Les Vignerons D'Estezargues Terre de Mistral 2005

back to france and a nice offering from the wine co-op les vignrons d'estezagues. this cotes du rhone blend of grenache, syrah, caignan, cinsault and counoise sells for under $15, which is the first thing that appealed to me. the nose was smokey olives and raspberries. the taste was light and smooth on the palate, with raspberries and some cherry notes. i also picked up a nice earthy, herbal note. the tannins were very subtle. this is a good food wine which we enjoyed with barbecue. i would guess that more time in the bottle would only help this wine be even better, though it was so nice that i wouldn't want to wait to drink it.