Wine Review of 2016 Domaine Ciry Cattaneo La Curiosité Minervois Red, Languedoc, France
Score: 92-94/100
Minervois is a in Southern France’s Languedoc wine country named from Minerve, a village 25 miles (40km) from the Mediterranean coast and surrounded by the southern French foothills. The village itself, located near the fortified city of Carcassonne, was anciently named after the Greek goddess Minerva.
Soils here are a mix of stoney limestone and marl, on a hilly landscape.
The vineyards of producer Ciry Cattaneo are managed using organic viticulture, making of this Minervois an organic wine.
Trained in Champagne and Bordeaux, Ciry is a consultant winemaker for several producers in his Languedoc area as well as on the international scene, with a passion for precise winemaking, organic viticulture and a pure expression of terroir in his wines.
Winemaker David Ciry used simple winemaking techniques aimed at expression the typicity of the area.
The ‘La Curiosité’ cuvée is a Grenache-dominant blend, arguably featuring one of the most beautiful wine label I’ve ever seen, with a stunning peacock drawing!
La Curiosité Overall Tasting Impressions
A precise, utterly juicy and salivating red wine from Languedoc, dry and acidic, almost salty to the finish. It bursts with a vibrant fruity goodness yet an overall savory food-friendly feel.
A wine with a long ageing potential, that will most certainly turn into an extremely complex wine with many layers, yet delivered with great elegance given its current precision.
Cellar for 3 to 10+ years (drink between 2020-2030).
Full Tasting Notes
This Languedoc red comes in a deep and vibrant dark red color, filled with purple hues making it look youthful and appealing. Clearly it looks like a dense, rich and young wine.
The nose is very elegant and subtle. It’s dominated by a lively yet relatively discrete ripe red berry aroma, like a fresh and vibrant blackberry smell. A touch of comforting vanilla, and hints of spicy white pepper make for a refined, controlled fruity aromatic profile. It smells like a precise wine where the winemaking has respected the natural fruit expression.
The wine feels very dense and tannic on the palate, with a high concentration of velvety tannins.
Flavors burst with a wealth of vanilla and caramel oaky tones, married with acidic raspberry and blueberry. It’s lively and vibrant, very juicy and soft overall despite the obviously rich body and dense concentration.
Enjoy 🙂
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