2001 Château Mas Neuf Costières de Nîmes $10
(Look for the small flag to get to the English version.)
I visited my local purveyor of fermented grape juice last Thursday in order to partake in a tasting of Renwood products. I didn’t buy any of those, but I was looking over the narrow selection of Rhone wines, when an acquaintance recommended that I try a certain bottle. I took that and the only remaining bottle of the D’cubed Howell Mountain Zinfandel to the counter. The proprietor wasn’t happy with my Rhone selection. And has he has never led me astray, I asked him to recommend a decent Rhone wine.
He suggested the 2001 Château Mas Neuf Costières de Nîmes.
I must say, that it was a great choice. I opened it Friday night, and expect that there will not be any left by dinner tonight.
It has a nice ruby-red color. At first I thought that it was a bit cloudy, but on close examination, I’d say that I was mistaken. It looks fine. There are some floral and mineral aromas in the nose. Very interesting. (This is what I was hoping for.) There is also some fruit, perhaps a bit of raspberry.
I’ve been looking to investigate Rhone wines, as I really like the varietals used, namely Syrah and Grenache. My experience with the French wines has been limited to very nice 1998 Château La Nerthe Chateauneuf du Pape – which I’ll firmly state that it is among my favorite wines.
Okay, enough of that, back to this one. You can taste the dirt! I like that. Yeah, I know, but I have so much trouble spelling terroir. (Did I spell it correctly?)
Any way, for $10, I’ll be buying this one again. There is a flavor of blackberry which is quite nice, and the finish is very smooth. This one is very well balanced.
You’ll have to excuse me, but I have to go to the kitchen. I think that I left a little in the bottle…
A hit at the price! My first impression was like yours, but a bit of sitting and swirling and “Oh My….”. What you said plus I got a bit of coffee in the nose. This definitely does not come across like a $10 wine. As you say, it’s not the ’98 du Pape, but think I can find room for a couple more of these.
OK, so the other night I opened yet another bottle of this one (think it was my third or fourth and still have one in the cellar) to go with some chicken parmesean. After a lot of sniffing, I couldn’t believe what I thought I was smelling so I asked my wife to see what she thought. Her immediate reply was exactly that of mine — would you believe a beautiful Red Delicious apple ??? I kid you not; and the red apple was still there on the palate. This $10 gem never ceases to amaze me. Never fear, the coffee and a hint of spice were still there on the finish. I wonder what my last bottle will have to say when it gets opened down the road????