Smooth and Silky Pinot Noir Ultra-Bargain
I'm on a permanent and relentless search for good quality Pinot Noir that I can offer to my customers at a reasonable price. Sounds easy right? The reality is that year after year, finding this elusive elixir proves to be a tremendously difficult task. Here at the shop we taste through dozens of attractively priced contenders, and we're inevitably disappointed with each and every one. Local Asheville resident and importer Jean-Philippe Bourgeois has come to our rescue!
The Belluah label is one of Jean-Philippe's personal projects, and let me tell you, it's a winner! He has succeeded in producing a super tasty and affordable Pinot Noir. We were all smiles when we tasted this one and I'm delighted that we're able to feature another wine from a local Asheville importer!
Languedoc-Roussillon
The French region of Languedoc-Roussillon is one of the oldest areas of wine production in the world, with a history stretching back almost three thousand years to the ancient Greeks. The mild Mediterranean climate is conducive to growing an amazingly wide variety of grapes and the 300,000 hectares under vine make it France's largest wine producing region.
Grenache, Syrah, Carignan, Cinsault, and Mourvèdre are the major red grapes here, however savvy vignerons lucky enough to have vineyard parcels tucked away in cooler climates are able to produce wonderful, easy drinking Pinot Noir.
In Corbières, Vianney Castan is one of those savvy vignerons.
The 2017 Bellula Pinot Noir is a joint venture between Vianney Castan and our good friend, Asheville importer Jean-Philippe Bourgeois. Vianney owns Chateau St Jean d’Aumiere, a neighbor of the Mas de Daumas Gassac in Gignac, and is well known for producing highly approachable wines that are a pleasure to have in the glass. The partnership of Vianney and Jean-Phillipe has a keen knack of producing quality-driven wines of pleasure that arrive in the American market at super reasonable prices.
Asheville based importer Jean-Philippe Bourgeois
Now for the best part... In the glass, you have pure drinking pleasure. Aromas of red berry greet you introducing a smooth and silky palate of fresh red berries and subtle spice. On the palate, you'll notice a super smooth ripeness -- the texture of this wine is beautiful. This lighter bodied Pinot Noir will be terrific with any chicken dishes, grilled and seared salmon and we'd also love it with tuna.
This is a gem of a Pinot Noir that is made for immediate enjoyment. Drink this one while you let your Pinot Noir from Burgundy and the West Coast hang in the cellar for a while longer!
Grab this one while we have it -- we have a limited amount of the 2017 vintage in stock before the 2018s start arriving. I've bought all of the 2017s available, so call to stock up!
Regular AWM Price: $14.99
By the solid case or mixed into a case: $12.74
--Price is good while supplies last.