This was the wine I had planned to review first, mainly for the all-vital reason that I had a bottle sitting around, and I find Domaine des Escaravailles usually does nice stuff. My Long Covid fever seems to have taken to returning at odd points, so perhaps my senses were a bit duller than usual with this tasting, which may or may not be relevant.
In the glass, it’s a pale to medium ruby. It really very much depends on the light and angle. When I first poured some into the glass, I was going to call it ‘dark ruby.’ But then I looked closer. And was entranced. I spent an inordinate amount of time twisting the glass, watching the wine catch the light in different ways.
I can actually pretend to understand ‘ruby’ as a wine colour, since I imagine looking through the wine might be similar to peering through a ruby, if I had one. (Donations cheerfully accepted, so I can test this theory.)
I want to get a little bauble – a glass sphere or tube or some such, to fill with this wine and hang in the window as a sort of prism.
On the nose there’s a hint of something. I finally decided to call it ‘vaguely red berries.’ I think trying to be more specific would just be making stuff up.
On to the palate, so to speak. It’s dry, with a medium body. It has slightly dusty tannins, but this doesn’t bother me too much. Which is a bit odd, since dusty tannins are not a favourite thing of mine. As opposed to warm woollen mittens, and brown paper packages tied up with string, which are.
There is arguably a bit of alcohol burn. Nothing to call out as a flaw, but there is noticeable warmth on the palate from the alcohol. At 15% ABV, maybe this is to expected, but it is certainly not an inevitability.
Taste-wise, there are definitely berries. Darker red ones. Mulberries maybe? (Do they qualify as dark red berries?) Some black berries, with a hint of sweetness. Something like dark cherries, perhaps? There’s also a taste I can’t place. I want to call it earthy, or perhaps a hint of leather. Whatever exactly it is – I never did decide – it is the sort of flavour that indicates you are starting to get some development in the character of the wine due to its age. The finish is ok. Nothing to complain about, but nothing to get too excited over, either.
Rating: This is a solid yummy wine for me. The alcohol is ever so slightly out of balance, as I noted. It is just a shade more noticeable than it could be. But it is still a nice wine. And it would stand up well to food. I had some Maasdam cheese grilled on a roll as I was tasting it. That worked well, as would heavier dishes, but nothing too overpowering.
Also, for this wine at least, I’m introducing another rating. This one is definitely a pretty+.
Sustainability: Domaine des Escaravailles says they work sustainably, but apart from hand-picking the grapes, they’re rather short on detail. I’m trying to get more information from them, and if I succeed, I’ll update this.
Other stuff: The Domaine’s name – Escaravailles – is based on the Occitan word for a scarab beetle. Hence the one on the label. It was also the term used to refer to the black-robed monks who used to make wine in the region.
The technical info and such: 70% Grenache, 30% Syrah; 15% ABV. Purchased from Cambridge Wine Merchants, but currently out of stock, and this was an older vintage, no longer available. The current vintage is £14.99.