Last vintage I was turned onto this wine. A friend gave me a glass at at BBQ and my taste buds perked up. I thought, “man, this is a solid glass of wine”. I immediately started guessing varietals and price point before I saw the bottle. My guess at a Rhone blend was spot on. Figured $30-$40. When he said $12.99 I instantly thought of a house wine some gusto.
Someone on this board tipped me off on this wine a bout 3-6 months ago. I knew as soon as i saw the title of this thread that this would be the wine!
Wine Library has it at $11.25/btl with free shipping if you have the Library Pass. I picked up 6 of the 15s last year and another 6 of the 16s last week.
Lafage is a superstar of affordable southern french wines. This is from the European Cellars portfolio (Eric Solomon). Lafage also makes one of the best roses out there.
From the European Cellars website tech sheet for the Bastide:
A custom cuvée for European Cellars and a joint project between Eric Solomon and Jean-Marc Lafage, Bastide Miraflors is a cuvée created from Grenache grown on rocky, alluvial clay soils resembling those of the Rhône Valley combined with Syrah grown on schist in the village of Maury. After a long maceration of six weeks the wine ages for 12 months in concrete (Grenache) and 600L French oak demi-muids (Syrah).
(full disclosure: Eric is a friend and I pimp his wines to everybody)
My local retailer has the 2015 and 2016 for $15. I like some of what I am reading, but the alcohol is pretty up there for 80% syrah. Is this a modern-type cuvee? I like the concrete tank aging! And like the price, of course.
the 2015 Bastide Miraflors Vieilles Vignes reminded me of a mini Syrah from California’s Manfred Krankl (yes I just compared a $14 Syrah to Sine Qua Non). It’s a ripe, sexy, heady beauty that exhibits a deep, purple color as well as killer notes of smoked meats, chocolate, blackberry and black raspberries. Deep, unctuous, open knit and layered,
I was going to offer my own opinion, but yes, that note tells you what you need to know. I think this is a very nice wine for the money for people who like this style. I also think, based on what I see of your posts, that you would not like it.
Prefer the white version of Lafage…La Centenaries Grenache Blanc…has been my patio wine for 5 or 6 years. I find the reds, while quaffable, tend to have a bit more unbalanced fruit than I usually want.