Laurent Miquel “Kinsale” Faugères (AOP). "The Irish would say it was just lovely. And we'd have to agree."

Laurent Miquel “Kinsale” Faugères (AOP) 2021, 13.5% ABV 

€13.20 at Dunnes Stores.

"The Irish would say it was just lovely. And we'd have to agree."

The Laurent Miquel wines at Dunnes Stores are very good value at their regular prices. But offers, such as those available during last Autumn’s French Wine sale, give you the chance to get even more value for your Euro. I bought this vegan-friendly blend of Syrah and Grenache for €10.56. It wasn’t the only Miquel wine that I bought!

Neasa Corish Miquel tells us all about this wine. “Our Kinsale Faugères celebrates the rugged slate-dominated beauty of Faugères in the South of France, and Kinsale, the wine capital of Ireland. Ireland, my homeland, has been associated with the story of French wines over many centuries- as a French Irish couple, we are writing a new chapter. Slate terroir in Faugères stores the solar heat and imparts warm, luscious baked fruit character to this red. Serve with traditional wild boar stew or lightly grilled black pudding.  It will do well with red meats and with big-tasting fish eg tuna and salmon.

Kinsale, like quite a few South Coast ports, has a long history in wine for sure but did you know that wine is produced here? Since the 1980s, Thomas Walk has been making his unique sustainable wines, now all from the Rondo vine. Most of the wine is sold in Germany. See more, including an online ordering facility, on their bilingual website here.

Back to Miquel’s Kinsale with its aromas of ripe red fruits with herbs and spices

“The Irish would say it was just lovely. And we'd have to agree. It has lots of depth, almost like it could tell you a story or two. Plums, black cherry, black currents, with a kick. Just lovely.”

Very Highly Recommended.

You cannot miss the garrigue in this area. “The word 'garrigue' refers to the heady scent of the mix of herbs and shrubs found everywhere in the arid, wild scrublands of the Languedoc. …In our part of Southern France, the garrigue is mostly made up of wild herbs like lavender, thyme, sage and rosemary and the aromas scent the air, especially during the summer months. So can garrigue impart a taste into the red wines, and, if so, how?”The quote is from the vineyard blog (by Neasa) of Laurent Miquel. More here. 

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Cazal Viel is where it all started. And long before the Miquels arrived. Right back to 1202 in fact. When the monks of Abbaye de Fontcaude made their wine here. The Miquel have been here for a while too. Since 1789. That's eight generations and counting. Cazal Viel is about a 30-minute drive from Bezier and within easy reach of the autoroutes in the Languedoc area.