Cebene, Bancels, Faugeres

More dark fruit showing now than in past bottles, with vivid, brambly black currants, white pepper and herbs. Extremely attractive with good acidity and structure. I am going to be very sorry when these are gone.

Delicious. Drinking well in 2025.

I opened this to present in a grenache challenge, knowing it was a blend but believing based it was mostly grenache: strawberry, pomegranate, loads of white pepper and some other spices too. But the label tells a different story: it's only 35% grenache. Nonetheless, delicious and ridiculously good with potato chips and onion dip. Who knew!

PnP'd. 50% Syrah, 35% Grenache and 15% Mourvedre. Fruit covers the gamut of the red basket with pomegranate and raspberry out in front. Bright, lively, joyous.

Akkerman portfolio tasting (Akkerman warehouse) : Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre In the nose the wine shows tight fresh cherry notes, sour cherries, shows depth, a few herbal notes. In the palate, the wine shows nice texture, tight tannins, fresh, cherries, a touch herbal, medium body and finish Needs decanting though

Corked.

Medium to medium deep purple red, lovely floral and fruit pastille scent, quite complex and beguiling. Palate is really good too, dry and slightly tannic but a yr or two in cellar would smooth that out. Medium bodied, nice, not overdone. Quite like this.

Really lovely wine, and a great bargain.

13.5% alcohol. S, G, Mrvd, in similar proportions I assume (no more detailed info available). Very short cork, but of good quality, with no wine penetration whatsoever. The colour is medium to deep. The nose is not the most expressive; red berries come across, as well as a (not unpleasant) rustic character. The mouth is fruity and light (in a good way), with brambles and some tannins in the finish. This does not add up to a terribly memorable experience. …

A blend of Rhone grapes (Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre), but this shows a lot of peppery syrah character, beef blood, and olive tapenade, and shows a very similar profile to a baby Cote Rotie. Lovely wine, and great value at around $20.