Country Charm: 2017 Château Massiac “Les Sentinelles de Massiac” Minervois Rouge
Posted on: 09/28/18 12:01 PM
A wine of pure country charm, the 2017 Sentinelles de Massiac by Château Massiac is the best we’ve ever tasted from this humble and impressive domain. Sumptuous dark fruit cut with a core of mineral, we can’t remember a wine for $12 that offers this much material for the money. Dark cherry, violets, garrigue, wild berries, cinnamon, vanilla, pepper and chocolate, this wine is about as glug worthy as it gets. Always a terrific value (the 2015 blew up to become one of our biggest sales of the year) this 2017 bottling is even more intense in flavor and concentration and is easily one of the best reds for the money you’ll see in 2018. Don’t miss out on our what we’ve lovingly named the “Big Gulp”.
Have a glass and see why.
2017 Château Massiac Minervois Sentinelles de Massiac
Note from Importer Neal Rosenthal: Certified Organic. The blend is usually two-thirds Syrah and one-third Carignan. The “Sentinelle” cuvée is the more precocious of the two reds produced at Massiac. The tannins are more supple and the fruit a touch “sweeter”, more forward and less rustic than its companion. Somewhere between 9,000 and 10,500 bottles are reserved for us for the US market.
More About the Wine
Located in the rugged and hilly Southwestern region of the Languedoc, wines born from the Minervois have been talked about since the time of Pliny and Cicero. Fragrant, full of wild herbs and dark savory fruit, there is nothing cutting edge or new here.
Bernard Boudouresques and his wife’s estate, Château Massiac, dates back to the 17th century. It lies at the extreme southern end of the Massif Central–the massive highland region running down Southern France. Massiac’s vineyards sit on the gently sloping foothills that lead to the Mediterranean coast. More importantly, they are exposed to winds that sweep north from the Mediterranean and the cooling northwest wind coming from the mountains. This is crucial for drying the vineyards (protecting them from disease) and during hot vintages, preserving the grapes acidity. Also of note is the amount of limestone in his vineyards which create exceptional drainage for the vines–tone of the primary reasons why Mr. Boudouresques wines have such impressive concentration. For bonus points, Mr. Boudouresques has converted his entire holdings to organic practices, making his practices out in the field more expensive and time consuming, yet the proof is in the pudding–his juice is downright terrific.
Don’t miss this stunning little bottle–a triumph in the virtues of country charm.
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