I’m back. My weeklong holiday ‘up the coast’ is over, and reality is here. I didn’t even get one lunchtime nap in either!

What I did do is drink oceans of cold beer (like this Mountain Culture WCIPA) and a boatload of bubbles (keep a glass out for the fizz roundup coming next week) too.

Now, the lowlights – like this maddening oxidised Niepoort white (#FUCORK).

 

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Then, this L’Anglore Tavel 2020 was meant to be one of the more enjoyable wines of the week.

It wasn’t.

There’s always a mad scramble for Eric Pfifferling’s Domaine wines, and with good reason – they’re typically delicious Rhone unicorns. Also, they’re a redminre reminder that Tavel can make great wines beyond simple dark pink stuff.

This L’Anglore Tavel is, like everything else from the appellation, still classed as a rosé, with a blend of Grenache plus Cinsault, Carignan and Clairette, all given a light maceration for ten days.

You can see by the colour (in spite of my shit photo) that this is a long way from your usual rosé though – it’s closer to Beaujolais or a joven red than anything pink. More correctly, it’s like a nouveau Grenache blend in its bright red fruit exuberance. It’s a bright, red fruited, raspberried Grenache-dominant red. A fun, red-fruited simple wine with exuberance but not much else.

Indeed I sat there with this Tavel in hand for an age, waiting for something more ethereal to pop out. Waiting for something that isn’t really there.

When you dig beyond the smoothly warm and sappy scorched raspberry lolly fruit (hello Grenache!), there isn’t much else to see. It’s ultimately fleeting, and never quite feels endlessly smashable either. I’ve had previous L’Anglore reds which feel almost impossible to put down. This is a bit jubey and full for that.

Yeah, you can do better for $30 in Australia (try Yangarra for a start).

L’Anglore Tavel 2020, Best drinking: nowish. 16.8/20, 89/100. 13.5%, $88. Would I buy it? Not for these dollars.