2016 Famille Dutraive “Cap-Ô-Sud” Carignan, Vin de France, Languedoc, France.
A new project from Jean-Louis Dutraive and his three kids, the Cap-Ô-Sud is made from old vine Minervois grapes and fermented with carbonic maceration, making for a juicy fun red that reminds you of the famous Beaujolais from that is their claim to fame, but with a little less seriousness. Delightfully light and tangy the Cap-Ô-Sud, 100% Carignan, expresses it’s warm southern Languedoc-Roussillon terroir with fresh ripeness, but with the vintage’s mineral tones and acidity shinning through allowing a flow of distilled raspberry, zesty cranberry, tart cherry and mini strawberry fruits plus delicate floral notes, spicy elements and snappy lavender/herbal hints. This wine entertains and is very pretty in it’s lightness and quaffability never getting more than light to medium bodied and is best with a slight chill on it, great as a picnic wine or unheavy easy cuisine, it’s a dry, but fruity organic new style natural wine that offers lots of pleasure with it’s clean and vibrant presence. It is a quality wine no question, though not for people that are looking for earthy dark thick and sun baked reds more common to this region, you’ll have to be looking for this kind of wine to understand it or want it, it reminds me of the Vin de France bottlings from Ganevat. The Dutraive Cap-Ô-Sud Carignan is playful and should be enjoyed in it’s freshest form, drink now.
($30 Est.) 88 Points, grapelive
