2009 Chateau La Roque Mourvedre

This time around I popped the cork of a 2009 Pic St Loup Rouge 'Cuvee Les Vielles Vignes de Mourvedre'  from producer Chateau La Roque (and yes, I'm aware how long the name of this wine is).  It is 90% Mourvedre and 10% Grenache.This is a red wine from the AOC (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée) Coteaux de Languedoc in the south east of France. The Languedoc tends to use similar grapes to those of the Southern Rhone Valley of France and Mourvedre is one of them. Mourvedre is classically used as a blending grape to add savory notes, body and richness to blends otherwise dominated by Grenache and Syrah. I like the grape due to its off-the-beaten-path flavors and aromas. It offers more meaty/savory notes instead of blatant fruit and pepper. I also like this producer because of their history. The area was originally put under vine by the Romans and the property further developed by Benedictines Monks. It's as Old-World as one can expect from a winery. The current vines are between 50 and 60 years old.
 The nose was cleaner than I expected- not a lot of barnyard-y, stinky brett (brettanomyces). It was actually dominated by a lot of floral, perfume notes. I did recognize cured meat aromas like coppa (cured pork shoulder) and pepper along with the rich black current.
 The palate opened up to show stewed strawberries and cherries, brown tea (like the kind you drink on your porch in the summer- I'll chalk this up to tannin) and leather. The tannin appears light at first but really closes in toward the front of your mouth. The tannin affect lasts about 10 seconds and then acids sneaks in to release moisture back to your palate. For me, this happened right as I began to think the tannin may be a little bigger than I prefer. Right before that 'this is too big for what I'm eating' moment the acidity kicked in and allowed my mouth to relax.
 I thought the wine would be a bit more dense and heavy, but the structure kept it soft and enjoyable. I enjoyed this wine because it presents its flavors politely without demanding too much of your palate. It doesn't jam fruit and alcohol in your face, but uses them in appropriate measurement so neither one appears out of balance. No palate coating; no shag carpet affect.

$21.95 on the shelf.