A special wine

A few days ago, we opened up a bottle of slightly older wine--a close-out from our local wine store. I knew the producer's reputation, but I hadn't had this one before, and it was from a rather hot vintage and as a close-out, might or might not have been wonderfully stored. So, expectations were not all that high... well... it was one of the most memorable wines I've had in a long while.

So, what was it? A 2003 Domaine Puech Chaud Coteaux du Languedoc. The producer is Rene Rostaing, better known for his northern Rhone wines. But this had many of the same notes as northern Rhones, probably because the cepage was heavy on syrah--but blended with grenache mourvedre, and other grapes. The wine had many of the classic notes of the heat of the 2003 vintage in the Midi. It had great dark fruit flavors, slightly stewed in nature from the hot year, though mellowed by age, great garrigue and anise herbaceous notes. There was a classic syrah peppery note, some oak hints, roasted meat and maybe even bacon. Moderately rustic-earthy in style, it brought a surprisingly decent amount of acid for the vintage, and good minerality and tannis. There was an unusual combination of subtle complexity and power in this wine--something all too rare in wines, and just blew me away. It was drinking just beautifully now, and I think it probably has a few years on it yet--maybe 3 or even 5. That I got the bottle for $16 really made the day for me. It drank far better than many wines 3 times the price. My only regret--that I only was able to get the one bottle. Wish I had a case.