Carignan is widely looked down upon in France and abroad, with the Oxford Companion of Wine (3rd Ed) describing it as:
“Its wine is high in everything – acidity, tannins, colour, bitterness – but finesse and charm. This gives it the double inconvenience of being unsuitable for early consumption yet unworthy of maturation.”
Who could resist purchasing a bottle of carignan with that in mind? This particular wine, a 100% carignan, is from the Côtes Catalanes IGP. IGP means indication géographique protégée and is the term that is replacing vin de pays under French/EU wine law. Basically the wine is from the Roussillon region in the far south of France. It’s a deep intensity purple in colour, and has aromatics of spirit, violets, spice, red meat, blackberry and some volatile acidity. The palate is dry, full bodied and has a rustic expression of deli meats, spice, blackberry and a bitter finish. On the whole, it’s certainly better than expected, although most certainly rustic and probably a little over the odds at this price. Acceptable to Good
Abv: 14.5%
Price: $30
Vendors: Check http://www.wine-searcher.com/
Website: n/a
Region: Côtes Catalanes IGP
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| Source: Google Maps |
Drink with: rare meat
Tasted: 2013
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