Les Hauts de la Brune Coteaux du Languedoc

Price: $8
Maker: Domaine de la Brune
Varietal: 80% Syrah, 10% Grenache, 10% Mourvedre
Packaging: 750 ml bottle, natural cork
Alcohol: 13%
Our Rating: 8 out of 10

We picked up Les Hauts de la Brune Coteaux du Languedoc 2004 as an alternate choice for WBW #33 - its inexpensive price disqualified it from the $15 - $30 price range, but we thought we’d give a sub-$10 wine from the Languedoc-Roussillon region a try. At that price, and with its 80% Syrah composition, this wine would compete directly with a broad range of Shiraz/Syrah wines from Australian and California. The nose was very mild, with spicy berry aromas predominating. Our initial take on this wine was that it was rather thin and very dry. Even an hour or two of breathing didn’t alter our feelings much. Oddly, after being stored for a day (with argon) and another hour or two of air, the wine smoothed out considerably. We found mainly cherry, currant, and black pepper notes, with slightly sharp tannins. We’re not crazy about this wine, but ultimately it was fairly drinkable.