Gabriel Mefffre Laurus, 2007, Gigondas, Southern Rhone

Animal. Charcoal. Leather. Dried herbs. All of these notes apply to the Grenache - a grape which along with olive oil, garlic, herbs and game holds up the Mediterranean's culinary tradition. Grenache is the key varietal in France's southern Rhone blends, the big lad of this group being Chateauneuf du Pape. 'The New Castle of the Pope.' Pretty holy, all round. We aren't having one of these tonight. I don't wish to provoke unnecessary celestial episodes. We will be profiling a wine from Gigondas, a nearby village producing serious wines at a moderate price.

Clos de L'Obac, 2004, Priorat

Gratallops is a Catalan village at the heart of Priorat. L'Ermita by Alvaro Palacios, Clos Mogador by Rene Barbier and Clos de L'Obac by Charles Pestrana are some of the heavy hitting vintages that have made the likes of Robert Parker do bare knuckle push-ups in the middle of the night from sheer anticipation. Priorat is a beautiful place with steep terraced vineyards that fold and buckle up to this mountain-top town. Gratallops is a bit sleepy in the wintertime but what are you going to do? Drink wine and invade the vines of these world-class winemakers is what I did last February. [...]

Domaine Zumbaum Tomasi, Clos Maginiai, 2007, Couteaux du Languedoc

The wine I've pulled from the closet tonight is from Languedoc. If you haven't tried anything from this part of France, I suggest you do. I get a little excited when I hear the word couteaux. Midi is an outstanding region. It's located in the southwest of France on the Mediterranean coast pressed up into the Catalan border and includes tremendous value appellations like Costieres de Nimes, Minervois, Cotes de Roussillon, Corbieres and finally Couteaux du Languedoc, where Domaine Zumbaum Tomasi is located.[...]