Ournac “Château Cesseras” 2001 Minervois La Livinière (Languedoc) – Intensely smoky meat liqueur – like a Northern Rhône, but not quite at the same volume or with the same intensity – and deep, basso earth notes. Delicious, but not for fruit hounds.
Minervois La Livinière is a new sub-appellation (a cru, as the French would have it) of Minervois, with stricter rules and a directed focus on syrah and mourvèdre (rather than carignan and cinsaut). Judging by this bottling, the delineation is a worthy one.
BrewNoser
December 19, 2005Yes, this part of the Minervois continues to impress me. Heck, of late, I have had several complex, interesting wines that were not overly manufactured from there. And good value too.
Thor Iverson
December 19, 2005Any other names that you particularly like?
Brewnoser
December 20, 2005Had an older (98) bottle of Chateau Gourgazaud that exceeded expectations, and a newer bottle of Chateau Maris (03) Tradition (not necessarily La Liviniere) that is perhaps a bit parkerized, but was certainly worth the $$. A Domaines des Aires Hautes Les Combelles (01) has impressed recently, again for value and complexity.
Thor Iverson
December 20, 2005Examples from this sub-appellation are thin on the ground here, but I’ll keep an eye out for them. The other key, of course, will be keeping my hands off of a few bottles of each. ;-)