God bless Trader Joe’s!

This wine is the best wine you can buy for $5.99 a bottle! In fact, this would be a really solid wine at $15.99 a bottle. I honestly don’t know how they make this for what you can buy it at TJ’s but this is the go-to house-wine for our place.

I like just drinking this by itself at 65-68˚F, but is also pairs very well with stews, duck, steak and hard cheeses.

The biggest contributor to the price is likely where the grapes are grown and certainly not the quality or the craftsmanship that goes into it.  Pays d’Oc indicates where the grapes were grown, or in this case, not grown.  Pays indicates no specific appellation and d’Oc refers to the Languedoc area. [Thanks to Arnaud for his help.]   This gives the winemaker more flexibility with regards to grape varietals as well as vineyard sourcing for their grapes.  Languedoc does have some twenty-five different appellations.  However, wines that do not reflect one of these may instead reflect the grape varietals used in the wine or the proprietary name on the label.  (The Wine Bible, Karen MacNeil, p. 296.)

Cabernet Sourvignon (50%) – Merlot (50%)

Producer: Badet, Clement & Co

Appellation: France – Languedoc

Appearance: Dark Ruby, almost a brick red

Aroma: Mildly aromatic with a hint of red fruit and smoke (once it opens up)

Taste: Red fruit with an old world earthiness and notes of cigar box. It is bright with a long tannic finish.

Pairing: Stews, duck, steak, hard and cured cheeses

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For more about the vigneron click here

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