My Personal Recommendation For You

Domaine des Mongettes ‘Costières de Nîmes’ 2011 Southern France (regularly $19.99) Now $14.99

Gold medal winner at the Concours des vins d’Orange 2012! / A delicious GSM blend from its terra firma!

“Costières de Nîmes, about an hour’s drive south and west of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, is teeming with delicious wines, sourced from old-vine Grenache, Carignane, Syrah and other grapes, that deliver the region’s mouthfilling black fruit profile along with lots of iron, garrigue and tobacco notes.” – James Molesworth / Wine Spectator

The Rhone Valley is home to some of the oldest vineyards in France, as well as being the “spiritual home” of the so-called southern France red varietals. The wines of the area are reputed to have been consumed by the Ancient Greeks and thus are considered as among the oldest known wines in the world. The climate is influenced by both the nearby warm sea and by the cooler, dry winds from the north (known as the Mistral winds). Naturally, the Costieres de Nimes is situated most southerly in this Rhone wine appellation (formerly part of the Languedoc), and as one heads south, the hills disperse and the land opens up into a glorious panoramic view of a sea of vines (pictured).

In this beautiful Provençal countryside of vineyards (like those seen in the Russell Crowe film, A Good Year, lies Domaine des Mongettes, a winery dedicated to producing blends from the regions indigenous red varietals, Grenache being the most dominate. In fact, to many red Rhone wine lovers, this is Grenache country!, do the initials GSM sound familiar? If not, then they should be part of your wine vocabulary as they stand for Grenache-Syrah-Mourvèdre, the synonymous signature blend of this region and its prime varietals – and of this incredible wine. Incidentally, some of the highest-rated wines in the world are GSMs!

From the vigneron (winemaker):

“The wine is a blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedré (GSM) from our vineyards situated in the South East of Nîmes. A very easy-going wine with plenty of red berry fruits, anis, a touch of spice and a lovely long, fine finish.”