Name
Rouge
Order #
918107
Producer
Le Cirque
Vintage
2010
Price
$13.99
About
Le Cirque is crafted by the progressive Les Vignerons de Tautavel Vingrau (VTV) cooperative in the village of Tautavel. Aptly named after the vast, amphitheatre-shaped bowl of vineyards stretching north towards Vingrau, the wines represent phenomenal values, and perfectly reflect the rugged, wind-swept terroir in which they are grown.
Review
90 Points - Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate
"The freshly-bottled 2010 Le Cirque red - which I refer to as "Le Cirque" since it is otherwise a vin de pays with no name; although I could refer to "50% Carignan, 25% Mourvedre, 25% Syrah" as they appear prominently on the wrap-around label, and despite my having reason to believe there's some Grenache here, too - reached me just as this report was going to press. "I'm surprised that this has evolved enough to be bottled already," remarked Kravitz. "I thought it would be September before I blended it." I'd be able to drink quite a bit of this by September! Here are the virtues of the 2010 vintage on tasty display: impeccably ripe but vivacious fruit (above all red raspberry and cassis) accompanied by enticingly salty minerality; pungent, resinous impingement of rosemary and black pepper; and a slight, but by no means unattractive, reductive suggestion of smoked meats. I'm willing to assume that the alcohol level is 14.5% as labeled, but given the levity and infectious juiciness of a finish free from heat or roughness, I would have found it easier to believe this harbored 13.5%. My suspicion is that this superb value will be best drunk over the next couple of years, but there's really no telling, given no track record."
Print Page"The freshly-bottled 2010 Le Cirque red - which I refer to as "Le Cirque" since it is otherwise a vin de pays with no name; although I could refer to "50% Carignan, 25% Mourvedre, 25% Syrah" as they appear prominently on the wrap-around label, and despite my having reason to believe there's some Grenache here, too - reached me just as this report was going to press. "I'm surprised that this has evolved enough to be bottled already," remarked Kravitz. "I thought it would be September before I blended it." I'd be able to drink quite a bit of this by September! Here are the virtues of the 2010 vintage on tasty display: impeccably ripe but vivacious fruit (above all red raspberry and cassis) accompanied by enticingly salty minerality; pungent, resinous impingement of rosemary and black pepper; and a slight, but by no means unattractive, reductive suggestion of smoked meats. I'm willing to assume that the alcohol level is 14.5% as labeled, but given the levity and infectious juiciness of a finish free from heat or roughness, I would have found it easier to believe this harbored 13.5%. My suspicion is that this superb value will be best drunk over the next couple of years, but there's really no telling, given no track record."
