Myths...

Myths are meant to be just that - hard to live up to. I have had my eye on this myth for years but have never pulled the trigger and bought it. This year was different - this wine is from a respected co-operative in the Pays-d'Oc in the south of france and Europe was scorched by high temperatures (meaning ripe grapes!!) that year. And the wine was released big time by Vintages in Ontario. And it got some good reviews....so, did the Cuvee Mythique, Reserve, Vin de Pays d'Oc, 2003 live up to it's hype? There are two ways to answer this question. Number one, how does it stand up to the "verdict" with no price tag attached? and, number two, how does it stack up for value? First off, the verdict is simple - this is a good wine, nothing more and nothing less. Interesting medium bodied, very iodine like initially, typically old world style. Made of syrah, mourvedre, grenache and carignan, this tastes the opposite of what the australians would do with these grapes (well, the first three at least...the aussies make "GSM" blends that are generally out of this world if made well, they are much more forward full bodied fruit driven wines). This mythical wine is definitely for food - the bigger the steak the better. As for question number two, is it worth it? The answer is "maybe" - if you are in need of serving a food friendly wine with meat, yes. For a sipper, forget it and go for Oz. Oh, it costs $18.

Cheers!!