WTN: RIberach Thèse - nice Côtes Catalanes

This was a reminder to me to always listen to a trusted merchant rather than listen to what one sees on the internet. Sometime back I saw a deluge of TNs on Riberach's Synthèse (the blend of roughly equal amounts each of Grenache, Syrah, Carignan) in response to hype from Garagiste (their US importer). The notes were uniformly negative. Parsing the notes now, they seem to bemoan the presence of structure in the wine. But of course what I remembered from such a deluge of negative notes was only the negativity, not the reason for it.

So I am very glad I listened to better advice and bought a Riberach Thèse 2006 Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes.



I enjoyed it so much that the picture reminds me of Pisa!

85% Grenache; the rest is Syrah and Carignan in equal amounts. A massive 14,5% abv (see picture-taking skills for evidence...) and quite low in acidity (4,8 g/l). Yet despite all these superficialities that would make me leave this bottle on the shelf were it not for strong endorsement from a trusted merchant, I really liked this bottle! I didn't sense the alcohol (good!), I didn't sense any oak (good!), rather I sensed garrigue (good!) and bright fruit (good!). Lovely, strong tannins, slightly reminiscent of Nebbiolo's tannins in their palate-cleansing qualities and quantities. Adequate acidity, too, and gladly no over-the-top fruit (though ripe, certainly). Crunchy. And far too drinkable on a weekday.