Ventoux 2014
Appellation Ventoux contrôlée
les Vignerons de l’Enclave
26790 Tulette (Drôme)
tasted October 18th, 2016
In the past, this wine would have rarely crossed the borders of its département of origins. Made and consumed by locals, it would be part of what was the essence of wine: a simple and affordable everyday drink. But times have changed, and this bottle travelled a good 1000 kilometres northwards – generously helped by its ‘appellation’ label, no doubt.
Sampled with kale, potato, pork sausage and bacon stew. It’s getting winter.
This wine is an assemblage of – fasten your seatbelts – Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault, Mourvèdre and Carignan. For every variety, four others blank out its characteristics. Now that’s a missed chance: if the makers would have limited the number to two or three, we could have withnessed some really interesting results. Now we get a ‘one size fits all’ mix which is hardly exceptional and has no personality at all.
In all honesty, there is nothing wrong with this wine. It is even a reminder of what a pretty decent local product could – okay: even can – be; a sort of reminiscence of times past. But at the same time, its ‘appellation’ label is overdone and it serves merely as a missed chance towards a much more intruiging result.
Liquidity Management 