Domaine l’Ostal Cazes – Minervois La Livinière “Grand Vin” 2021

The Grand Vin du Domaine de L’Ostal expresses the best of the estate.
Its Minervois La Livinière appellation is one of the most demanding in the Languedoc: this AOC is only produced by around thirty winegrowers who impose draconian quality rules on themselves.

Firstly, the grapes undergo a rigorous selection process, with less than a third of the production from the terroir selected. The wine is aged for 15 months in French oak barrels.

Syrah for depth
With its intense dark colour, the Grand Vin opens with a bouquet of candied black fruit (bigarreau cherry / black cherry and blackcurrant) enhanced by a touch of black pepper and roasted notes (coffee, caramel, dark chocolate). On the palate, the wine is silky and full-bodied, combining seductive notes of ripe red fruit with essences characteristic of the terroir (garrigue, lavender, thyme, sandalwood). The silky tannins, supported by good freshness, suggest good ageing potential.

On the label, an iridescent black solar disc evokes the extraordinary phenomenon of the total eclipse.

93/100 Wine Enthusiast: ‘A velvet glove elegance infuses this red blend. Black fruit cuddled in oak fills the nose with blackberry, baked blueberry, unsweetened chocolate, dried thyme and rhubarb aromas. As mattering of vanilla spice chimes in on the palate and rides behind the fruit structure, while imparting added richness.