Jono & Jules do food & wine

I love pink wine cause it looks girly, makes the table look pretty, and also because it has the same party feel of Champagne but costs considerably less.

Costieres de Nimes is near the southern Rhone and has similar sorts of grape varieties, climate and soils. Recently the quality of the wines have improved massively and the area is much less reliant on the co-operatives which are so widespread in the southern Rhone. So smaller estates have been doing some great things and should provide some excellent value to boot.

I was very excited when I came across this little pink number from one of the more reputable producers: Chateau Mourgues du Gres. Unfortunately it was a bit disappointing. Jono described it as “a low expression wine” and that sums it up really. Smells of not much and tastes of not much. It’s only saving grace was substantial body for a rose wine and a good texture for food. It may also have been better super-chilled on a sunny day rather than coolish in late Autumn.

So the moral of the story is – if you spot a red or white wine from Costieres de Nime, grab it, as you may be in for quite a treat at a reasonable price. If you see a pretty pink wine… well you still might get lucky. You can’t win them all as they say.

Julie

P.S. I have just received an email from a fellow wino who was amazed that I didn’t rate this wine – he did suggest that it may be best drunk at about 18 months to 2 years old. He reckons it has a lovely red fruit character… I’m going to have to try an older bottle to find out…damn life’s hard!