Maybe the best 'value' wine we tasted during our three days at the Vinisud wine show in Montpellier, Boede's Le Pavillon is a scene-stealer. It is for sure the best Cinsault-based (80%, the balance Syrah) red I've tasted, as this grape is usually reserved as a minor blender in the Rhone or for making pink wines down in Provence. This is dark, fresh and easy, but with its own level of complexity as the Syrah adds a meaty note to the proceedings. Think of it as a more quaffable, lightly tannic Syrah-based red from the northern Rhone and you'll definitely ge ...read more

A staggering value, Patrick Mata brings in 10,000 cases of the 2011 Zestos Garnacha Old Vines, which was vinified in a combination of stainless steel and cement tanks. Made from old vine (over 40 years of age), high altitude (2800 feet) Grenache, this head-pruned vineyard planted on granite soils has produced an...

A magnificent custom cuvee for Eric Solomon, this 2010 was made from high-elevation vineyards in the Costa Brava planted in granite. It was fashioned by the brilliant Jean-Marc Lafage, whose wines are reviewed elsewhere in this article. Composed of 100% Grenache aged 3 months in new French oak, it reveals copious aromas of raspberry jam, black ...read more

Very ripe, offering saturated cassis, blackberry and boysenberry, offering saturated cassis, blackberry and boysenberry pâte de fruit flavors that are racy and distinctive, thanks to fresh acidity and sleek tannins. The long finish has nice density. Drink now through 2016. - Wine Spectator  

The outstanding 2011 Novellum competes with some of the finest Macon-Villages wines one can find. It is made from 100% Chardonnay (from 25- to 30-year-old vines), aged three months in a combination of Burgundy barrels (30%) and stainless steel tanks (70%), and, somewhat innovatively, is aged on Viognier lees which gives it a honeysuckle and wh ...read more

The 2011 Montes Classic Cabernet Sauvignon is blended with 15% Merlot and offers a simple black currant, vanilla and violet bouquet that is joyful and well defined. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent tannin, crisp raspberry and dark cherry fruit, zesty acidity and lovely focus on the finish. At this price, it would be hard to find a be ...read more

It exhibits slightly riper blackberry fruit intermixed with notions of licorice, wood smoke, camphor and a vivid floral display. (This cuvee is) aged in French oak prior to bottling. - Robert Parker, Wine Advocate #203

Thunevin-Calvet's tank-raised Grenache-Carignan 2008 Cotes du Roussillon Villages Constance - all from Maury and all grown on schist - displays pungent struck-flint and peat overtones, along with cocoa powder that one associates with its genre, nicely accenting richly ripe but in no way superficially sweet black fruits...

The 2011 Tilia Malbec, once again from Eastern Mendoza and Uco Valley raised in oak for six to nine months; has an attractive, comparatively complex bouquet of blackberry, wild hedgerow, crushed stone and black pepper. The palate is medium-bodied with tense, edgy tannins on the entry that counterpoise...