The Les Argelieres Pinot Noir from the very talented, Marilyn Lasserre, was another real eye-opener. I had been sifting through too many Pinot Noirs around this price point and, to be fair, my head was down. Most of them were rather bland and thin at best and far from inspiring. Then I tasted this. Right back on track, there and then.
This is a relatively full bodied Pinot Noir so should suit a wide variety of drinkers. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a big, bold muscular red. But for a Pinot Noir it’s deeply coloured and richly flavoured. Loads of ripe cherry, raspberry and even blackcurrant flavours with a touch of smoky pepper. Supple, elegant, ripe and fruity with a silky smooth long finish.
Another wine, which on blind tasting, has been placed in the £15-£20 range by friends that taste & sell a lot of wine every year! A real winner and a must try.
About the wine
Joanna Simon, Wine of the Week, March 2023: “I thought that naming this Grande Cuvée might be a bit over the top, but it turns out to be an impressive French Pinot Noir showing textbook varietal character and charm at rather less than you would expect to pay for a wine of similar quality from the southern hemisphere. It’s an appetising mid-ruby colour – not the paler side of Pinot – with immaculate floral aromas and succulent black cherry and rosehip fruit, all cushioned by polished, toasty oak and a nip of tannin and acidity to give definition and backbone. It comes from Les Producteurs Réunis à Cébazan, a co-operative about 25km northwest of Béziers in Languedoc, and was partly aged in French oak barrels under the watchful eye of oenologist Marilyn Lasserre. In terms of food, it spans fish such as salmon, tuna, red mullet and prosciutto-wrapped monkfish or cod, poultry, especially quail and duck, meat including lamb and pork chops, and creamy, cheesy vegetable tarts. It’s good without food, too. Either way, serve it cool, not at room temperature.”
