CHÂTEAU MARIS “La Touge” 2019

(Minervois La Livinière, Languedoc-Roussillon, France) $23

I remember walking into a wine shop in Paris one day when I was a very young journalist. There were shelves and shelves of wines from the Languedoc-Roussillon, a place I’d barely heard of. The wines were not expensive so I bought a few bottles. All these years later I can still taste that seductive “south of France” flavor—a dark savory co-mingling of blackberries, black olives, licorice, roasted meats, herbs de Provence and tons of black pepper. Tasting Château Maris’ “La Touge”  the other day, I was right back in France. “La Touge”—70% Syrah and 30% Grenache—is  a wine built for a fall night and a roast in the oven. The winery is extremely environmentally conscious, energy self-sufficient, and carbon negative. In fact, the winery itself, made of hemp blocks, is biodegradable! (14.5% abv)

93 points KM

Available at Calvert Woodley