I haven’t blogged a French bottle of wine in a while, so I resisted the urge to pick up a Chilean carmenere (maybe next time!) and picked up the Chateau Pesquie.   I opened this with my friend Jackie, who is a fan of fruit forward Pinot Noir (she loved The Line Wines – The Racing Line Pinot Noir).   Blackberry, blueberry, and pepper on the nose – a bit of clove in there as well.   I really loved the nose on this wine!   As soon as I took a sip, the acidity was definitely present so this is more of a food wine – as most French wines are.   The grape blend is Grenache and Syrah.   The Syrah definitely shows itself on the finish – it was a bit like taking a black pepper grinder and grinding the peppers right into your mouth.   Not to be confused with the bell pepper you get in Cab Franc!

So Jackie’s feedback was that she definitely preferred the Pinot.   I enjoyed this wine, but am aware that it would be a bit much on its own and needed cheese and other snacks to soften the acidity.   With cheese, it was delicious and it paired well with bacon wrapped dates as well!

$10.98/bottle

Double