Drinking Tonight - 2009 Les Fontanilles

To go along a big bowl of pasta with thinly sliced veal in a mustard, garlic and cream sauce, I feared that this young Carignan, Syrah, Cinsault and Grenache blend would be somewhat overpowering, but it managed to complement the rather soft flavours of the pasta really well. And it was no problem finishing the bottle on its own when the dinner was over...

This new kid on the block is a blend of the grapes mentioned above from Minervois by, as they state on the website - "two pairs of (experienced) hands" - those of Anne Gros and Jean-Paul Tollot from Burgundy. This 2009 is only the second vintage. Read more here.

2009 Les Fontanilles, Domaine Anne Gros & Jean-Paul Tollot
A young, fresh, meaty nose with notes of ripe bluberries, fried herbs, rosemary, ginger bread, violets and some nice earthy aromas. Young and a bit ungainly but there is lots of quality here. Even elegance.
The taste is big, pure and steady with notes of rasberries and blueberries intermingled with sweet licorice, dark chocolate, violets and lots of fresh herbs. A long, fine, peppery finish. Still young, this could use 3-5 years in the cellar. But a fine mouthful of southern France!
90p   (tasted 2013/01)