This deep golden colored wine comes from the Provence region of southern France, about 15 miles south of Marseilles. Cassis was historically an old fishing village along the French Riviera with some of the highest and most picturesque cliffs in all of France. Today, there are a handful of small wineries in Cassis, although not many of the wines actually get imported to the US. The 17.5 acre Domaine Du Bagnol winery, which dates back to 1867, was purchased by Jean-Louis Genovesi several years ago and is popular for their Cassis Blanc and Rose wines. The 2005 is a blend of Marsanne, Clairette and Ugni Blanc. We opened a bottle tonight before going out to dinner and we were disappointed. It has a relatively light nose of pear but the aromas of grass and nuts overpowered the fruit. On the palate, it was quite flat with some apricot and honey flavors along with the nuttiness and a little spice. The rocky-limestone terrain was also picked up in the flavor. I would have thought the alcohol content would have been higher than the 12.5% based on the blend, as Ugni Blanc and Clairette are usually higher than this and are typically used in Brandys and Cognacs. The acidity was high though and almost had a burning sensation. This Cassis must be kept very cold. Based on our tastes and, more importantly, the $30 price tag we would not purchase this again. If you have it stored, I would serve it with a Meditteranean fish or maybe a lentil soup.
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