2022 Ournac Freres Pinot Noir "Melasse 1ere Qualite"

Summers in the Languedoc can be long and sunny, so there’s always plenty of ripe fruit at harvest. This Pinot Noir is light to medium bodied, with perfectly ripened red berry fruit aromas coupled with herbal notes as well as baking spices. It really sports an elegant mouth feel, tasting refined and complex. We would call this an elevated, refined, country French Pinot Noir.

Not far from the medieval fortress city of Carcassonne lies France’s Minervois region. In addition to producing Minervois under the Chateau Cesseras label, Pierre-Andre Ournac grows Pinot Noir. Together with his son and daughter, Camille and Fanely, and nephew, Guillaume, they make this delectable Pinot Noir under the Ournac Freres label. The cartoonish labels are an homage to ancestors who drew political cartoons at the turn of the 19th century.

A fruitier expression of Pinot Noir, consider a fruited pork dish like a crown roast stuffed with prunes or a tenderloin with a side of chutney.