Wine Advent-ure Day 3:

Les Champs d’Or Merlot (IGP)

Region: Pays d’Oc (France)

Located between the Mediterranean and the Pyrenees mountains, The Pays d’Oc is a celebrated wine region of France, home to over 54 grape varieties. Of the red grape varieties, the Merlot is especially popular and the offering for the third day of Advent is Les Champs D’Or Merlot (IGP). Aromas of dark cherry, cocoa and fig swirl in the glass. The palate is fruity, with dark cherry and a hint of vanilla yet balanced with a strong tannic structure that isn’t overpowering, adding depth to the wine and complimenting its acidity. The website recommends trying this with Chicken Tikka Masala or a good barbecue and it definitely sounds like it would be good with pulled pork. All in all a good, solid Merlot, and just the very thing to bring the varietal back to prominence, having been so thoroughly disparaged in the popular culture thanks to the movie Sideways. (a rather unfair aspersion, in my view!)