So, counoise, what is it? It's a grape, and it's vary rarely seen in its 100 percent varietal form. New York Magazine said it best when they said, "Score wine-geek points by being first in your Zip Code to drink this velvety and rare Counoise. As this rare Rhone grape isn't on the mainstream radar." And we're talking about this Counoise, the Domaine Montpertuis from Paul Jeune. Master craftsmanship in an affordable little bottle.
Domaine Monpertuis is best known as a fantastic Chateauneuf-du-Pape producer and Jeune purchased the property responsible for this wine in the Gard region just west of Chateauneuf in 1995. It seems to be his teachers pet, because the amounts of love and generosity in this wine are tasty and enjoyable. A "country wine" that fills the desires you have for dark, bright, chewy, plummy wines with great velvety texture and substantial finish.
Our friend Michael Kane of Rosenthal Wine Merchants says, The French are fond of saying of this grape, "Le counoise, c'est mure." This sounds as though they're saying "mur" as in "ripe", but "mure" means "blackberry". And one of the hallmarks of the grape is indeed that, when it is fully ripened, the wine will exude a saturated dark fruit that seems to mimmick the very flavor of macerated ripe blackberries and the wine's very acidity will carry a pleasing snap of tartness not dissimilar to ripe blackberries. This snappy fresh character offers balance to the otherwise sappy ripeness of the fruit. Finally, there are subtle aromatic nuances of the "garrigue" and a light but discernible shadow of underlying gamey notes.
Go, Michael, we could not have said it better.
Cuvee Counoise 2007 $17 a bottle
