This was picked up in an attempt to de-Californify the wine cellar. Problem is, I can't buy them as fast as I drink them. Anyway, it's a new producer for me (and "Grands Bois" makes me giggle since I am reading Skippy Dies right now and it is making my fourteen-year-old-boy mind even worse).
Their website tells me the owners are Mireille Besnardeau, the daughter/niece of the original owners, and her husband Marc, who was a maître d'hôtel and now is master of the vineyard. While the vineyards go back to the 1920s, they took over in 1994, and soon after established some vineyards in Cairanne and Rasteau, planting some Syrah and Mourvedre as well. The Syrah shows up in this wine. The wine is, I am guessing, named for their three daughters: Philippine, Gabrielle and Eloïse.
Notes: Bright blue-red color, with a rich nose of blueberry and blackberry fruit. Some herbs in the nose too... thyme and garrigue. Loads of dark fruit and herbs in the mouth, with a spicy finish and a bit of tar, courtesy the Syrah. There is persistent fruit/acid post and some softer tannins. Overall, pretty nice: approachable, but not overly fruity or simplistic.
Composition: 65% Grenache, 15% Syrah, and 20% Carignane.
Cost: $13
Their website tells me the owners are Mireille Besnardeau, the daughter/niece of the original owners, and her husband Marc, who was a maître d'hôtel and now is master of the vineyard. While the vineyards go back to the 1920s, they took over in 1994, and soon after established some vineyards in Cairanne and Rasteau, planting some Syrah and Mourvedre as well. The Syrah shows up in this wine. The wine is, I am guessing, named for their three daughters: Philippine, Gabrielle and Eloïse.
Notes: Bright blue-red color, with a rich nose of blueberry and blackberry fruit. Some herbs in the nose too... thyme and garrigue. Loads of dark fruit and herbs in the mouth, with a spicy finish and a bit of tar, courtesy the Syrah. There is persistent fruit/acid post and some softer tannins. Overall, pretty nice: approachable, but not overly fruity or simplistic.
Composition: 65% Grenache, 15% Syrah, and 20% Carignane.
Cost: $13
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