Chateau de Campuget Tradition Red Blend 2007
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It is a garnet-red colored wine with a blue hue. Its scent of ripe fruit is dominated by black currants underlined with hints of spices and pepper. In the mouth, it is round and harmonious with long smooth tannins. It is very pleasant when young and it will age very well for five or six years.
Served at 64°F, it is perfect with grilled or roasted meat. It is especially recommended with a leg of lamb.
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Wine Spectator
A tasty garrigue-and tobacco-filled version, with a pebbly edge to the red and black currant fruit and lingering black tea and licorice snap notes. Shows nice range and character.
Chateau de Campuget in Costieres de Nimes is a beautiful domaine dating back to 1640. The property has belonged to the Dalle family since 1941.
Chateau de Campuget wines are produced by respecting tradition while utilizing the most modern oenological techniques. Although equipped with stainless-steel tanks and modern tools, wines are made and matured in a traditional way, and quality is strictly controlled from the vineyard to the bottle. Chateau De Campuget's main varieties are Syrah and Grenache Noir for the grapevines classified in AOC. For white wines, the winery uses Roussanne and Grenache Blanc in Costieres de Nimes and Chardonnay in Vin de Pays.
With bold fruit flavors and accents of sweet spice, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre form the base of the classic Rhône Red Blend, while Carignan, Cinsault and Counoise often come in to play. Though they originated from France’s southern Rhône Valley, with some creative interpretation, Rhône blends have also become popular in other countries. Somm Secret—Putting their own local spin on the Rhône Red Blend, those from Priorat often include Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. In California, it is not uncommon to see Petite Sirah make an appearance.
A long and narrow valley producing flavorful red, white, and rosé wines, the Rhône is bisected by the river of the same name and split into two distinct sub-regions—north and south. While a handful of grape varieties span the entire length of the Rhône valley, there are significant differences between the two zones in climate and geography as well as the style and quantity of Rhône wines produced. The Northern Rhône, with its continental climate and steep hillside vineyards, is responsible for a mere 5% or less of the greater region’s total output. The Southern Rhône has a much more Mediterranean climate, the aggressive, chilly Mistral wind and plentiful fragrant wild herbs known collectively as ‘garrigue.’
In the Northern Rhône, the only permitted red variety is Syrah, which in the appellations of St.-Joseph, Crozes-Hermitage, Hermitage, Cornas and Côte-Rôtie, it produces velvety black-fruit driven, savory, peppery red wines often with telltale notes of olive, game and smoke. Full-bodied, perfumed whites are made from Viognier in Condrieu and Château-Grillet, while elsewhere only Marsanne and Roussanne are used, with the former providing body and texture and the latter lending nervy acidity. The wines of the Southern Rhône are typically blends, with the reds often based on Grenache and balanced by Syrah, Mourvèdre, and an assortment of other varieties. All three northern white varieties are used here, as well as Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Bourbelenc and more. The best known sub-regions of the Southern Rhône are the reliable, wallet-friendly Côtes du Rhône and the esteemed Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Others include Gigondas, Vacqueyras and the rosé-only appellation Tavel.