Tuesday, May 15, 2007

WBW #33 Languedoc-Roussillon


This is my first go at participating in WBW. Thank you Marcus at Doktor Weingolb for hosting this month’s Blog. I was thrilled that you decided to focus on the Languedoc-Roussillon area of France. Actually I was excited that you focused on any part of France, as it brought me back around to wines that I really enjoy and have not visited for awhile. The French selection in Key West can be a little thin at times. But since I am in Ohio right now, most wine shops are bursting with French wines. OK, enough chit-chat from me, on with the wine.

Laurent Miquel, Nord Sud Viognier 2005 Vin de Pays d’Oc was my choice of white wine to submit to WBW. This winery is based at Ch Cazal Viel in the AOC of St. Chinian in the Languedoc area. I will not go into more discussion of the area as Marcus has already given us lots of info on this part of France.
This Voignier was a lovely soft pale yellow in color. It had an alcohol content of 13.5%. Bursting aromas of peach, honeysuckle and maybe a whiff of pear escaped the bottle as it was uncorked. These flavors followed right along when I took my first sip. Since this wine is aged in French Oak for 5 months, a touch of oak, but mostly a nice creaminess was experienced on my tongue. The right amount of acidity was present to give it a nice balance and to keep it fresh and lively as it approached its firm finish. The Laurent Miquel, Nord Sud Viognier is no wimpy wine! In fact, I would consider using it as an aperitif or even an after dinner wine, although it is not sweet. It definitely would stand up to any zesty food or pungent cheese and fruit.

I would highly recommend this wine and for the price of $14.00. Yes Marcus, I know I am a dollar below the limit, but I did not want to pass up this opportunity to share this value for the dollar wine!
Also please check out our entry to WBW on Wine Sediments!
Cheers!

6 comments:

winedeb said...

Let's head to Wine Sediments
click here'

Marcus said...

Hey Winedeb,

What's a dollar here and there? This wine pretty much is in the range, and more importantly, it sounds like you got the value for the money!

Actually there's another great thing about selecting this wine in particular, Maarten at Ch. Brys picked the higher end Viognier from Miquel (see the link in his comment entered back on my WBW post). Check out his review and see how it compares with yours.

I hope there are even more Viogniers coming for WBW. I love them and know what you mean about the zesty factor. You might also want to keep an eye out for the Laroche, one of my absolute favourites.

winedeb said...

Thanks Marcus - I will keep tuned in today to check out all of the different wines. I will definately check out the Laroche!

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful photo! The tones are just so calm and inviting.. Love it. :)

winedeb said...

I was just telling Holler that I wish you could come for a wine tasting party at my house, but I think the commute would be a bit lengthy! Thank you for commenting on my photo!

Anonymous said...

Sounds wonderful. Perhaps I'll be passing someday! :)