If you are not a “hot shot” it is certainly possible to discover a quality wine at a proletarian price. I mean my friend the Penniless Pensioner would guzzle Chateau Latour with his Boulud Burger in Manhattan and think nothing of paying $1500 as “chump change” for a bottle of Bordeaux First Growth. With a reversal of fortunes, as temporary as it was, he needed my advice to downsize his palate. And when the cash started rolling in he was hooked on looking for a bargain. A few bottles were poured down the crapper but he was a quick study and with my expert guidance he triumphed finding quality wines not cheap n cheerful. A bit snarkily he said the sewer rats drinking his poured toilet wine were like so many of his “esteemed” corporate colleagues.
In fact PP suggested I try a Bastide Miraflores from Côtes Du Roussillon in France home of once simplistic and hearty wines but in the last twenty years has surged in quality without a corresponding hike in purchase price. In fact this one is $19.95. It is a blend of Syrah and Grenache.
As far as aromatics go there is no namby pamby about the wine. Very solid wine. Gritty and firm raspberry and strawberry with blackberry and the tiniest bit of clove. As the wine rises from the glass into the mouth it is firm with grainy streetfighter tannins standing firm against the Chateau Latour boys flim flaming about elegance and sensuality. More Broad Street Bully than Wall Street wolf. A bit chewy with black plum, ripe cherry and some pepper creating a long zippy finish and by zippy I do not mean acidity but rather liveliness.
Some assertive food for the wine please such as hot grilled sausage or filet of mackerel or sardines cooked in tomato sauce, with capers, olives, anchovies and jalapeno peppers. It would sip well with the film “Double Indemnity”.
This might cruise well into 2027. While it may be brutal this delicious wine can be enjoyed as a sipping wine for those with hair on their chest!
(Bastide Miraflores Syrah & Vieilles Vignes de Grenache, AOP Côtes Du Roussillon 2019, France, $19.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 320499, 14.5%, RKS Wine Rating 93/100).
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