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Le Grand Noir (Black Sheep)
From a country renowned for its wine-making tradition, Le Grand Noir wines offer untraditional blends from traditional French varietals. With the black sheep on the label, Le Grand Noir captures the off-the-beaten-path spirit of these French wines. The results are wines that are as unconventional as France is conventionally wine country.
Characteristics
Reserve: Produced from 20+ year old vines, this wine shows dense flavors of dark fruit, layers of spice and a rich velvety texture.
GSM: Deep red in color, this wine offers intense aromas of licorice, cocoa, and spice. This wine is rich and complex with soft tannins.
Pinot Noir: Bright garnet with a leathery, meaty nose and flavors of red cherry and currant. Generous palate with good tannins and a long, lingering finish.
Cabernet Shiraz: Deep red hue with purple fringe with intense aromas of cafe au lait, red fruit, herbs, and vanilla spice. Rich palette with soft tannins and red fruit flavors and a long finish.
Chardonnay: Vibrant yellow color, intense aromas of lime and mango with hints of toasted vanilla. Rich palate with lemon-lime flavors and subtle oak influences. Excellent length and finish. The addition of Viognier to the blend makes this offering very “consumer friendly”.
Food Pairings
Reserve: A perfect match to hearty beef dishes such as roasts, stews, steaks and lamb.
GSM: This wine pairs well with hearty cheeses and grilled meat dishes.
Pinot Noir: Salmon, tuna, pork, Asian food (little or no spice), and firm cheeses.
Cabernet Shiraz: Matches all red meat and cheese dishes.
Chardonnay: A perfect match with hors d’oeuvre’s, seafood, poultry, and pork dishes. This wine also balances nicely with exotic Asian dishes.
Wine Growing Conditions
The Languedoc region -- known as the "Pays d`Oc" -- hugs the bright blue Mediterranean Sea. This area in Southern France is growing in renown for its quality wines, and currently offers the best values available in French wine.
Le Grand Noir varietals come from vineyards of the area Carcassonne and the Minervois; the Minervois, in particular, is considered the prime of the region. It is one of the oldest wine producing regions in Europe dating back to the medieval times. This breathtaking region has rolling uplands and broad plateaus nestled between the "Black" Mountains and the Pyrennes Mountains. Minervois has a diverse range of soils comprising of limestone, chalk, clay, granite and alluvial fan. "The Minervois delivers the highest number of top-rated wines from and Languedoc district..." (Wine Spectator 8/31/2005).
The Pinot Noir is from Limoux, considered to be the "Tuscany of Southern of France."
The Pays d`Oc is best known for growing many classic French varietals that otherwise were restricted to their particular AOC regions: reds like Cabernet Sauvignon (a Bordeaux varietal), Syrah (or Shiraz, traditionally from Rhone), and Pinot Noir (the red grape of Burgundy) among others, as well as whites like Chardonnay (the white grape of Burgundy varietal).
Le Grand Noir vin rouge blend marries Cabernet and Shiraz for a balance of tannin and spice that reflects the earthy terroir of Southern France. Le Grand Noir’s vin blanc blend marries two of France’s most classic white grapes for an affable balance of Chardonnay sourced acidity and creamy vibrant Viognier. Le Grand Pinot Noir is 100% pure Pinot Noir. Le Grand Noir GSM is a mouth tingling treat of 60% Grenache, 35% Syrah, and 5% Mourvedre.
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