We marvel everyday and try to understand why some things we expect to be big aren’t and others for which we have no expectations are. The VTV Cotes du Roussillon Villages Tautavel Silex 2015 falls into that first category. Yeah, the name is a little long and even after a couple of decades there is still rather limited awareness of the Roussillon. Beyond that all of the descriptors are ‘aces’. From Jeb Dunnuck, “… The 2015 Cotes du Roussillon Villages Tautavel Les Vingt Marches is a hidden gem in this vintage. Made from mostly Syrah, with 20% Grenache and 10% Carignan, this full-bodied, deep and voluptuously textured red is loaded with notions of plums, violets and spice, with some Syrah meatiness developing with air. Completely destemmed and aged all in tank, I’d enjoy bottles over the coming 4-6 years. 93 points.”
You’ve got all of the right stuff here…old vines (the original review mentioned 50 year-old vines), unique terroir, an outstanding vintage, and a talented winemaker. Everything you would expect out of a wine with those parameters is there and then some. At $25 it can give a lot of Chateauneufs a run for their money. Is the market so saturated with great wines that something like this can be invisible? The wines emerging from the Roussillon these days are the best to ever come out of the region, and this powerhouse red is a poster child for that. You can buy a great Roussillon or a mediocre Cabernet for this kind of price…easy choice for us.