2006 Chateau de Luc Cuvee Cecile

Region: Corbieres
Country: France
Alcohol: 13%
Price: €3,99
Closure: Cork

Corbieres is located in the Languedoc region one of France largest wine regions producing a quarter of all French wine. In general it is a largely underrated region producing primarily red wines (around 90% are in fact red wines). The region has a history of producing wines that could best be decribed as quite rustic. However, over the past 5-10 years many producers in this region have been focusing on inproving the quality of the wines, and improving the sense of place (or terroir) in the wines.

The region has around 4285 ha. under vine with the allowed grapes for red and rose: carignan, grenache, mourvedre, syrah, cinsaut and for the whites: clairette, grenache blanc, bourboulenc, ugni blanc, roussanne, rolle, maccabéo and marsanne. The maximum production is 60 hl. per ha.

This wine is the Cuvee Cecile which is a blend of Carigan (45%), Syrah (20%), Grenache (20%) and Cinsault (20%). This is quite typical of Corbieres where the majority of the grapes grown (around 50%) are in fact Carignan. Here is my tasting note:

Purple almost maroon in colour. A very attractive nose with cherry and bramble. Full, round and soft on the palate with good mouthfeel. Ripe red berry fruit; cherries and red berries with a little caramel-like oak influence. Some spice in there too. The tannins are very soft and well integrated. An elegant, and very nice quaffer especially if you consider the price.