Château le Thou, Comtesse Ferrier de Montal 1999 Coteaux du Languedoc, Pic St Loup

This wine has a horribly complicated name but is deeply serious wine, despite its supermarket price. It is altogether a most deceptive bottle, looking just like a cru bourgeois red bordeaux but containing wine that is, with its Syrah base, thoroughly Mediterranean. Just one look at its healthy crimson glow tells you that there is something superior about this wine. It really does taste like an iron hand in a velvet glove, having real depth and structure and considerable density. With its garrigue-like scent and impeccable address in the hills of the Languedoc, its satisfying taste and hints of the summer are just the thing for a chilly May day. Drink any time over the next two or possibly even three years.