This wine is deeply pigmented. On the nose notes of violet, blackberries and some spices. On the palate it is velvety and pleasant, but the finish leaves you with a disturbing bitterness, which I guess is due to a suboptimal use of oak. Fortunately, after some exposition to air, this defect disappears. Nevertheless, I find this imperfection a real shame, given the otherwise pleasant profile of this wine made with a unique grape variety: Négrette.
Négrette is a black-skinned grape variety descendant of Mavro, an ancient variety from Cyprus, that according to legend was carried to southwestern France by the Knights Templar. Probably not coincidentally, Mavro is also the Greek word for black.
Nowadays Négrette is found almost exclusively in Fronton, where the iron-rich soil is favourable to its cultivation. In the Fronton AOC wines must contain at least half of Négrette, but varietal wines are common. As it is the case with this example that I bought at Vinovalie for 10.30 EUR.
Vinovalie is a Cooperative created in 2006 to bring together four previous Coop. It produces wines from the Cahors AOP, Caillac AOP and Fronton AOP and, I suspect, plenty of bulk wines.
Country: France
Region: Fronton
Grapes: Négrette
Type: Red
Vintage: 2014
Producer: Vinovalie
Price range: Economic (<15 US$)
Pascal’s Enjoyment Index: 3/5