Corbiéres, A French Lesson in Wine

MATTHEW0 COMMENTSFROM THE LUNCH BOX, WINE FOR LUNCH

Mar 23

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Red Through the Drinking Glass

Corbiéres: it’s my new favorite grape blend today. And as I write this, Whole Foods supermarket chain has been getting it in stock regularly for about $8.99. For me, that’s Trader Joe’s cheap. Better yet, it’s French wine you can love. I’ve had such a hard time finding Old World Wine this New World palette can enjoy. I have found it in Corbiéres.

“Corbières is one of the largest wine appellation in France. To distinguish the wines, Corbières is divided into 11 terroirs.”

These red blends are made from Grenache, Syrah, Carignan, Mourvèdre, and Cinsault, so they’ll be really familiar to those who love GSM wines from california and Australia, but with a pronounced earthiness that the New World wines lack. I have never had a guest pooh-pooh this wine.

I think what I love most about this wine is the body, the nose, and the fun it brings at get-togethers.

Domaine Saint-Eugénie

Domaine Sainte-Eugénie

2009 Corbiéres

Récolte (crop or vintage) et mis en bouteille au Domaine à Bizanet

13.5%

Aude, France

“Between Narbonne and l’Abbaye de Fontfroide, the domain of Sainte-Eugénie is located in the village of bizanet in the middle of CATHAR COUNTRY on the native soil of Fontfroide, near the Mediterranean.”

A broadly appealing bottle of dry red that lacks the often stinging astringency and intensity of oak barrel aged French reds. Possibly made for the American market, Corbiéres blended reds are practically everywhere these days–even in my local pizzaria on 17th Street! At $18 a bottle in the restaurant, even the mark-up isn’t too painful. So cheap! So simply delicious, or as the wine folks say, “Eminently quaffable.”

Corbières From Above

I have noticed how well it holds up to sitting on the counter for 2-5 days without becoming insipid. It’s a nice, powerful mouthful without being an alcohol bomb, so you can enjoy two full glasses and not get schnockered.

I drank this bottle with Swedish bean balls, Swabian noodles (also known as spätzle–one of my all-time favorite pastas) in a demi-glace de veau (a yeasty, veal stock gravy). It’s a red widely carried at Whole Foods and introduced to me by KoKo who purchased a couple of bottles last time he was in town visiting. We made a pilgrimage to purchase the last remaining bottles we could snatch up.

You should too.

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