Les Vignobles Foncalieu – L’Apogée 2012 – Saint Chinian

Youthful wine with a very intense colour here, rather black than red I would say, blue-purple; high viscosity. The nose starts out quite discreetly but it’s certainly showing a high level of ripeness here; inky dark fruit like cassis, black cherry, almost like cherry liqueur, kirsch; some notes of herbal spiciness, mint. On the palate it’s well-balanced, with a good density of fruit, quite inky core but rather soft extract anyway. I don’t really feel any hint of oak here, rather that attractive juicy dark fruit. Despite the ripeness I think the acidity is well-preserved. Fairly long finish. On the aftertaste there’s a certain hint of tannin, but not in any obtrusive way. I suppose this is a wine that would need another quite short aging or a long aeration before service just to round off the edges and open it a little bit; but well-made in that rich ripe style, yet with a soft texture.

Tasted by the Best Sommelier of the World, Andreas Larsson.