Minervois
Minervois Wine - Buy Wine from the Minervois Region of France
We have been hankering after a decent Minervois for quite a while and, although we have tasted plenty of fine examples over the years, we just couldn’t find the perfect fit for us (ergo you). The problem was largely due to a self-imposed remit to source a wine that represented unequivocal value for money while still capturing the wild garrigue herb and fruit flavours that mark out the superior examples. Many of the best wines in Minervois (particularly in the sought after ‘La Livinière’ sub-appellation) are ambitiously priced and can cost as much as a good Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Our rationale is that if you want to spend that kind of money you will probably just buy a good Châteauneuf-du-Pape and be contented with it.
Happily, just as we were putting last year’s wine list to bed, we stumbled across the Minervois ‘Tradition’ from Domaine Le Cazal and it was love at first taste. Even more happily, Claude and Martine Derroja (whose family have tended vines here since 1870) have a benign outlook on pricing and were willing to let us ship substantial volumes of their wine. Our ‘ex-directory’ road testing couldn’t have been more successful - we rapidly sold through our allocation.
Simon Hoggart made the following observation in the Spectator:
“As I never tire of reminding you, the best-value French wines are now being made in the south of the country. They are frequently of a standard most Bordelais never attain, and generally cost half as much.”
Red Wine