It is wonderful to be able to rely on a bottle of red wine, year in and year out, as we do with Bruno Laboucarié’s blend of old-vine Grenache, Carignan, and Syrah from Corbières. To see the bottle there on your counter or resting in your wine rack, and know with confidence that it is ready to offer up its pure, sun-kissed mélange of dark red fruit, baking spices, and earthy minerality is a small, luxurious comfort amid the hurly-burly of daily life. This kind of consistency over just a few vintages is notable, but we’ve been importing Domaine de Fontsainte’s wines since 1978! Few values can match that track record.
—Dustin Soiseth (KLWM)
A custom cuvée for European Cellars and a joint project between Eric Solomon and Jean-Marc Lafage, Bastide Miraflors is a cuvée created from old vine Grenache (30%) grown on the schist and granite soils of Saint-Paul de Fenouillet, a terroir that always ripens late in the year, and Syrah (70%) from gravelly soils near the Mediterranean. After a long maceration of six weeks, the wine ages for 12 months in roughly 3/4 concrete vats and 1/4 600L French oak demi-muids.
This is the most important wine of the estate, a serious red vinified to reflect its capacity to age. The grapes are harvested at a point of slight “surmaturité” which captures the profound scents and flavors of the surrounding hillside “garrigue”. The cuvaison continues for at least a month; then, the wine is racked into tank for aging. The wine is bottled twenty to twenty-four months after harvest. As the wine ages in bottle, it develops enticing notes of juniper, rosemary and thyme as well as the savory flavors of wild berries and a hint of the “animal” … all in all, one of the more compelling values in our portfolio.
-Importer notes (Rosenthal)
Raspberries, red plums and sweet spices on the nose. It’s creamy on the palate with swaths of fruit, medium-firm tannins and a spicy finish. Tempranillo and graciano. Drink or hold.
"If you are looking for a red wine that is fruit-forward, very approachable, delicious and won't break the bank, this one is for you. Whether you plan to pair it with a bowl of chili, tacos de lengua or by itself...a glass of this wine will put a smile on your face!"
-Daniel S.