Red wines from France

An all-time favourite at Bubble Brothers and fantastic value.

Ripe and juicy with good weight, moderate tannins and attractive notes of sweet blackberry, farmyard and thyme in a fresh, attractive red. Impressive length and complexity for a wine at this price.

The judges at the Paris Concours Général Agricole regularly award the estate's wines in recognition of their overall excellence and exemplary Cabardès character.

‘This is another wine that won me over on the first sniff: its delicious sweet farmyard scent giving way to a well-weighted medium mouthful’.
Blake Creedon, Irish Examiner, January 2012

The Cabardès appellation was established only in 1999 and covers red and rosé wines made in the hills north of Carcassonne. The appellation's slogan “Vent d'Est, Vent d'Ouest” reflects its catchment area: on the climatic border between balmy Languedoc-Roussillon and the more inclement South-West, in the foothills of the Montagne Noir. This double identity is manifested in the grape varieties which make up the appellation's wines: Grenache and Syrah from the Mediterranean; Cabernets Franc and Sauvignon, and Merlot, from the Atlantic side. The result is some unique wines, the majority of which are red.

The Jouclary history goes back as far as 1530, when Guilhaume de Jouclary was the Consul of Carcassonne. Pascal Gianesini, succeeding his father Robert who took over the estate in 1969, is currently in charge of coaxing out its wonderful, expressive wines.

This is an excellent basic Bordeaux whose easy charm and fruity, herb-scented attack suits all kinds of meals.

It's a true everyday wine, with relatively low alcohol and pleasant vanilla character enhancing the decent finish. Made from vineyards in the Entre-deux-Mers appellation, its blend of grapes is mostly Merlot for smoothness, while Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc add spice and structure to the blend.

The wine is named for an eleventh century monk, one of the first to join the abbot Saint-Gérard at the abbey of La Sauve Majeure and a passionate viticulturalist in addition to his monastic calling.

An extravagant bouquet of sweet spices and pepper, followed by a full-throttle, firm-tannined wash of ripe blackberry, menthol and minerals. A very serious wine! So treat like a Bordeaux, and aerate well, before enjoying alongside roast beef, mature cheeses or chargrilled vegetables.

Cabardès is a relatively small red-and-rosé appellation in the hills north of Carcassonne. Its catchment area is on the climatic border between balmy Languedoc-Roussillon and the more inclement South-West, in the foothills of the Montagne Noir. This double identity is manifested in the grape varieties which make up the appellation's wines: Grenache and Syrah from the SE; Cabernets Franc and Sauvignon, and Merlot, from the SW/Bordeaux. The result is some genuinely unique wines, the majority of which are red.

‘At this price it's a steal!’
Mary Dowey, The Irish Times

Medium-bodied French Malbec, really juicy and fresh with mild tannins and attractive, gently spicy dark fruit flavours. You may find notes of leather and black olive too.
Though you can drink this on its own very easily, it works best—deliciously well—with casseroles, roasts and barbeques.

The wines of Cahors can be burly enough in general (not for nothing is one of the estate's specialities given the time-honoured title of 'the black wine') but this Esprit de Flore, Jean-Luc Baldes' fine, early-drinking example, is made entirely from young-vine fruit and so offers a soft, smooth and very approachable take on the style.

A serious charmer, cherry red in colour with a rich, enticing nose of spices and ripe fruit. The concentrated red berry flavours are balanced by notes of cherry, blackberry and spices with just enough structure and pleasing length.

Serve this attractive red from the prestigious Perrin stable at a comfortable room temperature for effortless pleasure, with or without a special meal in mind.

Though this is a wine for immediate enjoyment, it can certainly age for a while if necessary.

A smooth, richly spiced, black red from deep in southern France, Cabalié needs no ceremony. Just large glasses for serving! A Grenache-charged, old-vine red, brimful of spicy berry fruit.

Take a minute to read the (literally thousands of) 5-star online reviews for Cabalié. This one is typical: “When my time comes to shuffe off this mortal coil, this is the wine I want in that final glass. It is simply, utterly, indescribably fantastic.” Its secret? It’s crafted by a master winemaker, Hervé Sabardeil, following the centuries-old style beloved of Roman centurions, who first made wine there. Raspberry-rich Grenache, with herby Syrah and Carignan, Cabalié has impressive concentration. That’s due to the maturity of the vines, most well over 50 years old. The tiny berries they produce give Cabalié extraordinarily rich, ripe flavours. Boasting 8 Golds in as many vintages, this much-loved red is warming solo or with hearty dishes.

The first old vine cuvée of the extraordinarily popular Cabalié red was meant to be a one-off production, but the subsequent demand for it was so great that winemaker Hervé Sabardeil has continued, in successive vintages, to transform the fruit of those sixty to one hundred year old vines into a full, typically southern blend of Grenache and Carignan that delivers dark, deep fruit and spice with velvety texture.

Not to be missed!

Cyril Marès' mighty Syrah ‘Excellence’ from the Mediterranean end of the southern Rhône has everything you could ask for in a robust, concentrated dining wine.

Like the other wines from this remarkable estate, it's a regular medal winner and the 2016 vintage scooped not only gold at the 2018 Nîmes concours, but also the judges' special prize: in effect, a double gold.

A deeply coloured, densely powerful glassful that explodes with black fruit and spiciness, this is one to open well in advance, and decant if you can, to give full expression to the layers of flavour wound up inside it. With subtle tannins and wonderful structure, it's an experience that should not be missed when there is a rich red meat or game dish to accompany it.

‘…rich, chocolatey, spicy, with a touch of Agen prune. Fab’
Tom Doorley, Irish Mail on Sunday, May 2020

‘This darkly coloured, pure-Syrah cuvée has a rich, fruitcake-like scent and vivid, luscious ‘pull-out-all-the-stops’ flavour. It wasn’t the subtlest wine in the tasting, but for anyone who enjoys a new world style from an old world location, this luxury mouthful is worth a look. The beefy finish sees off the oak.’
88/100 Andrew Jefford, Decanter.com, April 2018

Cyril Marès's father first grew Cabernet Sauvignon in the Haut-Médoc with his own father, then decided to try it out in the Costières de Nîmes a generation ago.

The Bordeaux grape makes a powerful, complex blend with the south's native Syrah, resulting in a wine that isn't eligible (because of the Cabernet component) for AOC status, but that demonstrates just how rewarding some of the experimental vins de pays from grower estates can be.

There are sweet black berries on the nose, and concentrated, generous ripeness. On the mid-palate there are suggestions of cedar and cigar box around a core of complex dark fruit, and there's a long plum & chocolate finish.

This substantial red offers exceptional value in a wine that is very different from the AOC and that makes for interesting comparisons with serious expressions of the same blend from Australia and South Africa.

Fleurie is probably the most feminine of the Beaujolais cru wines. This new addition to the Perrachon domaine is a very special example. Within the Fleurie area, some parcels are of greater quality, like the Perrachons', which lies at the feet of La Madone, a very rugged landscape with steep slopes, probably the best climat (in Burgundy, a delimited area with specific characteristics) in the Fleurie appellation.

The piece of land from which this wine comes, in the lieu-dit "La Cadole", is almost completely surrounded by the prestigious La Madone vineyard that gave a Gold Medal winner at the International Wine Challenge in London in 2008, among more than 40,000 samples from all over the world.

A vibrant red in colour, with a rich, velvety texture and an elegant mix of fruit and floral aromas such as iris, violet, summer roses, peach, blackcurrants and red fruits. Serve this beauty cool at 13° C, with lamb, poultry and white meats.

Selected in the 2014 Top 100 competition for wines from the Languedoc Roussillon Sud de France

Chateau Jouclary’s top wine, aged in new oak barrels, is decadently rich and sumptuous, with a dense palate of baked black fruit, earthy minerals, soft, ripe tannins and a dry finish, redolent of prunes and chocolate.

If this wine came from Bordeaux or the Rhône it would be at least €10 more expensive.

Enjoy with game pie, rib-eye steak and other fine meats.

An opulent, generous nose of kirsch and blackberries leads on to a weighty palate, intensely flavoured and inky dark with juicy cassis, nutmeg and vanilla.
A relatively high proportion of Petit Verdot is used in this cuvée, and it shows in the deeply-coloured, rich, concentrated juice.
Drink now, with a steak, beef fillet en croûte or strong cheeses.

Haut-Médoc, the large southern section of Bordeaux’s Médoc district, makes more fine wine per hectare than anywhere else in the world. It is home to the bluest of blue chip appellations - Margaux, Pauillac, Saint-Estephe and Saint-Julien - which account for the majority of the wines produced. The remainder trades under the generic Haut-Médoc name.

This wine comes from a very recent addition to the Perrachon domaine: a very small parcel of twenty-eight acres of very rocky soil, on the most northern part of the Saint Amour appellation, overlooking the village of Saint-Véran in the Mâconnais.

A sensual, intensely coloured wine with a lot of personality. It's very delicate, with a subtle, pleasing balance between its fruit and tannins. This would make a good companion for roast lamb or for soft cheeses.

"There is nothing more romantic than a wine which features the word love, albeit in French, on the label. This is a stunning, silky-smooth, strawberry-themed wine with a delicious, lip-smacking finish and never-ending food-matching skills. Drink it with anything you fancy and it will reward."

Intense black and red fruits on the nose are amplified by a hint of menthol and some liquorice notes. This delicious Malbec from the south west of France has soft, supple texture but good structure and length, with concentrated ripe tannins.

It's a beautifully balanced and rich wine, exemplifying the traditions of Cahors at their most attractive.
In its youth, this wine will match foie gras, charcuterie and simply cooked red meats, whereas an older bottle is perfect with truffles, roasts, game and cheeses, such as Comté or Cantal..

The rich aromas of this supple red suggest the fine, firm fruit balance of its Cabernet and Merlot blend. It's a smooth and refined wine that you should open, and ideally decant, two or three hours before you enjoy it. If you give it the chance to breathe and relax while the roast is roasting, you'll be able to appreciate fully its smooth, muscular dark fruits and graceful finish as a perfect accompaniment to the meal.

The Manissy estate was built in the middle of the 18th century and belongs to the Congregation of Missionary Fathers of the Holy Family. They planted the first vines in 1916, working the land and making wine using biodynamic methods.

In 2004 young winemaker Florian Andre was appointed to take charge. He carries on the traditional way of winemaking for the 'Tête de Cuvée' rosé, which was used as Mass wine and greatly appreciated by connoisseurs of rosé wines, but has modernized the cellar and developed new products to broaden the range.

Since 2012, all the wines are certified organic and the range includes two kinds of Tavel, one red Châteauneuf-du-Pape, two types of red Lirac, and Côtes-du-Rhône red white and rosé as well as an all-Syrah IGP Gard.

The estate’s motto is: Auspice clara Manissy stella, meaning: 'Under the protection of the bright star of Manissy.'

Pretty nose of creme de cassis, blueberries and cedar follows through to a mid-weight, fine-tannined palate of briar fruit, forest floor, incense and coffee. Plush, opulent and ultra-refined.

Pauillac is one of the most sought-after red wine appellations in Bordeaux, located between Saint-Estephe and Saint-Julien on the "Left Bank" of the Gironde.

The stellar reputation of its wines is founded not only on their current quality, but on their historical success. The (in)famous 1855 Classification of the Medoc ranked the best chateaux of the area according to the average prices commanded by their wines at the time, and two of the top five (Chateaux Latour and Lafite-Rothschild) were in Pauillac; these were joined by Chateau Mouton-Rothschild in 1973.

The soils of Pauillac are largely made up of free-draining gravel, which is perfect for growing Cabernet Sauvignon. These soils, when combined with the temperate Bordeaux climate, are the starting point for Pauillac's top-class wines.

While Cabernet Sauvignon is the dominant grape, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Carmenere, Petit Verdot and Malbec are also allowed.

An aromatic and super-soft red Grenache, without added sulphites.

This is a juicy, fruity red, along the lines of a Beaujolais, and it makes a versatile accompaniment to light meals of all kinds.

There's not too much alcohol at 13% and the structure is delicate enough for this wine to be served relatively cool or at room temperature, as you please.

This small appellation was once covered with oaks (chênes) hence its name. The Perrachon's parcel, called "En Champagne" is one of the most desirable in Chénas, with a good southern exposure, on sandy soil. The average age of the vines is seventy years, and this is one of the first vineyards harvested as it matures quickly.

The wine is ruby-red in colour, with tints of garnet, full-bodied by Beaujolais standards, with floral, woody notes and a velvety texture. It shouldn't be served too warm: maybe 14° C, with game, meat in a rich sauce, or strong cheeses.