Wine of the Week 10/5/21

Mary Taylor Pierre Vidal Costières de Nîmes

Regularly $19.99/On Sale for $15.96

Another absolute jewel from genius micro-negociant Mary Taylor! 

Costières de Nîmes has historically been part of both the Languedoc and the Rhône, but it is really most specifically a wine of the vast Mediterranean delta that makes up the Camargue, the strange and beautiful land of pink flamingoes, black bulls, and white horses.  While the region is the Rhône’s southernmost appellation, it is also its coolest, a result of the marshlands and the sea immediately to the south.  These maritime influences, along with the characteristic stony soil of the Rhône, combine to make a near perfect environment for complex, aromatic reds, one of the reasons for several millennia of viticulture in the area.

Pierre Vidal is both a grower and a nègoçiant. In some years he buys fruit from the neighboring vineyards in St. Gilles in which you find a large Benedictine Abbey stemming from the 7th century, itself a prolific winemaking enterprise in its day. Pierre studied at the great winemaking school “Jules Guyot” at the University of Bourgogne in Dijon. He brings to his winemaking style a sense of precision and elegance. His Costières de Nîmes is 60 % Grenache, with about equal parts Mourvèdre and Syrah making up the difference.  The 40 year-old vines are grown organically, the wines are unfiltered, and sulfur use is at a minimum.

This is the first terrific autumnal wine of the season. Don’t miss this one!