Le Petit Chat Malin, Rouge 2012, France
I don’t normally feature such heavily branded wines as this: available in multiple supermarkets and grocery chains, promoted with its own cutesy web site and so on. Such wines are rarely the most interesting, and I figure my job should mostly be to unearth more obscure gems that do not have such marketing power behind them. However, on tasting this little wine from the Languedoc I thought it was of really good quality and a good candidate for review. It is made from Grenache with a splash of Syrah, and offers abundantly fruity aromas of sweet summer berries, but with a nice background of warm southern earth and spice that adds authenticity. In the mouth it overflows with that berry fruit, but there’s a rustic, un-smoothed edge to the tannins and the acidity that gives a hint of structure and savoury appeal. In all, a rather nice litte pussy cat. Watch the video for more information and food-matching ideas. £5.99, Waitrose, Budgens, Booths, Nisa, Londis, Bargain Booze.
