Tag Archives: Mont Gravet

Memorial Day and rose 2023

two women drinking rose
“We can vouch for the WC’s excellent taste in rose.”

The blog’s 16th annual Memorial Day and rose celebration, in which we celebrate cheap, quality pink wine

The good news as we celebrate the blog’s 16th annual Memorial Day and rose extravaganza is that there is lots and lots of quality, inexpensive dry rose on store shelves. The bad news? Prices are higher, though not much more than last year. Plus, they’re all over the place, with some retailers charging twice as much as others for the same wine.

And perhaps the most interesting news? There may be a rose glut, with lots of older vintages — some as old as 2016 and 2017 — lurking in wait for unsuspecting wine drinkers. We’ve written about a potential wine glut before, and this is just another indication that lots of old wine is taking up space in warehouses. Know that most roses that are more than a couple of years old aren’t worth drinking, so buy that 2018 for $5 at your own risk. Hence, the the blog’s rose primer.

The roses here are each highly recommended, and tomorrow’s post will feature six more roses worth writing about. Many are 2021s; the 2022s have been slow to arrive. In fact, I still haven’t tasted blog favorites, Zestos, Charles & Charles, Scaia and La Vieille Ferme.

This year’s roses:

• Tenuta Fanti Rosato 2021 ($11, purchased, 13.5%): This Italian pink, made with sangiovese, was stunning — savory, yet almost fruit punch-like, in the Italian style that almost no one else does. Limited availability. Imported by Massanois

• Mont Gravet Rose 2022 ($10, sample, 12.5%): I tasted this French blog favorite before it was released to retail and it needed more time in the bottle. Having said that, it should evolve into what it always is — clean, bright Provencal-style rose (barely ripe berry fruit, minerality). There also a 3-liter box, non-vintage ($22, 12%), and it needs time, too. Imported by Winesellers Ltd.

• Funckenhausen Dry Rose 2022 ($16/1-liter, sample, 13%): Another stellar effort from a small Argentine producers — cherry fruit, but not sweet, clean, crisp, and all a rose should be. And a liter! Imported by Global Vineyard Importers

• Chateau Fage Rose 2021 ($10, purchased, 13%): Unpretentious and professional French rose, made with cabernet franc, that is a bit heavier and fuller than a Provencal wine. The cab franc fruit (dark berries) shows through. Imported by Monsieur Touton Selection

• La Chapelle du Seuil Rose 2021 ($10, purchased, 13%): Provencal rose for $10. A little more ripe, so the strawberry fruit is more noticeable, but also clean, some minerality, and a hint of garrigue. Imported by Skurnik Wines

• Domaine du Tariquet Rose 2021 ($12, sample, 11%): This French effort may be difficult to find, and prices are all over the place. But it’s savory and fruity, with a wonderful, almost dark finish (and the blend includes tannat). How do they do it? Imported by Frederick Wildman and Sons

More about Memorial Day and rose:
• Memorial Day and rose 2022
• Memorial Day and rose 2021
• Memorial Day and rose 2020
• Rose and socca

Photo: cheeseslave is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Wine of the week: Mont Gravet GSM 2021

Mont Gravet GSM bottle
Mont Gravet GSM 2012/$10-$15

Say goodbye to the legendary Gravet carignan, and welcome this red blend

The Mont Gravet carignan is one of the great cheap wines of all time; the 2015 was spectacular, and I still smile when I think about the audience’s reaction at the cheap wine seminar I gave at an American Wine Society conference. Blown away would be the polite description.

Sadly, though, the carignan seems to be gone. Call it just another of the wine business’ vagaries, whether because the grapes weren’t available or cost too much or whatever.

In its place, we get the Mont Gravet GSM 2021 ($12, sample, 13%), since it has the same SKU (the number on the bar code on the back label). Which, all things considered, isn’t such a bad thing.

The GSM is also French, and is a blend of about one-third each of grenache, syrah, and mourvedre (hence its name). It’s a different wine – a more traditional style than the carignan, which is rarely used for varietal wines.

It’s bigger and heavier in the mouth certainly, and not necessarily the kind of red to keep in the fridge when you want a glass of something. So a food wine, with much riper red fruit (especially from the grenache), an almost bacon fat thing from the syrah, and even some spice (black pepper?).

Pair this with summer barbecue and enjoy, but don’t overlook any past vintages of the carignan in case you find them.

Imported by Winesellers Ltd.

Wine of the week: Mont Gravet Cotes de Gascogne 2021

Mont Gravet Gascon white bottle
Mont Gravet Cotes de Gascogne 2021/$10-$12

The perfect choice for these troubled wine times – a Gascon white

Wine world got you down? Tired of paying $18 for chardonnay that tastes like a Reese’s Cup? Worn out from seeing row after row of smoooth red blends on retailer shelves that all taste alike?

Have no fear. The new vintage of the Mont Gravet Cotes de Gassogne is here.

Regular readers know that white from France’s Gascony remains some of the best values in the world. And the Gravet ($12, purchased, 11%) is annually one of the best Gascon whites on the market.

This vintage is a 50-50 blend of colombard and sauvignon blanc, and it’s a step up – more Gascon in character, so not so much a sauvignon blanc knockoff as a tart, almost white grape juicey wine, and with just a smidge of alcohol. Plus, it’s fresher and almost stony this time around.

And who knew the WC was ahead of the times when he was recommending 10 to 11 percent alcohol Gascon wines all those years ago.

Highly recommended, and a good chance for the Hall of Fame in 2024 as well as making the Turner sward shortlist. Chill this and drink it on its own, and with almost any food you can think of. I’m not sure it’s prime rib, but I wouldn’t rule out meat loaf.

Imported by Winesellers Ltd.

Wine of the week: Mont Gravet Carignan 2020

mont gravet carignan
Mont Gravet Carignan 2020/$10-$12

Consider this an ode to one of the great cheap red wines of all time

This wine has been reviewed on the blog five times, with nary a cross word. Sometimes, it’s not as amazing as at other times, but it’s always worth drinking, always a fine value, and has always cost around $10.

So it’s no wonder the Mont Gravet Carignan ($12, purchased, 12.5%) is a wine of the week yet again. The 2020 vintage of this French red is as it always is — simple but not stupid, professional, and a stunning value in an age when a fancy label and a slick marketing campaign add $10 to the cost of a very ordinary bottle.

Carignan is usually a blending grape, but can make terrific varietal wines with the proper care. Which would be here — berries and cherries, maybe some spice, soft tannins, not too much acidity, and a front, middle, and a back. Think about that for a moment. How many $20 wines have you tasted that are overwhelmed by too much fruit or sugar or whatever?

And, let’s get this out of the way: Is it sweet? It is tart? Is it jammy? No!!!! (and yes, I meant to use all of those exclamation points.)

Highly recommended, and certain to return to the Hall of Fame next year. Chill this a touch if you want (ice cubes, even), and drink it with any late summer barbecue or fall casserole if and when the weather gets cooler.

Imported by Winesellers Ltd.

 

Wine of the week: Mont Gravet Rose 2021

Mont Gravet rose bottle
Mont Gravet Rose 2021/$7-$15

It’s Labor Day weekend, which means it’s time for this French pink

Yes, the Wine Curmudgeon tastes a lot of crappy wine. Yes, I have to deal with knucklehead PR people and talk to too many marketing types who think their brand is special because it’s their brand, all $25 and sweet, smooth of it.

So why do I keep doing this? Because I get to tell the blog’s readers – who care about wine in a way that almost no one else in wine does – about wines like this.

The Mont Gravet Riose 2021 ($10, purchased, 12%) is that kind of extraordinary wine. Each vintage, it delivers uncommon value and does so for around $10. Is it any wonder the Gravet rose has been in the Hall of Fame for almost as long as there has been one?

The 2021 is dry and very Provencal in nature — so wild strawberry fruit (but without the garrigue), stony, and clean. And, once again, it shows what the underappreciated cinsault, the grape used to make the wine, can do with rose.

What else to know? The Gravet is a step up from the blog’s beloved La Vieille Ferme pink, which is a recommendation in and of itself, and a reminder that you don’t need to spend more than $10 for great rose.

I wish all of those flocks of PR and marketing people could understood that – we’d all have more fun drinking wine.

Imported by Winesellers Ltd.

Wine of the week: Mont Gravet Cotes de Gascogne 2020

Mont Gravet Gascogne
Mont Gravet Cotes de Gascogne 2020/$8-$13

Is it from Gascony? Is it cheap? Then of course it’s worth drinking

One of the blog’s regular readers teased me recently about my affection for Gascon white wines, and he was exactly correct – I do write about them a lot.

And why not? Gascon whites – sometimes blends, sometimes not – remain one of the wine world’s great values. They’re simple but not stupid, offer clean fruit flavors, and are low in alcohol (hint, hint, to all the young people out there).

In other words, just the thing for a weeknight dinner.

Case in point is the Mont Gravet Cotes de Gascogne 2020 ($8, purchased, 11.5%). It’s not a blend, like Domaine Tariquet, but a varietal – all colombard. As such, it’s a little more tart than the Gascon blends, and the fruit is more citrusy. Call it not quite sauvignon blanc, but in no way with too much grapefruit.

The Mont Gravet is a long time-blog favorite, and this vintage is another in a long line of more than dependable Mont Gravet wines (white, red, and pink) put together by the Master and Sager families. Would that California knew how to duplicate this kind of quality at this price.

Imported by Winesellers Ltd.

Wine of the week: Mont Gravet Carignan 2019

mont gravet carignan
Mont Gravet Carignan 2019/$8-$13

This vintage of the Mont Gravet is another in a long line of outstanding cheap red French wine

This is the fifth vintage of the Mont Gravet carignan to appear on the blog, and the worst thing I can say about this French red is that the wine is so spot on for what we do here that I tend to take it for granted.

Which, given all the plonk in the world, is pretty stupid.

So know that the Mont Gravet Carignan 2019 ($10, purchased, 12.5%) is almost as well done as the legendary 2015 – a vintage so amazing that it even impressed a group of highly cynical, “we’ve seen it all” attendees at a seminar at an American Wine Society conference.

What does all of that mean in terms of the 2019? First, know that carignan, as a grape, isn’t especially fruity, and is usually used for blending. That it works so well as a varietal in this case speaks to the commitment of the company behind Mont Gravet. Second, that if you’re expecting a rich, full, ripe wine, this isn’t it. Which, to me, is part of its charm.

Look for some black fruit (figs, even?), some earth, and some spice. Somehow, despite is age and price, it’s still fresh and alive. Highly recommended, and sure to return to the Hall of Fame in 2022, as well as to be considered for the 2022 Cheap Wine of the Year.

Imported by Winesellers, Ltd.