Spitting: Optional
Abbotts & Delaunay Corbières Reserve Syrah/Grenache/Mourvedre 2011
Style: Full bodied red
Country: France
Region: Languedoc-Roussillon
Overview: There is no question that it can be daunting for a person who has not been schooled in French wine to know what they are buying just by looking at the label. Take Burgundy labels for instance, first you need to understand the acronym A.O.C, Appellation d’origine controlee, which essentially mean controlled designation of origin. So for Burgundy to have A.O.C on the label the grapes need to be Chardonnay or Pinot Noir. You then have terms such Bourgogne, Village, Premier Cru & Grand Cru and Sub-Regions such as Hautes-Côtes de Beaune, Hautes-Côtes de Nuits and Mâcon-Villages. For most wine drinkers outside of France a wine labelled as ‘Beaune Premier Cru Appellation Beaune Premier Cru controlee’ could well mean that the grapes were grown by a one legged goat next door to a one-hundred year-old snail and made by a wizard. Which brings me to this wine and the Languedoc-Roussillon region. This region seems to be shadowed by other French Regions such as Burgundy, Champagne, Bordeaux and Rhone and because of this they have been forced to implement clever ‘marketing’, a term that French wine producers do not believe in. This has seen more stylish and simplistic labelling put forward by the Languedoc-Roussillon region, the biggest wine producing region in the world.
This wine comes from the Corbières region within Languedoc-Roussillon which is renowned for their red wines. The labelling is simple, readable and elegant. Combined with the premium, shoulder style bottle this wine presents as a wine that should sell for much more than the asking price.
Tasting note: A sexy, spicy blend of Syrah (Shiraz), Grenache and Mourvedre. Very aromatic with notes of strawberry and white pepper with underlying hints of smokey ham bone. Silky, soft palate with robust characters of plum and cedar complimenting the elegant strawberry and spice. Finishes velvety, thanks to the Grenache goodness.
Final Say: I cannot confirm or deny whether this wine was made from grapes grown by a one legged goat (it wasn’t on the label) but I can say that it is bloody good value. $23-$25 a bottle
Score: 16.5 out of 20
For any questions or feedback feel free to email me on spittingoptional@gmail.com
spitting:optional 
(disclaimer, I work for the distributor of this wine)
Glad you enjoyed – the labelling does help. All the 2011s, there is also a Minervois + Cotes du Roussillon, are very good. All are Shiraz dominant and then 2 of the following 3 make up the rest of the blend; Grenache, Mourvedre, Carignan.
The winery was set up by Nerida Abbott, an Aussie from the Barossa.
cheers
Thanks for the info Sanjay. I’ll keep my eye out for the others. Interesting that it was setup by an Aussie, my initial thoughts on the labeling was that it reminded me of an Australian style label.
Jack