Chateau La Canorgue Cotes du Luberon 1994 - still going strong after all these years.

Chateau La Canorgue Cotes du Luberon 1994

So as the the two followers of this blog know, along with importing Italian wines, I have the honor of selling the wines from France and Spain of Beaune Imports.  At the end of the year, the owner of Beaune Imports, Michael Sullivan, gives each salesperson a mixed case of older vintages from the portfolio.  It is usually some assortment of twenty year old Burgundy, that you would expect to age well, and some other lesser wines of around the same vintage that you wouldn't expect to age well . . . but strangely, many do.  What a fine surprise is always is to have 20 year old Sancerre that sings like it did in its youth!

Last night for our usual wine group I pulled from my gift case of older Beaune Imports wines and we struck gold!  It was my favorite wine of the tasting and most people loved it.  The 1994 Chateau La Canorgue Cotes du Luberon.

Clear and bright with pale ruby core to an orange rim.  Truffle and licorice and boysenberry in the nose.  A little barnyardy but not distractingly so.  Lots of mint and bloody meat in the mouth.  A nice long finish.  Pure finesse but with a little bit of tannin and spice to keep things lively.  Just great.

Certified Organic for many years, this wine is around 30% Grenache and 70% Syrah and would have retailed back in 1997 for somewhere in the neighborhood of $10 a bottle.  It is a steal for triple the price.

The 2010 vintage is current and drinking really well at 3 years of age, but as we can all attest from our tasting last night, a little more age in the bottle will do it just fine.