Spotlighting Savoury Fruit Reds From France, Portugal & Canada

Sorted by Country and Score

Hello Again,

Since the newsletter was launched, the total number of value wine picks has grown to over 250 (selected from over 3500 wines listed in B.C. Government liquor stores).

To help you focus on the type of wine you enjoy, I have created a series that pulls together wines of one particular style, reshuffles them by country and orders them by score from highest to lowest for each country.

This month the spotlight is on savoury reds from France, Portugal and Canada. There is a link provided for each wine to quickly check the current price and which stores carry it.

Note that this is a supplementary series. The regular monthly newsletter will continue to come out as usual.

This post is available to both paid and free subscribers. Paid subscribers also have access to all of the previous posts in the “Spotlight” series which will be updated as new wine picks in that category are added.

Previous Spotlight Posts

Spotlighting Ripe, Fruit Forward Reds Of Argentina, Australia & Spain

Spotlighting Medium-Bodied, Smooth Whites

What Is Meant By Savoury Fruit Reds?

This style is more typical of, but not limited to, wines from European countries such as France, Italy, Spain and Portugal.  The style can be packed with fruit flavour but it is of a slightly different nature than fruit forward style reds from Australia, California and South America.

Savoury fruit reds tend to contain elements of tartness or astringency, herbs, earth, tobacco, oak, smoke or olive but these elements are balanced with the fruit in a way that can produce interesting complexities.

The dominant fruit flavors include blackcurrant, blueberry and strawberry as well as more austere flavours not in the sweet fruit realm like cranberry or pomegranate. Some of the world's greatest wines such as Bordeaux, red Burgundy, Chateauneuf du pape, Hermitage, Barolo, and Chianti are made in this style . Wines you might know in this style seen on B.C. Liquor Store shelveswould include: Belleruche Cotes de Rhone, Monasterios Las Vinas or Sangre de Toro.

Notes on Wine Scores

The 100 point wine rating system, though not perfect, is the most commonly used and known rating system, so I use if for the wines I review for this newsletter. It was established and popularized in the 1980s by the American wine writer Robert Parker.

Here is a rough guide to the scores:

85-89 wines are ‘good’ to ‘very good’

90-94 wines are ‘superior’ to ‘exceptional’.

95-100 wines that are benchmark examples of their style, grape or region. You won’t see that many scores in this range here because the wines tend to be more expensive and this newsletter focuses on wines $30.00 and under.

Note that a wine review score, is just one aspect of a good and useful wine review, that provides a more composite picture. Along with the score, a review can contain a description of the wine’s flavours and aromas other relevant background information on the winery or the winemaking process and be written in a clear, informative and evocative way.

On to the wines…

Savoury Fruit Reds From France, Portugal & Canada

Savoury Fruit Reds From France

GERARD BERTRAND AN 1877 SYRAH MOURVEDRE - SAINT CHINIAN, FRANCE 2019 - 750 ml.

Begins with briar, garrigue, cedar wood, oregano, thyme and dark berry fruit notes that show classic St. Chinian terroir. As it opened, a polished texture appeared showing cigar, garrigue, charcoal, and rich balanced berry fruit with a slightly wild spicy tang that I often find in St. Chinian. The finish is a smooth assembly that reiterates the berries, garrigue, contributing tannins, and charcoal elements as well as Saint Chinian's signature tang. Worth exploring. Highly recommended. Tasted ✓ 91 Points

Check Current Price and Availability SKU:251470

HALOS DE JUPITER COTES DU RHONE, FRANCE - 750 ml.

Big and lush for a Cotes Du Rhone and straddles the line between ripe and savoury with cherries, touch of pepper, dried herbs, soft tannins. Much wine for the money. Blend of 80% Grenache and 20% Syrah. Tasted ✓ 90 Points

Check Current Price and Availability SKU: 254995

CHAPOUTIER MEYSONNIERS 2020 - CROZES-HERMITAGE, FRANCE - 750 ml.

Crozes-Hermitage is an appellation near the great Hermitage area of the Northern Rhone. This organic wine is very elegant, containing 100% syrah grapes here with cherry and blackberry flavors and fine, supple tannins. A step up from typical Cotes du Rhone reds. Decant to open it up fully. A Rhone Valley red that is the next level up. Amazing value. Tasted ✓ 90 Points

Check Current Price and Availability SKU: 131078

FAMILLE PERRIN L'ANDEOL - RASTEAU, FRANCE 2021 - 750 ml.

In the French geographically based appellation system, generally speaking the more specific the area the wine is from the higher the quality. In the case of Rhone Valley, wines labeled "Cotes du Rhone", they can come from anywhere in the valley but more distinctive wines from approved specific named villages are generally a step up in quality and interest. Rasteau is one of these named villages and this wine certainly delivers on the promise. 

So If you are a fan of affordable Cotes du Rhone reds, with their typical easy drinking savoury flavours of plum, baked cherry, potpourri black tea and spice, here is one slightly upscale that's worth trying at a bargain price.  Think of it as Cotes du Rhone plus with some extra length, interest and a touch of class in the glass. Here we have aromas and flavours of plum, baked red fruit pie, smoke accents and Mediterranean savoury spices (often referred to as "garrigue").  It's supple and unified with a beautiful braided Rhone finish and very approachable tannins. Tasted ✓ 90 Points

Check Current Price and Availability SKU:125856

PAUL MAS MALBEC PAYS D'OC, FRANCE - 750 ml. 

France is the original home of malbec and it is one of the allowable grape varieties in Bordeaux wines. Most people know the Argentinian versions which tend to be round, jammy and a little tannic. As is often the case, this Old World (meaning basically Europe) version has leaner, more savoury fruit and lower alcohol. It is from a single vineyard which tends toward (but doesn’t guarantee) a higher quality wine. Great value and very consistent. Try tasting side-by-side with a malbec from Argentina to highlight the difference in the two styles. Tasted ✓ 89 Points

Check Current Price and Availability  SKU: 644336

GUIGAL - COTES DU RHONE, FRANCE - 750 ml.

From a top Rhone producer, mainly syrah in the blend with savoury herbs and dried berry notes. Well balanced and interesting. Tasted ✓ 89 Points

Check Current Price and Availability SKU: 259721

BOUTINOT LES COTEAUX CÔTES-DU-RHONE VILLAGES 2021 - RHONE, FRANCE - 750 ml.

Another interesting and well priced wine from the Côtes du Rhone, an area that consistently provides great value in reds and whites alike. Your nose will find much going on here including cherry, bramble fruit, dry Mediterranean spices, tar/liqorice, black plum, wood ash and raspberries. On the flavour, it is biggish bodied with good length, balancing acidity, not too grippy tannins and black plum on the finish. Shows good Côtes du Rhone character. Tasted ✓ 89 Points

Check Current Price & Availability SKU: 48934

CHATEAU LA BESAGE GRANDE CUVEE 2018 - BERGERAC, FRANCE - 750 ml.

Bergerac is adjacent to Bordeaux and makes similar wines but generally at much lower prices because the area is less well known. The blend here is cabernet sauvignon and merlot. Mid-weight, supple and balanced with aromas and flavours of savoury blackcurrant and red berries. It won a gold medal at the Concours Agricole wine competition in Paris that consistently awards great value wines. Tasted ✓ 89 Points

Check Current Price and Availability SKU: 271023

CHAPOUTIER BELLERUCHE CÔTES-DU-RHONE 2021, FRANCE - 750 ml.

The main grapes here are grenache and syrah. Rich liqorice notes with preserved red plums and some white pepper on the aroma and the taste. The wine shows good Côtes-du-Rhone character. The intensity and body here are both medium. The finish is long and stays focused, riding on soft approachable tannins. This wine is fairly robust. So if you enjoy a bigger California cabernet, you might want to see what the same style tastes like using different grapes. Good value and very consistent. Tasted ✓ 89 Points

Check Current Price and Availability    SKU: 476846

TERRES FIDÈLES FELICETTE CATS IN SPACE GRENACHE ROUGE 2019 - PAYS D'OC, FRANCE - 750 ml.

One of the most enjoyable and interesting wines to come along in many a month. The fanciful “catstronauts” label actually has a relevant historical origin because in fact, the first cat in space was French. It was on October 24th 1963 when Félicette the cosmic cat, jetted 130 miles above Earth on a French Véronique AG1 rocket, soaring high above the Sahara Desert. The connecting thread for Terres Fidèles, the French virtual winery that produces this wine, is to go far and accept no boundaries.

And the wine? The grape here is grenache and as with many other varieties, it can reflect a range of flavours and quality levels, depending on where it is grown and how it is treated, ranging from simple daily wine to something more grand. It is one of the main component grapes in Chateauneuf du Pape and is one of the trio in what are called GSM wines. It is light to medium bodied and often spicy and red berry-flavored - usually raspberry and strawberry with a subtle note of white pepper.

There's lots of fresh, young exuberant red strawberry and raspberry fruit here with good balance and a lively acidity. As it opened up, more savory, tannic notes appeared and merged with the fruit.  Overall a lovely, lively, balanced wine. The length of the finish increased and notes of tar, tobacco, prunes, pepper, medicinal herbs (in a good way) as well as horehound. sarsaparilla  licorice and thyme appeared. It's an honest, great combination of fresh lively fruit and balancing tannins, riding on a thriving acidity.  The restrained alcohol contributes to the balance and interest. Would match with a wide range of dishes from lamb to pizza. Suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Highly recommended. Tasted ✓ 89 Points Check Current Price and Availability SKU 780593

CHAPOUTIER BILA HAUT 2021 - CÔTES du ROUSSILLON VILLAGES, FRANCE - 750 ml.

This is a red blend from some of the better villages in the warm South of France. Plenty of appealing smoky fruit flavours of darker berry fruit, licorice and dried savoury herbs. A double decant (see Newsletter #1) would soften it nicely. The bumps on the label are braille. Great value. Tasted ✓ 88 Points

Check Current Price and Availability SKU: 40790

MAS DE SAINTE CROIX TENDRE COTES-DU-RHONE VILLAGES VALREAS - FRANCE - 750 ml.

A wine that "tastes of  place" showing savoury berry fruit concentration. It is slightly grippy on tannins at first but it opens up fairly quickly (and quicker with a double decant) to show a bigger, smoother texture.  A touch of tar and blackberry bramble in the finish. By blackberry bramble I mean the taste of a smaller, ripe blackberry where you taste the less sweet outside of the berry equally with the ripe fruit interior. Tasted ✓ 88 Points Check Current Price and Availability    SKU: 253110

CHATEAU DAVIAUD 2019 - BORDEAUX, FRANCE - 750 ml.

You want affordable Bordeaux? This is it.

Simple, rounded, balanced with “dusty” fruit and a touch of floral cherry wood on the nose and flavour, with approachable tannins. Not grand, but a good true example of Bordeaux’s charms. Tasted ✓ 88 Points

Check Current Price and Availability SKU: 401073

PERRIN RESERVE - COTES DU RHONE, FRANCE - 750 ml.

Straight forward bright, fresh cherry flavours, some wood with baked fruit/cough syrup herbal notes, pepper and some floral. The tannins are quite softened. Dependable and consistent value from an excellent Rhone producer. Tasted ✓ 88 Points

Check Current Price and Availability SKU: 363457

LOUIS BERNARD 2021 - COTES DU RHONE, FRANCE - 750 ml.

On the nose, red fruit. light dry herbs, pepper and grenache fruit round easy tannins but good acidity keeps it taut. Here is a good simple cotes du rhone with good mid palate texture, balanced fruit. Just tasty and authentic. Light tannins are a contributing part of the mix that complete the balance and are part of the mosaic here. Tasted ✓ 88 Points

Check Current Price and Availability SKU: 581645

LA VIEILLE FERME VENTOUX RED 2022 - PRODUCT OF FRANCE - 750 ml.

Initially some plum and rounded darker fruit notes with a touch of vanilla and nutmeg. Easy drinking on the lighter side with cherry and plum flavours and a drift of tannic friction on the ending. Tasted ✓ 87 Points

Check Current Price and Availability SKU: 263640

Savoury Fruit Reds From Portugal

QUINTA DAS CARVALHAS 2018 - DOURO, PORTUGAL - 750 ml.

A striking nose of plum, cherries, raspberry smoky wood and dreamy, intense, floral, berry fruit and licorice. On the palate, the tannins and wood notes are uppermost but are very well integrated with the concentrated fruit. It drinks very much like a rich, fulsome port, except dry instead of sweet. There is a silky texture, touched by wood and it possesses big intensity and body. The finish is very long, supported by good background acidity. Tasted ✓ 93 Points

Check Current Price and Availability SKU: 466709

LUIS PATO BEIRA ATLANTICO BAGA TOURIGA NACIONAL - PORTUGAL - 750 ml.

On the nose, smoky charcoal, black plum jam, baked cherries and struck flint.

The flavour is as on the nose but some savoury non-jammy, fruit leather-like brambly fruit. Slightly port-like with medium plus body and medium plus intensity. Fine grained tannins and beautiful balanced acidity here. Very well constructed and so well balanced for a bigger more intense wine. Really lingers on the finish. Tasted ✓ 91 Points

Check Current Price and Availability SKU: 188646

LAGARES DE PENALVA 2021 - DAO, PORTUGAL - 750 ml.

Flavours here of raspberry, plum, floral and fresh light cherry with a bit of sweet baking spices. Smooth, balanced, relatively simple and rounded with a slightly soft acidity that makes it very easy drinking. Tasted ✓ 87 Points

Check Current Price and Availability SKU:434848

GRAO VASCO - DAO, PORTUGAL - 750 ml.

With wines under $12.00 or so, wine drinkers have to be realistic. You are very unlikely to find something grand, complex or fascinating under the cork at that price level.

When assessing very economically priced wines, I find it more realistic and useful to look for what’s NOT there. No factory wine taste, no medicinal tang, no candied fruit flavours, no watered down taste, no mouth puckering tannins or bracing acidity. Each to their own but any smug satisfaction I may enjoy drinking a wine costing as little as one figure, the party is definitely spoiled if the wine has something negative that I have to put up with.

It’s ultimately about value for money not just price, so as the list of absentee negatives (medicinal tang, candied fruit…) grows, I think, so does the wine’s relative worth.

Viewed through that lens, here is a great value wine. Grao Vasco has the advantage of being based mainly on a couple of indigenous grapes - touriga nacional and tinto roriz that are inherently flavourful and rich. The wine also seems to be non-vintage so they are able to blend multiple vintages to create a consistent wine.

The wine is very simple with cherry, wood and a touch of tar as well as tobacco on the nose. Likewise on the flavour, dry and savoury with some plum as well. Make an enjoyable, cheap and cheerful, complementary accompaniment for pizza or lasagna. Save money and enjoy. Tasted ✓ 86 Points Check Current Price and Availability  SKU: 14977

MULA VELHA 2021 - LISBOA, PORTUGAL - 750 ml.

Fresh and baked cherry, some wood effects, fairly simple, lean and a little rustic but it did smooth out nicely with a one hour decant. An everyday cheap and cheerful red to irrigate the lasagna. Tasted ✓ 86 Points

Check Current Price and Availability SKU: 498978

Savoury Fruit Reds From Canada

STAG'S HOLLOW HERITAGE BLOCK OKANAGAN VALLEY, CANADA - 750 ml.

A very consistent Bordeaux blend from a winery in Okanagan Falls that typically is better value than French Bordeaux at this price point. Although this wine has both ripe fruit and savoury fruit flavours it is a little more on the savoury side. A very tasty blend. Tasted ✓ 89 Points

Check Current Price and Availability SKU 115972

MONTE CREEK - CABERNET FRANC B.C., CANADA - 750 ml

Though less well known than cabernet sauvignon and merlot, cabernet franc is one of the varieties found in red Bordeaux blends but is seldom seen on it’s own. It can be quite delightful as a stand alone, showing herbaceous aromas, along with red or black plums and some pepper in the finish and what I would call a “dusty fruit” finish. The Loire valley in France is famous for it but it seems to work very well in British Columbia showing a more savoury fruit style.

This one from Monte Creek shows very typical cabernet franc character. In the glass a medium intensity on the nose with dusty pencil shavings, graphite, rich boysenberry/blueberry, dark cherry and pecan shell. On the taste initially, closed but with good berry intensity, herbal notes, good balancing acidity and slight tannic grip. After opening up in the glass it showed a longer savoury berry aftertaste. Drinks well now but could easily hold for a few years at least. The alcohol here is a restrained 12.8 %. A great example of cabernet franc character. Tasted ✓ 88 Points

Check Current Price and Availability SKU: 489360

Until next time…