France

Burning Cavalier Merlot Cabernet 2017

The Burning Cavalier Merlot Cabernet 2017 is a rather morbidly named $5.99 Trader Joe’s import wine, a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon from vineyards in the Languedoc region of France, just north of the border with Spain and along the Mediterranean Sea. The Languedoc is the largest grape growing region in France and while there…

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Claire Patelin Cotes de Gascogne Sauvignon Blanc 2017

The Claire Patelin Cotes de Gascogne Sauvignon Blanc 2017 is a $5.99 Trader Joe’s import exclusive sourced from vineyards in the Cotes de Gascogne area of southwest France. The Cotes de Gascogne shares a boundary with the Armagnac AOP which has been a premier Brandy region for 700 years. The Cotes de Gascogne is primarily a White…

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LaRue Cotes de Provence Rosé 2017

The LaRue Cotes de Provence Rosé 2017 is a $7.19 ALDI import exclusive, a blend of unspecified Red grapes grown in the Cotes de Provence AOP, the largest growing region in Provence, in the south of France. This bottle looks very much like ALDI’s Exquisite Collection Provence Rosé ($7.99) from about a year ago that got…

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Maison Les Alexandrins Syrah 2016

The Maison Les Alexandrins Syrah 2016 is 92% Syrah and 8% Viognier sourced mainly from vineyards in the Northern Rhone region of France, but also from vineyards in the Loire and in the Southern Rhone Valley. Viognier is a White grape and is the only White grape that is regularly added to Red wine, I asked…

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Beau Rocher Brut Rose’

The Beau Rocher Brut Rose’ is a non-vintage French Sparkling wine, the label says Mousseux which along with Cremant is French for any Bubbly not produced in Champagne. I choose this bottle because it was the cheapest French Bubbly, $5.99, in the store, it may well have the cheapest French wine of any sort on the…

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La Vieille Ferme Rosé – 2017

The La Vieille Ferme Rosé – 2017 is a blend of Cinsault, Grenache, and Syrah made by Famille Perrin and sourced from vineyards in the Ventoux district in the southeastern area of the Southern Rhone Valley of France. This is a sub-$10 Rose’ (I found it for $6.99) and it does not seem to be a…

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La Coqueluche Rose’ 2017

The La Coqueluche Rose’ 2017 is a $5.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive designated an IGP or a Vin de Pays D’Oc wine sourced from vineyards in the Languedoc region of southeastern France. French wine regions have governing bodies that issue strict rules and regulations concerning the farming of the grapes and the production of the wine, IGP…

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Forty Ounce Rose’ 2017

The Forty Ounce Rose’ 2017 is a blend of 53% Gamay, 33% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Pineau d’Aunis sourced from vineyards in the Muscadet and Touraine regions of the Loire Valley in France. Gamay is the grape used in the making of Beaujolais and Pineau d’Aunis is a very old French grape that was…

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La Jaglerie Rose’ D’Anjou 2016

The La Jaglerie Rose’ D’Anjou 2016 is 80% Grolleau and 20% Cabernet Franc sourced from the Anjou AOP of the middle Loire Valley located south and west of Paris in France. The Loire Valley runs for 300 miles along the Loire River with vineyards along the hillsides on both sides of the river. The Anjou region,…

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La Croix de Maunay Vouvray 2016

The La Croix de Maunay Vouvray 2016 is a $7.99 Trader Joe’s import exclusive. Vouvray (inside the Loire Valley growing area) is located south and west of Paris and the vineyards are situated along the Loire River and boundaries are defined by 8 villages, Vouvray being the most important. The grape they grow in Vouvray is…

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La Joie du Boeuf Ventoux 2014

The La Joie du Boeuf Ventoux 2014 is 100% Grenache sourced from organic vineyards in the Ventoux AOP on the foothills of Mount Ventoux in the Rhone Valley of southeast France. La Joie du Boeuf translates to “joy of beef” and has a happy cow frolicking on a sunny day in a field of flowers on the…

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Aime La Vie! Syrah Grenache Rose’ 2016

The Aime La Vie! Syrah Grenache Rose’ 2016 is a $6.99 Trader Joe’s import wine sourced from vineyards in the Languedoc region of south-eastern France, along the Mediterranean Ocean and just north of Spain. Aime La Vie! translates to “love the life”, you usually see J’Aime La Vie which means “the life I love”. This Rose’…

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The Holy Snail Sauvignon Blanc 2016

The Holy Snail Sauvignon Blanc 2016 is ($9.99 Whole Foods) sourced from contracted vineyards in the Touraine region in the central section of the Loire Valley in France. The Holy Snail is produced by Domaine Joel Delaunay and is a Val de Loire IGP wine, meaning this is a Sauv Blanc indicative of the Loire Valley,…

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Famille Perrin Cotes du Rhone Villages 2015

The Famille Perrin Cotes du Rhone Villages 2015 is a blend of Grenache, Mourvedre, and Syrah grown in “Villages” designated vineyards in the southern Rhone region of France, south of Switzerland and west of the Italian border. In the Cotes du Rhone AOC in terms of perceived quality, the lowest designation is simply Cotes du Rhone…

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Fluteau Blanc de Noirs Brut Champagne

The Fluteau Blanc de Noirs Brut Champagne is 100% Pinot Noir grown in a single Estate vineyard in the Côte des Bar  district of Aube in the southernmost section of Champagne which is located in northeast France. This Bubbly is known as a Grower/Producer Champagne which indicates that the family that owned the vineyard and grew the…

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