MAASTRICHT, Netherlands — On Day Two at the 2007 Concours Mondial my jury started out with light-bodied aromatic whites. Though none were impressive, two were quite fine and I scored them at the low end of the scale for a gold medal. It turned out the first was a 2006 Rioja Blanco from Marques de Caceres and the other a 2006 Sauvignon Blanc from Storks’ Tower in Castilla Leon.
Neither, however, achieved a rating of 90 points on my scorecard. Our next flight took us to the south of France, to the region of Languedoc-Roussillon and more specifically the sub-region of Coteaux du Languedoc La Clape, a highly regulated district remarkable for its Rhone blends, with Grenache serving as the backbone.
A couple of these wines were spectacular, earning my vote as Great Golds. The first was the stunning 2005 Chateau Rouquette sur Mer Cuvee L’Esprit Terroir (97 points), a richly layered and textured red with remarkable depth and supple tannins. The second was the 2005 Champs Rouge (98) from the same district. The 2005 Chateau Rouquette sur Mer Cuvee Henry Lapierre barely missed Great Gold on my card with 95 points.
Other impressive wines were the 2005 Les Quatres Pins (92) and Domaine Peuch Auger’s Les Dolomies 2005 from Coteaux du Languedoc Montpeyroux (93). Again, two disclaimers. I know not at this time how any of these wines fared with my jury overall (results will be posted soon at the Concours Mondial website) and I have no information on pricing or the importer, if any.
I found one Great Gold in our next flight, a gorgeous unaged Mourvedre, the 2006 Zenizate Monastrell from Spain’s Jumilla region. Valcorso 2006 Monastrell Barrica (Yecla) narrowly missed Great Gold on my card at 95 points.
We finished up with an unimpressive flight of wines from Saint-Emilion, a flight in which none of the top growths were represented. Though there were two gold medals, neither attained a score of 90 points.
Photo: Rebecca Murphy of the Dallas Morning News is in wine evaluation mode on the second day of the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles.
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