91 2010 Jean-Marie Rimbert Carignator (Saint Chinian) 7/4/14 ($25)
100% Carignan 13% alc
Color: Deep purple/black cherry. (3.0) Bouquet: Ripe, sappy black plum, red guava and black cherry. Multi-layered old vines fruit. (3.0) Body: Solid middleweight with excellent fruit and acidity and fine tannins underneath. Silky mouthfeel. (3.0) Flavor: Parallels bouquet, but not quite as distinctive at this point. (3.0) Finish: Shows the most intensity here. Long, elegant and delicious. (3.5)
Overall: The ripe, old vines bouquet on this is enticing with black plum, red guava and black cherry. So much so, that I was a little worried that this was going to taste over-ripe, like so many other wines from Southern France. What's exciting and surprising here is how its acidity and elegance tame the ripe fruit. The finish may be its strongest attribute, echoeing the multi-dimensional fruit again and again. Delicious now, but not yet showing the complexity of its sister (La Carignatora) wine. Give it a few years bottle age. (15.5)
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