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I picked up this bottle of wine a few of week ago when I visited Villerouge Termenés to have a wander around the castle. In the main car park there is a shop ‘Esprits de Garrigue’ selling local products including wine, olive oil honey etc. and it would have been rude not to purchase bottle of wine. After all we all need to do our bit for our local economy

Now down to the wine. In the glass it is deep and dark with a pleasing viscosity. On the nose you get stewed red fruits and wild herbs.
On the palate it is pleasing and starts with fresh red fruits notes and in the middle you find chocolate and cinnamon. The finish is long with mellow red berries and herbs. This is an excellent value for money wine and a good showcase for the value and quality that you now get from the Languedoc. If this wine had Bordeaux printed on the label it would be selling for €20+.

Cost: €5.90
Grape blend:Syrah 40%, Grenache 35%, Carignan 24%, Cinsault 1%
Produced by Domaine La Rune, 11220 Talairan, France Tel.: +33 (0) 468 440 499 Port.: +33 (0) 675 698 880 Fax: +33 (0) 468 458 352

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Tom Cannavan of wine-pages.com chooses the Chateau de Pennautier (http://www.lorgeril.com), Cabardes 2008 from the South of France as his Wine of the Week

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Judit and Corina taste a Bouchaine Estate Chardonnay from the Carneros region of California.

http://www.winedinetv.com/

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Gary Vaynerchuk tastes 2 Proseccos side by side and talks about the great value this region represents for sparkling wine. Ca’ Furlan & LA MARCA.

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Gary Vaynerchuk has a rare opportunity to taste a vertical (several vintages of the same wine) of the Monteviejo Lindaflor Malbec.

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I visited Château Villemagne a while ago while killing some time before heading to Lagrasse and the irony is that I did not purchase this wine at the Chateau but at a shop in Lagrasse. When I was at the Chateau it was rather early in the morning and even for me a tad early for a tasting and I don’t like to open my wallet before midday (in case the moths try to escape!).

Now to the wine. In the glass it is a wonderful deep rich colour with moderate viscosity. On the nose you get notes of spice and old wood with a hint of black cherry.
On the palate there are cooked red forest fruits and mellow tannins in the start and middle. In the finish it mellows into fresh summer rec fruits. A well balance wine and a very good red wine for summer.

Grape blend:40% Carignan, 30% Syrah, 20% Grenache noir & 10% Cinsault
Production: 5500 Bottles.
Cost: 9.50€

Chateau Villemange

Produced by Le Château Villemagne Hameau de Villemagne 11220 LAGRASSE Tel: 33 (0)4 68 24 06 97.

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Gary Vaynerchuk picks out 2 esoteric reds to try, a Freisa and a Cotes du Roussillon, that received good press. Cascina Gilli & Domaine de Nidolères.

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When I saw this bottle of wine sitting on a shelf in Lidl supermarket I could not resist buying it, not for the wine in the bottle but the bottle itself and what it now represents. I wonder how many people have  this football inspired bottle sitting in a cupboard here in France but are far to embarrassed to open it.

Now I’ve stopped sniggering I will get down to the serious business of tasting the wine. On the nose it is quite heady with wood and a ‘cooked off’ alcohol notes. On the palate there are stewed prunes at the start and then a tannin bomb in the middle. It mellows in the finish making it a good all round wine for the money which is a bit of a surprise given the bottle design which would more often and not contain wine that was verging on vinegar. Game On!

Cost 2.89€ (but priceless lol)

Produced by Château de l’Orangerie 33540 SAINT-FÉLIX DE FONCAUDE
Tel : +33 (0)5 56 71 53 67 Fax : +33 (0)5 56 71 59 11

Winner of a Gold medal at the 2010 Paris Concours General Agricole. Ironic, the wine won a medal but the French world cup team lost not only a football match but also their dignity.

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Gary Vaynerchuk shares some food and wine pairing advice. Today he eats some Thai food and pairs it with a Gruner Veltliner (Loimer) and a Gewurztraminer (Kellerei Nals Margreid).

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Gary Vaynerchuk meets with Vincent Pastore and Mark Gonsalves, where they try out some of the new Sopranos white wines (http://www.bevig.com/).

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