Your best red to impress at $22

During a recent scroll on the SAQ website looking for fair budget red wines with high ratings, I stumbled upon this lovely bottle of red which we recommend you add to your cave ASAP!

Chateau Les Pins is a French red wine from the wine maker Dom Brial in Languedoc-Roussillon made of the typical regional blend: Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre. Bottled in a shape that reminds us more of a Bordeaux blend than a Languedoc one, we were surprised to see several SAQ employees recommending it in the "Cellier" section.

Credit: SAQ - Chateau Les Pins

Languedoc-Roussillon red wines are often structured, with strong intensity and pair perfectly with red meat. We opened a bottle with a summer barbecue and I can tell you we've been very impressed and were unanimous around the table (feedback was collected after only 1 glass to be fair).

What we liked? Deep cherry aromas, a bit of sous-bois and hints of dry roses. It has a smooth velvety texture on the tongue. It's full bodied, tannins are soft and the sweetness is present but far from being overpowering.

Credit: Domaine Dom Brial

The price is also exceptional for the value, at only $21.95 you get the experience you usually pay $30 or more for.

Fun fact: this bottle goes for 16.30€ in France if bought directly on the winemaker's domain so approximately $25 CAD. SAQ is actually giving us a deal on that one thanks to their large volume!

Lastly, we couldn't finish this review without mentioning the age of the bottle. While listed (wrongly) as a 2018 on the SAQ site, this is actually a 2019 bottle so 5 years old. It's rare to find old wines in general on the shelf and even more within a reasonable price. On top of that, the blend definitely has potential to age another 3 to 5 years if kept in good conditions.

It's a good price, it tastes great and stays very versatile, it's already aged a bit: we went back and bought 4 more that went directly in our cave for later.

Chateau Les Pins, we'll keep an eye on you moving forward.

Cheers!