Château Sainte Eulalie Plaisir d’Eulalie Minervois 2023

The 2023 Château Sainte Eulalie Plaisir d’Eulalie simply rocks. The Coustals have again raised the bar with their delicious, superbly crafted 2023 Château Sainte Eulalie Plaisir d’Eulalie Minervois. Lush, juicy, round, and beautifully textured, this blend of 40% Grenache, 30% Syrah, and 30% Carignan offers a delightful mélange of dark berry and plum fruit flavors, all wrapped in ripe, soft tannins. Velvety smooth on the palate, the 2023 Plaisir d’Eulalie highlights the sterling quality of old vines from Minervois in the exceptional 2023 vintage. A deep purple robe, savory aromatics, pure rich fruit, and a long lovely finish replete with a seamless blend of ripe berries, violets, white pepper, and garrigue make the 2023 Château Sainte Eulalie Plaisir d’Eulalie a clear standout. For anyone seeking a mouthful of beautiful fruit and a taste of one of the finest traditional country wines of France from that nation’s oldest wine producing region, they need look no further than Château Sainte Eulalie’s 2023 Plaisir d’Eulalie. For optimal enjoyment, we suggest affording this youthful wine 10-15 minutes of aeration before serving at cool room temperature (58º-62º F). Anticipated maturity: 2025-2028. Salut!

Jubilant and brimming with flavor, the 2023 Château Sainte Eulalie Plaisir d’Eulalie Minervois drinks beautifully from the moment it is poured, making it an ideal companion to all kinds of comfort foods. Stews, grilled meats, and flavorful pastas make superb companions to this wine, as do a variety of chicken, beef, lamb, and pork dishes. Pasta with white beans and vegetables; penne pasta with grilled spicy sausages, peppers, and onions; and Chicken Cacciatore over bowtie pasta are some of our favorite companions in the company of Sainte Eulalie’s Plaisir d’Eulalie. Each of these dishes complements the sensual side of this wine. Roast pork tenderloin served with an herb encrusted black olive tapenade provides another splendid companion. Traditional Mediterranean favorites such as ratatouille, Eggplant or Zucchini Parmigiana, lasagna, and of course all kinds of pizzas also make fine accompaniments to the 2023 Plaisir d’Eulalie. Cassoulets, lentil dishes, and almost anything with fresh tomatoes, herbs, and wild mushrooms are good bets, too. A charcuterie board of smoked meats, aged hard cheeses, and grapes provides an equally compelling accompaniment. Enjoy!

Château Sainte Eulalie’s fleshy, delicious 2023 Plaisir d’Eulalie Minervois makes a superb companion to a cornucopia of cow, goat, and sheep’s milk cheeses. Pecorino, Camembert, and Chèvre all pair beautifully with the hedonistic 2023 Plaisir d’Eulalie. Add toasted walnuts to the cheese selection and you’ll almost certainly want more than one bottle of Château Eulalie’s Plaisir d’Eulalie on hand. For more specific wine and cheese pairings and to enjoy the world’s finest cheeses delivered directly to you, join us at www.cheesemonthclub.com.

Isabelle Coustal fashions outstanding quality at Château Sainte Eulalie, which is why Sainte Eulalie has been a Languedoc beacon of excellence for two decades. Under the ownership of Laurent and Isabelle Coustal, Château Sainte Eulalie has joined the top echelon of Languedoc producers. This dynamic couple came to the Languedoc to resurrect and restore the ancient Minervois vineyards surrounding the present domaine, including the old vines at Château Eulalie. The Coustals grow Syrah, Grenache, and Carignan, the three traditional and most important grape varietals of Languedoc, on stony terraces high above the village of La Livinière. Château Sainte Eulalie practices organic viticulture and is Certified Sustainable. It has also been awarded the distinction of High Environmental Value from the EU, which rates the entire activity of the producer from vineyard practices to waste water disposal for its overall impact on the environment – a very difficult feat and a highly coveted distinction.

The Coustals serve as viticulturists, winemakers, and artisans in residence at Château Sainte Eulalie. They fashion several traditional wines from old vines, including Plaisir d’Eulalie (this month’s feature) and La Cantilène from La Livinière. Both red wines spring from old vines, some as old as a century, from the Languedoc’s most renowned terroirs. In fact, La Livinière has long been regarded as the Languedoc’s finest appellation and since 2018 La Livinière has enjoyed official Cru de Languedoc status, the first and only Cru of Languedoc. Plaisir d’Eulalie and La Cantilène are both picked entirely by hand and bottled unfiltered in order to preserve freshness and rich, haunting flavors. After decades of outstanding work at Château Eulalie, the Coustals have earned the reputation as two of the Languedoc’s finest and most consistent winemakers.

Languedoc is the world’s largest single viticultural area, encompassing many appellations and distinctive sub regions – all of which are capable of producing fine wine. This sprawling viticultural wonderland stretches all the way from the Spanish border in the southwest, within sight of the towering Pyrenees, to the banks of the Rhône River far to the northeast. Languedoc cuts a huge swath of dry coastal plain and sheltered mountains from which flow the guts and the glory of French viticulture.

The Languedoc, whose name is synonymous with the language of southern France, was the first part of ancient Gaul to be extensively planted to the vine and has remained extensively cultivated for millennia. Since the 1970s, a true viticultural Renaissance has been sweeping the Languedoc and the results are nowhere more apparent than at Château Sainte Eulalie and in the favored appellation of Minervois.