1998 Tardieu-Laurent Costieres de Nimes

Maison Tardieu-Laurent was started in 1994 as a partnership between Dominique Laurent, a former pastry chef who re-fashioned himself as maker of “garagiste” Burgundy, and winemaker Michel Tardieu, a Rhone Valley negociant. Today it is solely owned by the Tardieu family. Located in Lourmarin, in Southern France, the domaine makes wines from nearly every southern and northern Rhone Valley appellation. It produces Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Cornas, Cote Rotie, Gigondas, Hermitage and Vacqueyras, among other wines.

Languedoc-Roussillon is very large wine-producing region in south and southwestern France extending along the Mediterranean coast from northern Spain to the Rhone Valley. It includes more than 800,000 vineyard acres and numerous appellations, nearly all created since the mid-20th century. Languedoc-Roussillon produces one-third of all the wine made in France and it long had a reputation for quantity over quality. In the last few decades, however, outside investors and some long-time local producers have greatly improved vineyard practices and winemaking. The result is that Languedoc-Roussillon is now home to many entrepreneurially-minded producers highly focused on quality, and it enjoys a buzz among wine buyers looking for well-crafted, robust wines offered at excellent values. The most successfully grown red grapes are the traditional Rhone varietals of Grenache, Mourvedre and Syrah, though Carignan and Cinsault are also planted. The intense sun and dry weather makes it tougher to grow white grapes, though Chardonnay and some other white grapes are often successful. Chardonnay is used for the popular sparkling wine Crémant de Limoux, a Languedoc-Roussillon appellation created in 1990.