Mas Conscience Les Cas 2005

I am tempted to call it the discovery of 2007 for me, but the year has not ended yet and gotta wait. Our neighbors came over to dinner once and gave us two bottles of wine from a small hobby importer here in Turnhout. They were both nice wines (especially the white) and I will be blogging about them sooner or later. Not now, now I want to share my impressions from a wine I took blindly (on his suggestion) from this hobby importer. A wine from Languedoc matured in cement vats ... a wine whose personality forces people to take a strong position on liking (me) or disliking it (Elke).

Mas Conscience Les Cas 2005

Country: France
Grapes: Carignan
Winery: N/A
Price: 8-9 euros

Impressions: When you open it, it might feel like disgustingly smelling of rotten eggs. I was warned, everybody should ... the nose is really full of sulfur at first (i.e. rotten eggs smell). Let it breath for quite a while and this sensation will reduce (but not disappear). After three days it was still a bit there, in fact. This is the only defect of an otherwise outstanding wine. Apart from sulfur, the nose shows fruit (berries) and pepper. The taste starts with power, but the wine gains very quickly equilibrium and shows a complex mix of red fruit, smoke, pepper, chocolate and plum. The overall feeling is somewhat fresh and balanced thanks to an extremely long and excellent aftertaste balanced by good acidity. Was not for the sulfur, it would be perfect! The evolution after three days suggests the wine need to be laid down a bit. This wine has personality, you either love it or hate it ... just do not try it without decanting, give it a chance!

Verdict: I loved it. Its complexity, strong personality and long aftertaste are simply amazing. There is a touch too much of sulfur that can take some people (like Elke) off ... but not me!

Would I buy it? I will. A excellent wine at an outstanding price.

Rating: 92