Even with the increased quality of new world wines the old timer of France still produces some of the best red wine in the world. There are hundreds of red wine varieties in France, far to many to discuss in this short piece. However there are always a few that deserve a mention. Here are some French red wine reviews that discuss affordable and lovely varieties.
Vaqueyras Cuvee Speciale 1998
This is a near perfect French red wine and it comes at a reasonable price. It contains hints of chocolate and herbs along with excellent mature berries.
Domaine de La Meynard Plan de Dieu Cotes du Rhone Villages 2005
This recent wine comes from a region of France that you may not have considered before but after reading this French red wine review you may be tempted to give it a try, plus it won’t be to hard on the wallet. This is a well balanced French red wine with a strong influence of cherries, plums and blackberries. It is not a weak wine and has a nice mix of leaf and twig flavours to keep you tasting.
La Sauvegeaonne Puech de Glen 2001
This is a big tasting French red wine that certainly does not lack in complexities. It has a long lasting rich taste that contains hints of roasted berries, coriander and walnuts. This French red wine may be powerful but it has a smooth elegant finish.
Chateau Trignon Cotes du Rhone Villages Sablet Ramillades 1998
This is another good quality, affordable French red wine that comes from the Cotes du Rhone region of France. This is a lovely rich red wine with just enough tannin and it is a pleasure to smell and taste.
Domaine de Cazenueve Wines
This French red wine review discusses an excellent wine producing domaine, Domaine de Cazenueve. They have a couple of high quality red wines to try out. The best one is probably Pic St-Loup. This wine comes from a southern region of France called Languedoc Roussillon, a region that is only beginning to makes its appearance on an international level.
The grapes used to produce this wine and other red wines at Domaine de Cazenueve are a mixture of syrah and mourvedre. These are great wines to add to your wine cellar but it is also possible to drink them while they are fairly young. They are excellent wines for serving with roasted red meat.
Rasteau
This French red wine is produced in the Cotes du Rhone at the Domaine de Soumade. This wonderful French red wine has a strong mature full bodied taste. The best years to look out for are 2003 and 2004.
Chinon
Chinon is a French red wine that goes with a variety of red meat dishes. It fits perfectly in the middle between weak and strong, so it is a good choice if you are trying to please a number of dinner guests. It has a lovely oak flavour and strong hint of raspberry when it is still young. Charles Joguet produces this excellent French red wine.
Mercurey Faiveley
This red French wine comes from the famous Burgundy region. Choosing a wine from Burgundy can be tough and pricey but there are many that offer excellent taste at reasonable prices and Mercurey Faiveley is one of them. This is a big tasting wine is bursting with flavour especially of red fruits. The reputable grower, Faiveley, produces this wine. Two of the best years to try are 2002 and 2003.
Chateau d’Aiguilhe
This is a fantastic French red wine that comes from the world famous vineyards of Bordeaux. One excellent feature of Bordeaux wines is that they tend to age well. This wine has a wonderful dark fruit flavour and round taste. Special care is taken in the production of this wine. In fact all the grapes used have been carefully selected to ensure that only the ones with the best skins and ripeness are used. Another plus for this wine is that it uses wild yeasts. This means that there is less sulphur in the wine, which means there is less chance of getting a sore head from drinking it.
