Tasting note

The 2011 Clos La Coutale has a lively attack, a very ripe plum and cherry nose, a delicious, dark and meaty, coffee-licorice-peppery mouth, and a distinctive, if somewhat brief, dark chocolate finish. It's almost as if someone had taken a rich stew and infused it with a cherry compote, but the wine's fresh, spicy minerality makes it work, holding it all in delightful tension. It's easy to see why The Wine Spectator named Clos La Coutale one of the world's 100 best wines in 2009. (Tom Fiorina, thevineroute.com, June 20, 2013)

One whiff and your nose is smacked with an attractive assortment of rich, ripe, jammy red and black fruit aromas with hints of licorice and black pepper mixed in. On the palate it has a velvety smooth texture, with ripe black fruits pepper and hints of earth.