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From our Spring and early summer tours of France beyond Bordeaux, we have found 6 new wines to add to our list this Autumn. As usual they are all wines that we will be drinking lots of ourselves, 3 luscious southern reds, a nicely aged 2013 cru Beaujolais, a Loire Valley red and just the one white – a very special Cru Clisson from Muscadet Sèvre et Maine.
A personal favourite is the Minervois Les Combes 2016 from Château de Bagnoles near Carcassone Smooth but powerful with juicy ripe black fruit flavours from the Grenache & Syrah blend with about 10% Carignan. The other two Southern reds are equally powerful – the rich and round St Chinian 2015 vieille vignes from Domaine de Bells Courbes and a proper deep purple 100% Malbec, from Cahors, the home of Malbec since Roman times – Domaine de Cause 2015 Malbec .
The other 2 reds are slightly lighter but really food friendly. Both super “Bistro” wines widely consumed over lunch in the restaurants of Paris and Lyons – namely the Domaine Dumas Côte de Brouilly 2013, one of the longer lasting Cru Beaujolais and the Domaine Damien Lorieux, 2016 St. Nicholas de Bourgeuil .
The Domaine de L’Epinay 2014 Cru Clisson is a superior Muscadet from the small area of granite soils around the village of Clisson that has only recently been designated with Cru Communale status. A special wine that spends 3 years on it’s lees before bottling, check out the full tasting notes in the Beyond Whites section of the website!!
