Very interesting wine produced on only 3 ha vineyard called "Le
viala". Its'a a cuvee made from Syrah, Grenache and Carignan, barreled
for 15 months. Nice Ruby color, nose is plums, cherries and ripe
berries. Very pleasant palate, again plums, cinnamon and smooth smoky
notes, hint of liquorice. Middle, harmonic finish. I had it with
rather unusual food: grilled tiger prawns on pumpkin-fennel-parsnip
stew, and i have to admit - at first it was, well, unusual, but
actually very interesting pairing. Could surely go very well with
steak or bbq.

Sounds interesting (but the lone vintage showing is very expensive for
Minervois, have you had any of Bertrand's "lesser" cuvees?)

On Jan 29, 3:06?am, "T. Autischer" > wrote:
> Very interesting wine produced on only 3 ha vineyard called "Le
> viala". Its'a a cuvee made from Syrah, Grenache and Carignan, barreled
> for 15 months. Nice Ruby color, nose is plums, cherries and ripe
> berries. Very pleasant palate, again plums, cinnamon and smooth smoky
> notes, hint of liquorice. Middle, harmonic finish. I had it with
> rather unusual food: grilled tiger prawns on pumpkin-fennel-parsnip
> stew, and i have to admit - at first it was, well, unusual, but
> actually very interesting pairing. Could surely go very well with
> steak or bbq.

well, it wasn't that expensive - it was something like 40 eur, also
about 35 $. that was my first experience with Bertrand Minervois wines
(as much as I can remeber), but for this quality I found it more than
ok, and then again, I'm not much of an expert. I had far less class
wines for far more money, so I think ot's ok, but maybe I'm wrong?

On 29 Jan., 20:15, "DaleW" > wrote:
> Sounds interesting (but the lone vintage showing is very expensive for
> Minervois, have you had any of Bertrand's "lesser" cuvees?)
>
> On Jan 29, 3:06?am, "T. Autischer" > wrote:
>
> > Very interesting wine produced on only 3 ha vineyard called "Le
> > viala". Its'a a cuvee made from Syrah, Grenache and Carignan, barreled
> > for 15 months. Nice Ruby color, nose is plums, cherries and ripe
> > berries. Very pleasant palate, again plums, cinnamon and smooth smoky
> > notes, hint of liquorice. Middle, harmonic finish. I had it with
> > rather unusual food: grilled tiger prawns on pumpkin-fennel-parsnip
> > stew, and i have to admit - at first it was, well, unusual, but
> > actually very interesting pairing. Could surely go very well with
> > steak or bbq.

Certainly quality is what matters. I just meant that I generally pay
about $10 for Minervois such as the excellent d'Oupia (their luxury
cuvee, Les Barons, is about $15 if you can find it). The Viala shows
at $40 for the '99 and $55 for the '01!


On Jan 29, 2:44?pm, "T. Autischer" > wrote:
> well, it wasn't that expensive - it was something like 40 eur, also
> about 35 $. that was my first experience with Bertrand Minervois wines
> (as much as I can remeber), but for this quality I found it more than
> ok, and then again, I'm not much of an expert. I had far less class
> wines for far more money, so I think ot's ok, but maybe I'm wrong?
>
> On 29 Jan., 20:15, "DaleW" > wrote:
>
>
>
> > Sounds interesting (but the lone vintage showing is very expensive for
> > Minervois, have you had any of Bertrand's "lesser" cuvees?)
>
> > On Jan 29, 3:06?am, "T. Autischer" > wrote:
>
> > > Very interesting wine produced on only 3 ha vineyard called "Le
> > > viala". Its'a a cuvee made from Syrah, Grenache and Carignan, barreled
> > > for 15 months. Nice Ruby color, nose is plums, cherries and ripe
> > > berries. Very pleasant palate, again plums, cinnamon and smooth smoky
> > > notes, hint of liquorice. Middle, harmonic finish. I had it with
> > > rather unusual food: grilled tiger prawns on pumpkin-fennel-parsnip
> > > stew, and i have to admit - at first it was, well, unusual, but
> > > actually very interesting pairing. Could surely go very well with
> > > steak or bbq.- Hide quoted text -- Show quoted text -