tangerine. A bit of a tropical character. While the previous wine was subtle and understated, this has more of an overt expressive character. And that carries through to the palate. Good purity on that fruit character. Highlighted by citrus notes. The acidity is quite high. Typical of wines from this region. Checks in at 13.5 Again, quite typical for this region. There are oaked and unoaked versions. My preference is the unoaked. I think it just shows more freshness and more vitality to it, and that's my preference. Very good length on the back palate. Interesting wine from start to finish. As I mentioned, this will not be the easiest to find. Search out other examples. It's definitely worth a look. For a wine tasting or a dinner party, if you're looking for something a bit different, this is a perfect option. The next wine is from Aruligui, located in the far southwest part of France, in the foothills of the Pyrenees, along the Spanish border and not all that far from the Atlantic Ocean. 2022. Domaine Elaria, made from Tannant and Cabernet Franc. Aged for over one year in an older French oak to soften the wine up. This region is experiencing a revival in recent years. I picked it up at K&L Wine Merchants for $32.99. Medium deep red color, well-extracted appearance, with very good clarity. This region has only about 40 wine producing domains. Much of the volume comes from cooperatives, which is very common in many places in Europe. As for the aroma, serious wow factor here. Fantastic aroma. There's a dark cherry characteristic, good purity, nice intensity. This smells great. And that good story carries through to the palate. Ripe, weighty, dense, very robust. There's nothing heavy, clumsy, out of balance about this, but the wine has a good amount of density. Very full on the palate. The oak character is quite underlying. That dark fruit, dark cherry characteristic is quite evident. Good length on the back palate. There's certainly some tannins here, and this wine I think would benefit from some aeration, certainly some bottle time. I think the wine could easily age another five or six years. This is an absolute beauty. This is definitely worth searching out. Good chance I'll be drinking this later tonight. Mataron is in the rolling foothills of the Pyrenees. It's a place that's synonymous with Tannant. This is the oldest wine in today's video, 2018 Domaine de Mouly. This wine is aged over 12 months in oak. The wines are meant for cellaring. I picked it up at Total Wine for $17.99. That's before any discounts. Quite deep at the core, with some fade at the edge of the glass. So we're at the point where Tannant really does shine, and I recall going back 40 plus years ago, the first time I had Mataron. It was a crazy experience. The wine was so dense, so full, so concentrated, high in acidity, and very tannic. It felt like you could stand a spoon up in the glass. Now the wine style has changed over the years. It's still dense, very full. It's a bit more accessible than what it used to be. As for the aroma, this is red raspberry. There's nice purity, good density to it. You can tell the wine has some bottle age. It's not full-on tertiary characteristics, but it's starting to show those signs that it's been in bottle for a period of time. On the palate, full, dense, very robust, nice concentration to it. The balance and structure is very good, but it's kind of a hard structure. It's not one of these easily accessible styles of wine. It takes a little bit of work. This is a wine that needs some aeration. Ideally, it needs some time to age. This is a wine that could easily go 10 years or so from the vintage. I like it. I think the wine is very typical of its place of origin. It shows a lot of style, a lot of class. It's interesting, and it's a wine that you want to drink with some really robust, full-style dishes. Next, we're off to what is broadly considered the homeland of Malbec. Govor is a couple of hour drive outside of Bordeaux. 2019, Chateau de Marques. This is predominantly Malbec. This example is 85%, along with 15% Merlot, aged in oak. I picked this wine up at Total Wine for $32.99. That's before any discounts. Very good color with a purple tinge. Very typical of Malbec-based wines. Historically, this has been known as the black wine because of the density and full structure of it. In recent years, the style has changed a little bit. It's more accessible, but the wine still has ample depth and weight. As for the aroma, there's a plumb and blackberry character, very typical of what you'll find in Malbec-based wines. There's also a bit of a dried herb note, but nice intensity, good purity. This smells very good. On the palate, very dense, full, concentrated, well-structured. That black fruit character shows through. The oak is more of an underlying component, and this wine is built to age. I actually think it's drinking quite well at the present time. This could easily go another five years or so. I think this is an absolutely beautifully rendered Govor. Now, as for comparing this to Malbec from Argentina, it's a bit of a night and day difference, especially if you're buying more the broad market commercial Malbec from Argentina. It tends to be much more fruit forward, softer style. If you've had any from high elevation sites in Argentina, it gives you a little bit of an idea of what to expect with this wine. But if you're a Malbec fan and you're looking to expand your base a little bit, this would be an outstanding option. Not sure what's going on here. I feel like I'm having a bad hair day, but there was certainly some outstanding wines in today's video. I hope there was something here that caught your interest. If you have any questions or comments, post it down below. I do my very best to follow up on each and every one. I'll be drinking something interesting tonight. I hope you are as well. Please stop back again before too long. Cheers!