Uncorked #2: Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Welcome to Uncorked! Where I feature a new wine that we tried and let you know my thoughts on it. There is a little disclaimer: I am by far no wine expert --I am just going to tell my thoughts on a wine. Some wine snobs out there might turn their nose up at my opinion and that's fine with me! Wine is meant to be savored and enjoyed!

I might throw out some wine terms here and there and if I do, I will make sure that I give you the definition and try to explain them to the best of my abilities. My goal is to share some tasty wine picks with the world and hopefully encourage some of you out there to try a new wine. No bottle shall be discriminated against, price is no matter (with in reason), and this is just going to be all about exploring the world of wine.

This week we tried:
Chateau de Beaucastel's 2007 Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Description: Composed of 60% Mourvedre, 20% Syrah, and the rest Counoise and Grenache. Boasts an exceptional bouquet* of camphor, roasted meats, blueberries, black cherries, black currants, truffles, beef blood, pepper, and incense. Infused with the flavor of black raspberry, Marion berry, milk chocolate truffle, and hints of vanilla and spice.
Price: $114.99 per bottle
Region: France

Ok, look again at the price! I said no bottle of wine would be discriminated against and that included price! I should explain how I came about trying this wine. I was with my husband and his family at a wine bar the other day. This little wine had a 1 ounce tasting for $14.00! At first I was like "Who would pay for that?!?" then I was thinking, "When are you ever going to take a chance and spend $115 on a bottle without trying it?" I decided to try it. Would I do it again, probably not, but it felt a little fun and dangerous in a very good girl kind of way.

So the big question, what did I think? Well, I can't say it was a bad wine, because it wasn't. It was full-bodied* with a pretty good flavor. I could taste some fig and couldn't quite place the other flavor but after reading others reviews on it I figured out it was licorice. It had sort of a creamy feel to the wine (probably why the price was so much) but also ended with sort of an acidic taste. Some people out there love a really acidic wine (you know the kind that makes your tongue feel raw) but I don't. In the end I didn't feel it was worth it for the $14 we paid to try it. Other reviews that I read just raved about the wine and this is where other wine connoisseurs are turning their nose up at my opinion, but I am just being honest.

Would I buy it again? No, not necessarily, the price was just too high for me. However, I would suggest having a day where you spend a large amount of money on a tiny amount of wine just to say you have done it once! It was a fun experience!

*Bouquet: The layers of smells and aromas perceived in a wine
*Full-Bodied: The body of a wine refers to the fullness, weight and concentration and total mouth feel of a wine. A full-bodied wine is notably more concentrated and heavy.

~Beth