Mary's Wine Blog

I’ve come across some terrific wines for everyday drinking in the past week.  Available from two different retailers but coming from the same aristocratic producer, all taste much grander than their prices suggest.

Comte Nicolas de Lorgeril is based at Chateau de Pennautier in Cabardes, a fascinating little pocket of the Languedoc near Carcassonne. Why fascinating? Because the tradition here is to combine Mediterranean grapes like Grenache and Syrah with their cooler-climate cousins Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. It seems to be an effective recipe for polished, flavoursome red wines half way in style between the Rhone and Bordeaux.

I visited Chateau Pennautier about eight years ago when the Count was just beginning to find his feet. Now he’s obviously hit his stride.  With delicious berry flavours and juicy freshness Chateau de Pennautier Cabardes 2008 is a super wine which you can enjoy either by itself or with food of almost any sort ( Dunnes Stores,  €9.99 and sometimes on promotion at €7.99).  One step up, Chateau de Pennautier Cabardes Terroir d’Altitude 2007 from cooler vineyards has more richness and depth with a silky texture (Dunnes Stores, €12.99 and sometimes on promotion at €9.99). This one is better with food but versatile.

Also from Lorgeril and equally worthwhile are two red wines stocked by Mitchell & Son (CHQ Building, IFSC, also Rathfarnham & Glasthule). One is Chateau de Caunettes Cabardes 2007 (€12.95) – lovely fruit purity again, this time with gamey, leathery notes and a fleshiness which may make you hunger for a meat roast.  The other is from a property further south:  Mas de Montagne Cotes du Roussillon Villages 2007 (€13.50), a beautifully concentrated, vibrant wine tasting of dark fruits and black olives with the tang of underlying minerality.

Come to think of it, these beauties shouldn’t really be confined to the everyday drinking slot. They’re unquestionably good enough for Christmas or New Year entertaining. The two from Dunnes Stores would suit a supper party; the Mitchells pair a dinner party – even a posh one.  The Count  pours them all the time in his own gloriously elegant diningroom – which you can experience, by the way, as Chateau Pennautier is open to guests. www.lorgeril.com