At the risk of sounding like a broken record, here are two more seriously delicious 2005 reds from the South of France. These two wines, both selected and imported by master sommelier Fran Kysela, exemplify what makes wines from these areas so great. Gorgeous purity of fruit, but never at the expense of character and typicity. They also represent unbelievable value and will certainly not be around for too long. I would definitely get on these before it’s too late!
2005 Coteaux du Languedoc St.-Félix de Lodez “Les Hauts de la Brune” ($8.99) Back in stock and better than ever is the new vintage of this spectacularly delicious red from the South of France! Last year’s 2004 received 90 points from the Wine Spectator and was designated a Best Buy. Needless to say, 200 cases of this beauty flew out the door almost immediately! Fruit forward, fresh and clean tasting, with a gorgeous purity to the raspberry, cherry and red plum flavors. Mineral, graphite and spice fill the firm finish. Syrah, grenache and mourvèdre. Please get on this new vintage before history repeats itself!
2005 Lirac Domaine de la Mordorée “La Dame Rousse” ($14.99) The 2005 La Dame Rousse from Lirac is composed of 50% grenache and 50% syrah from 40-year-old vines. For 2005, the brothers (Christophe and Fabrice) Delorme have crafted a powerful and structured Lirac redolent with dark purple fruits, black olive and bittersweet chocolate. Although it can be consumed this evening with a couple hours of decanting (and a juicy leg of lamb!), this cuvee shows tremendous promise and will no doubt impress with a couple years of cellar time. This Rhone red is truly one of the overachievers in 2005!
—Mulan Chan