Le Soleil du Sud- Cabernet Sauvignon / Syrah

£10.50 per 75cl sold in boxes of 6 bottles

This blend of concentrated Cabernet Sauvignon and silky, smooth Syrah is a prime example of the flavour and quality of fruit that can be achieved using a combination of meticulous viticulture and exposure to Le Soleil du Sud or ‘the southern sun’. Prior to the carefully judged blending process, each variety aged separately in French oak barrels for ten months.  We suggest drinking this wine with roast beef or lamb, with a barbecue or with strong cheese.

Colour: Deep, dark brick red

Nose: A wonderfully powerful and complex mix of jammy, black fruit, peppermint and spice.

Palate: Expressive and long with smooth, round tannins and well-integrated oak. The fruit flavours of blackberry and plum are combined with spicy black pepper.

Drink: Now until 2012. After two years the wine will develop more rich notes and hints of truffle.

Available vintages: 2006, 2007, 2008

3rd Party Reviews On 'Le Soleil du Sud' (Cabernet Sauvignon/Syrah):-

Medal Winner in the 2010 International Wine Challenge, Decanter World Wine Awards and the International Wine Challenge. May, 2010

"Deep & dense. The nose reveals a generousity of fruit - blackberry & cherry, with a hint of chocolate, liquorice & spice. Plush, rich & full-bodied, with ripe tannins providing excellent structure. Everything's in tune, including the well measured oak & alcohol. A wine with a long lasting impression, tailor-made to drink with slow-cooked red meat casseroles / daube of beef & the like. "

Neil Courtier, GrapeSense, 16th November, 2009

"Taking a leaf out of the Aussie book, the French prove that these two noble grapes can work wonders, and this time with massive power and chocolatey intensity.  Decant this wine, then sit back and soak up the action in the glass."

Matthew Jukes, 15th November 2008, Daily Mail

"This wine combines the glossiness of cabernet with the spiciness of Syrah- qualities that make it a great partner to grilled meat.  Made in the Languedoc by a British Couple, Charles and Ruth Simpson, it's a great example of the new generation of beautifully-made, world-class wines that are being made in the South of France".

Giles Kime, Sunday Telegraph, June 1st, 2008

"...wines of the quality of the aromatic, smooth and richly blackcurranty 2006 Soleil du Sud!"

Anthony Rose, The Independent, March 2008

"An attractive and harmonious blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah with structure but good ripe fruit in the middle. Fine tannins promise a longish life. "

Jancis Robinson MW, www.jancisrobinson.com , September 2007

"Another Vin de Pays d'Oc, this is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, aged 10 months in a combination of French and American oak. Very fine nose, where the immediate impression is of soft, sweet berry fruits, with masses of blackcurrant and bramble, and an undertow of vanilla and toast. On the palate the wine is spicy and mouth-filling, with a roughening edge of damson and plum-skin fruit, good ripeness, and quite a big, slightly raw, oaky finish. There is power and depth here..."

Tom Cannavan, wine-pages.com, 2005

"Again, very dark – semi opaque. The nose displays classic, leafy, minty Cabernet character (the germoline will take over soon!) combined with the herby garrigue and violet of the Syrah. The palate delivers beautifully soft, ripe fruit flavours of bramble and blackcurrant, with some bitter chocolate on the finish. The oak is very well-integrated and there is a pronounced acidity, providing lovely balance – big alcohol, but quite refreshing. I actually wasn’t keen on this, to begin with, but it has really grown on me. Superb wine-making from a difficult year, and one of the best 2002’s I’ve tasted."

Leon Stolarski Fine Wines, 2005

"Deep young colour with a nose of cassis and other black fruit.  The syrah is in the background; powerful entrance, good acidity, decent length and well blanced. " Proefschrift, 2004 - 7+

Proefschrift Magazine, Holland ,2005

"The ‘Southern Sun’ is a blend of selected Cabernet and Syrah grapes with an alcohol level of 14%. Superb concentrated aroma – deep blackberries with a sprinkling of spice and lighter touches of blackcurrants. The flavours here are superb with a richness harnessed with forceful but refined tannins and hints of tomato, chocolate and plum. Should develop well over the next couple of years but is still fruity and highly drinkable. Notes ended with ‘bloody gorgeous’ and it is! " Scribblings Rating - 90/100

Andy Barrow, http://www.andys-scribblings.co.uk/, 2003