this heaven gives me migraine

2002 Chateau Grande Cassagne G.S. "Le Triage"

Region: Costieres de Nimes, Languedoc, France

Composition: About half Grenache, half Syrah (I couldn't find any numbers, but the 2000 was 44 percent Grenache, 56 percent Syrah)

Background: The Languedoc is one of those regions you always hear about as being up-and-coming, and it is a great area to investigate if you are looking for interesting wines that are not very expensive. It is also the largest winegrowing region in the world, with almost 740,000 acres of vines (compare Bordeaux, which has about 280,000 acres) and used to be largely planted with table-quality grapes which produced not very good table wines. But in the last few years/decades, the area has been replanted with better vines, and a lot of the growers are trying to make fine wine. Chateau Grande Cassagne is one such example. In the 1980's Benoît and Laurent Dardé took over their family estate, ripped out and replanted the vineyards, and now bottle all of their wine at the domaine. They've even installed a temperature-controlled winery and cellar, and seem to be very serious about their winemaking.

The estate itself is located a little bit south of Nimes, in the very south of France (somewhat to the west of Marseille), in the Eastern Languedoc. This region is south of the Rhone and the producers often grow Rhone varietals, focusing on light red wines and rosés. The vineyards from which the grapes used in this particular wine come are actually in a sub-region of the Languedoc referred to as Costieres de Nimes, and this area was granted appellation status in the 1980's (after a lot of estate owners lobbied hard to get it granted), changing its name from Costieres du Gard to Costieres de Nimes. It's funny, if you look around, sometimes vendors claim this wine is from the Rhone, an obvious attempt to impress people who don't try to decipher the intricacies of French wine labeling.

Notes: Ruby purple in the glass. Violet and blueberry on the nose, some earth and iodine. Once it's in the mouth it is all about earth, with some black fruit, and it's got a lot of tannin. It has a slightly harsh, chalky, bitter-chocolate finish that softened up a little with some air (and dinner), but never truly impressed me since the finish was pretty curtailed and tarry. Overall, this is a little too rustic for my tastes and not very complex. It might be better in two years... at least a little softer.

Cost: $9

Overall: C

2001 Chateau de Montmirail Cuvee de l'Ermite

Region: Vacqueyras, France (AOC)

Composition: 50% Syrah, 50% Grenache

Background: This was a wine we had with dinner, out at Geranium. At the time I didn't know much about the producer but I like wines from Southern Rhone in general (Vacqueyras is a little bit northeast of Chateauneuf-du-Pape and directly south of Gigondas) and that the straight Syrah I was also eyeing on the menu was probably too much for what we were eating. Some investigation shows that the original proprietor, Gabriel Archimbaud, was the first bottler in Vacqueyras, and now the property is run by his daughter, Monique, and her son. They make a handful of AOC Vacqueyras wines as well as an AOC Gigondas and a few general AOC Cotes du Rhones.

Notes: This wine has a nose of rose and dust, with some red berries and some geranium and spice/pepper. In the mouth it starts out soft and strawberrylike, and you can tell the Grenache is in control, but on the finish the Syrah shows a little more (especially as it opens up). The soft tannins echo the dust in the nose. Right on the finish, in with the spice, there is a slight perk of berry, but not so much as to be jarring. Overall, it was pleasant and went well with the food we were having.

Cost: It looks like you can pick this up for a little more than $15 a bottle.

Overall: B

2000 Chateau Le Roc "Don Quichotte"

Region: Cotes du Frontonnais, France (AOC)

Composition: 50% syrah, 50% negrette

Background: I bought this when I was in a French wine buying frenzy, and I am not sure why exactly I bought it (I think it was recommended somewhere or other, or was one of my "hey, it's cheap, why not" purchases). The region of Fronton is interesting in that the vineyards must, by law, be planted with 50% negrette, and the soil is iron-rich which gives a certain character to the grapes. The brothers Ribes took over the 32- acre property in 1988 and have been working ever since to make intense wines... I looked around and they have three or four reds and a rose out there, it seems.

Notes: This looked fairly young in the glass and was a dark pure ruby color. It was very pretty, and the nose (even if a little hot) made some big promises... strawberry, violets, a bit of carnation, and a fair amount of peppery spice was present. However, I was a little disappointed with it once I put it in my mouth. There was some red berry on the palate (that's the negrette talking) but not very much; you needed to hunt for it. Not a lot going on, and it turns out most of the wine was in the finish. The finish (which was very syrah-like) had a pleasant amount of soft, chalky tannins and a fair amount of pepper and gingery hotness, along with some bitter tea flavor. I had my second glass with some food (simple pasta with vegetables and tomato sauce, maybe not the best thing but I was feeling lazy) and things improved a little but the lack of mid-palate excitement left me a little sad.

Cost: I think this was a little less than $15.

Overall: C