Browse Tag

clavel

There is no Copa clause

Clavel 1999 Coteaux du Languedoc Terroir de la Mejanelle “Copa Santa” (Languedoc) – Smells corked, so I put it aside. The second day, I think it’s still very mildly corked, but there’s a sweet – if quite tired – expressiveness to it that almost overcomes the taint. Which makes me think that an intact bottle could actually be pretty nice, though I definitely wouldn’t hold it any longer. (6/12)

Claws

Clavel 1999 Coteaux du Languedoc Terroir de la Mejanelle “Copa Santa” (Languedoc) – Clinging by its nails to life and relevancy. Fully resolved and then some, leaving a porcine meat juice, herb-infused broth, and some browned, autumnal appeal in its declining wake. If you’re holding any, don’t. (12/10)

Santa clause

Clavel 1999 Coteaux du Languedoc Terroir de la Mejanelle “Copa Santa” (Languedoc) – Clinging to life, but with one foot in the graduated-care center and the other in a cast. Rough at the core but smooth at the edges, showing salt, sand, and soil with a light waft of baked red berries and a tinny edge of tannin. A little too old, but still a pleasant memory. (12/09)

Garrigues Payton

[vineyard]Clavel 1999 Coteaux du Languedoc Terroir de la Mejanelle “Les Garrigues” (Languedoc) – Fully mature, I’d say, even though there’s some scratchy tannin lingering. The “fruit” (mostly gravel-baked herbs, pork, a bit of earth) has softened, leaving an espresso-ground texture behind, and the wine’s starting to lighten and fade on the finish. (10/08)

No Mas

[vineyard]Clavel 1999 Coteaux du Languedoc Gres de Montpellier “Le Mas” (Languedoc) – Maturing nicely for a $7 wine, showing an extremely dusty, old sofa-in-the-attic aroma reminiscent of earthy complexities of decades ago. A gentle pleasure for drinking nowish. (1/08)