"Merchant Speak"? Nonsense! Besides, it all turns out alright in the end......

As with most things in life, there are certain rules to be observed when you are a wine merchant. Then again (as with most things in life) rules are there to be broken. And I have to admit that there are occasions - although very rare - when I break the golden rule and buy a few cases of a wine that I haven't actually tasted. You know how it is when you are buying something (or things) and find yourself needing to "top-up" your order for some or other reason. So you take a punt on an unknown, because the seemingly attractive price means you have little to lose. And so it was with this wine.

Domaine La Combe Blanche La Vigne de l'Homme 2006 Minervois

I can't remember the exact reason, but I have a feeling that this was a wine that I felt might sit nicely at an "entry level" price point, £1.50 or so cheaper than La Combe Blanche's "standard" Calamiac Terroir Minervois (although the brilliant "premium" cuvées of La Galine and La Chandeliere aren't exactly expensive, at £11 and £14 respectively). When I actually tasted it, I described it thus.....

"Sweet and sour red and black fruit flavours, spice and liquorice, with firm tannins and a nice lick of acidity. This is a robust, earthy wine, with plenty of tannic structure, which softens-out nicely after an hour in the decanter, but needs food to show its best ."

Looking back, it was certainly all of those things, but I couldn't help feeling I was sugaring the pill a little. To say it needed food was another way of saying that it was...... a bit rustic. Fast forward a year or so, and I thought it was about time to see how this wine was developing (or, perish the thought, not developing)......

Well, as the saying goes, you could have blown me down with a feather. The nose is a heady mix of black cherry and bramble fruits, spices, garrigue herbs, cedar and kirsch, whilst on the palate, those tannins (which I admit now were a bit fierce at the time) have softened considerably, to reveal a wine of not inconsiderable charm. The black fruits, spice and liquorice are still present and correct, but the feel has become smoother and far more balanced. Delicious black forest gateau and fruitcake flavours and a touch of mandarin orange tanginess come to the fore - rich, but not overly so, with plenty of acidity to balance the core of sweet fruit. I'm not about to suggest this is now a beautiful swan of a wine, but it is no ugly duckling anymore either. In fact, if you poured this wine into a Rhone bottle and served it blind, many an experienced taster would probably be guessing at a rather good Cotes du Rhone Villages. It is rich, fruity, spicy and full of southern warmth - and really rather delicious.

I remember that on numerous occasions winemaker Guy Vanlancker has opined that some or other wine of his is "not ready yet" and (apart from the occasional 15% abv Pinot Noir that I feel might never become balanced) I think he may have a point. Having said that, he did bottle this one under those awful solid plastic "corks" that are usualy used for wines that require early consumption, so perhaps even he didn't see this particular wine as a keeper. To be honest, after almost 9 years of experience with Guy's wines (long-standing customers, or those that follow this blog, will know that he is one of the main reasons I started a wine business in the first place) I am only just beginning to get my head around them. For there is hardly a wine in his considerable portfolio that I have tasted over the years that hasn't just got better and better..... and better. And this is a classic (if rather humble) example.

If you have some of this wine (which is doubtful, because I have frankly sold bugger all) then try a bottle, and I think you will be pleasantly surprised. If you haven't, the I suggest you get some now, because it will put a rather inexpensive smile on your face! £6.99.