I skipped over the French appellation of Marcillac in my review of South West France due to limited availability - the SAQ site lists just two wines in the whole province. But this Marcillac comes via NYC, as I recently hooked up with Lyle Fass of Rockss and Fruit for a "wine exchange" - two German whites from Montreal in exchange for whatever Lyle thought I might like.Marcillac is a small appellation that lies east of Cahors. The appellation is dominated by red wine, and these wines much contain at least 80% of the local variety Fer Servadou (aka Mansois, Braucol).
The 2004 Domaine du Cros "Cuvee Vielles Vignes" exhibited a vegetal nose, with white pepper, blackberry fruit, meat, old leather, damp forest undergrowth and tarry/smokey aromas as well. Extremely impressive on the palate - beautifully textured with a soft, velvety mouthfeel and good acidity, an incredibly long finish. Lyle referred to this wine as "refined rusticity" and I heartily agree, but my wife simply exclaimed "Mmm, I like that!" - no better compliment that that. I highly recommend this wine to lovers of Loire reds. A wine to buy by the case, I wish I had a few more bottles...
cork. 12.5% alcohol
Score: 17/20
Price: gift
Check Lyle's review here, many thanks for this one.
cork. 12.5% alcohol
Score: 17/20
Price: gift
Check Lyle's review here, many thanks for this one.
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6 comments:
Great wine, Joe. Glad you had the chance to try it. Look out for Teulier's basic cuvee called "Lo Sang del Païs," a little simpler than the VV but just as tasty and an absolutely tremendous value. I think you caught it the first time around but you may enjoy revisiting my write-up on the wines and the estate from last year here.
Hi David - thanks for jogging my memory on your write up. The Lo Sang is available here for C$15, tax in. I will rush out and pick some up tomorrow. Cheers!
Glad you liked it. Just catching up in the blogosphere.
Hi Lyle - welcome back. I've been travelling and away from the blogs as well. Thanks once again, I went out and bought the Lo Sang recently to follow up on this line of thought....
If you like these wines, try the Marcillac Cuvee Peirafi from Domaine Le Vieux Porche - incredible with confit de canard on a bed of puy lentils
Hi Paul - just a hunch, but I bet that Vieux Porche is rare? It is not available here in Quebec - the only Marcillac available other than du Cros' Lo Sang is the Cuvee Lairis (Jean-Luc Matha, I believe) - have you ever tried that one?
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