Friday, March 21, 2003
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The Wines of Alquier
I'm working my way through the various better producers in the Languedoc. While USA fury reigns on the French, it's not the winemakers who made the decision to not support the invasion of Iraq. So last night, along with WinePal Rich Spahl and the good friends at Flemings, we opened four of the better wines ever produced by the Alquier brothers.
1998 Alquier Rousanne-Marsanne Coteaux du Languedoc
The name about says it all. The wines hails from one of the most beautiful parts of the Languedoc with rolling low hillsides that offers views of the sea, the Pyrenees and the coastal towns of Pezenas and Bezier.
Alquier's white wine is very lush and rich, going through some malolactic fermentation, that adds some depth and a creamy richness. Great flavors too, as the wine delivers a very lasting and lingering bunch of flavors of apricots, peaches and pears.
1994 Alquier Faugeres Coteaux du Languedoc
A blend of Mourvedre, Syrah, Carignane and Grenache. What could be better. The wine at age nine is really tasting very good, but I suspect getting to a point in time of maybe three or four more years of life left in the bottle. The cork for this, and the other two Alquier reds opened this night showed zero signs of abuse, and since all of these wines were purchased direct from Kermit Lynch and stored in my temperature controlled cellars from day one, I was not surprised to see how fresh the reds tasted.
With an aroma of blackberry and black cherry cola, this red followed though with quite a range of smooth, silky flavors, making one person ask if Pinot Noir was in the blend, a true testament to the winemaker's ability to blend.
1993 Alquier Juene Vignes Faugeres
This is the wine made from the younger vines of Syrah, Carignane and Mourvedre. It's a charming, lightly oaked wine with great flavor and delicious concentration. A bit more tarry than the AOC Coteaux du Languedoc the wine had copious levels of blueberry, raspberry and spicy black pepper.
1994 Alquier Les Bastides de Alquier
The top wine from the house of Alquier, this wine, unlike the other two, sees lots of time in oak and is made from the best of the Syrah and Mourvedre and appears to be void of any Grenache. It is as much like a Rastau from the Rhone or a Chateauneuf du Pape as any wine from the Languedoc in complexity, but its smoothness makes one feel it has an almost California Cabernet like palate weight. This is a delightful "big wine" that can age another few years.
Cheers,
Andy Abramson
The Wines of Alquier
I'm working my way through the various better producers in the Languedoc. While USA fury reigns on the French, it's not the winemakers who made the decision to not support the invasion of Iraq. So last night, along with WinePal Rich Spahl and the good friends at Flemings, we opened four of the better wines ever produced by the Alquier brothers.
1998 Alquier Rousanne-Marsanne Coteaux du Languedoc
The name about says it all. The wines hails from one of the most beautiful parts of the Languedoc with rolling low hillsides that offers views of the sea, the Pyrenees and the coastal towns of Pezenas and Bezier.
Alquier's white wine is very lush and rich, going through some malolactic fermentation, that adds some depth and a creamy richness. Great flavors too, as the wine delivers a very lasting and lingering bunch of flavors of apricots, peaches and pears.
1994 Alquier Faugeres Coteaux du Languedoc
A blend of Mourvedre, Syrah, Carignane and Grenache. What could be better. The wine at age nine is really tasting very good, but I suspect getting to a point in time of maybe three or four more years of life left in the bottle. The cork for this, and the other two Alquier reds opened this night showed zero signs of abuse, and since all of these wines were purchased direct from Kermit Lynch and stored in my temperature controlled cellars from day one, I was not surprised to see how fresh the reds tasted.
With an aroma of blackberry and black cherry cola, this red followed though with quite a range of smooth, silky flavors, making one person ask if Pinot Noir was in the blend, a true testament to the winemaker's ability to blend.
1993 Alquier Juene Vignes Faugeres
This is the wine made from the younger vines of Syrah, Carignane and Mourvedre. It's a charming, lightly oaked wine with great flavor and delicious concentration. A bit more tarry than the AOC Coteaux du Languedoc the wine had copious levels of blueberry, raspberry and spicy black pepper.
1994 Alquier Les Bastides de Alquier
The top wine from the house of Alquier, this wine, unlike the other two, sees lots of time in oak and is made from the best of the Syrah and Mourvedre and appears to be void of any Grenache. It is as much like a Rastau from the Rhone or a Chateauneuf du Pape as any wine from the Languedoc in complexity, but its smoothness makes one feel it has an almost California Cabernet like palate weight. This is a delightful "big wine" that can age another few years.
Cheers,
Andy Abramson
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