Domaine La Bastide Pinot 2001, V. d. P. d’Hauterive.

Colour: reasonably intense red with some signs of ageing (brown) in the outer rim.
Nose: quite expressive, warm, with soft fruits, earthy, some venison nuances, spicy and smoky. Ripe and quite rich.
Taste: medium powerful, very round, soft, earthy, some dried fruit, spices, smoke, a bit alcoholic, mild acidity.
Finish: very mild, round, quite long, warm, a touch of sweetness, some cooked fruit, smoke and spices.

* Château La Bastide is a quality oriented producer in Corbières. This red Pinot Noir is quite a rarity from this region. In its homeland Burgundy the Pinot Noir tends to give elegant and very fragrant wines with a high acidity, this wine is totally different: it is a rather heavy wine (clearly originating from a warmer climate) with a lot of richness and a mild acidity. The aromas are more Pinot Noir like: earthy, smoky with some venison. The main charm of this wine is its softness both the velvety taste ass well as the mild (cooked) fruit.

- Very good drinking now, will probably not improve with age.

- A nice rarity, obviously Pinot Noir, a bit heavy, but oh so soft.

- lotnr.: L 00-147 (stamped in the label, you need a magnifying glass).

- tasted: 28-01-’02, retasted 09-03-’03 (consistent notes)

- estimated retail price ca. 7 euro

- average production: ca. 12.000 bottles

- Château La Bastide, 11200 Escales, tel.: + 33-468 27 08 47 / fax.: + 33-468 27 26 81 / e-mail: chateaulabastide@wanadoo.fr / web site: www.chateau-la-bastide.fr
- Export agent: D.A.D., Z.A. La Plaine 8, Avenue de l’Europe, 34830 Clapiers (France), tel.: + 33-467 55 90 90 / fax.: + 33-467 55 06 36 / e-mail: info@dad-languedocwines.com / web site: www.dad-languedocwines.com