The Wines of Vignobles Saint-Nabor

The wines of Vignoles Saint-Nabor is a line of wines from the south of France that Amphora recently introduced into Kansas via Marquee Imports. I got a great reception when I took these around to a number of retailer and restaurant accounts in Lawrence today. Naturally, I finished off the leftovers tonight with a hearty spinach and tortellini soup.

 

The 2012 Domaine Saint Nabor Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc shows a pretty, brilliant light golden color. Very focused nose of fresh pear and apple. Pure Chardonnay fruit here with no oak influence. I'm not certain if this wine sees any oak, but if it does, it is neutral oak. More orchard fruit in the mouth with with some pear skin and a hint of fennel. Fantastic acidity and a long, minerally finish. Quite a nice wine for about $15

The 2012 Domaine Saint Nabor Gris de Nabor, Vin de Pays du Gard is my kind of rose. Pale pink in color with tremendous raspberry, mint and dried herb notes on the nose. It's bone dry on the palate, but there's enough fruit there to keep the wine from falling into that dreaded "austere" category. A delicious blend of Tempranillo(!), Grenache and Cinsault. While nice now, I can only imagine this getting better and better when the weather warms up next spring. About $13

A blend of unspecified percentages of Grenache, Syrah, Carignan and Cinsault, the 2012 Chateau Saint Nabor Cotes du Rhone has a completely opaque color. The nose is a very fruit-forward/new world style featuring blueberry cobbler and plum notes. But the palate quickly switches gears and reverts to a very traditional, Old World style Cotes du Rhone with dried raspberry and garrigue flavors. Quite peppery; especially on the finish. Nice tannins and juicy acidity leave you craving another sip. I know there are a lot of solid Cotes du Rhones out there for $16, but I think this one can go toe-to-toe with the best of them.