Domaine de la Condamine 2000 Fitou

[maxmillan]

I bought a couple bottles for $10.47 Canadian. I was told this was a very good wine for the price...smooth, light. I don't drink and thought this might be a good case to get for Christmas celebration without spending a wad.

It's from France and I understand that was a good year for red wine?

Does anyone know about this wine? Any comments?

[dlc]

I am not familiar with this wine but there is info on it here. They also have and attached B&B.

[Carema]

Fitou is a wine growing zone close to Corbieres, down in the south of France there, that grows a lot of Carignan. 2000 was indeed a good vintage for this particular area, as was it for Bordueax. The Loire Valley, Northern Rhone, Burgundy and Champagne did not enjoy such a vintage in the year 2000 and I believe it was a softy for Alsace as well.

Carignan presents itself in the palate with tart red cherries and much herbacious spice; Fitou is a rustic country wine. I would be shocked if it were as smooth as promised but one never knows. I would not hold onto these bottles forever, but if you were to have a rustic lamb stewed perfumed with orange rind, or a simple skillet of sausages potatoes and onions, accompanied by a hunk of heavily buttered bread this, would be nice wine.

As for vintages, typically weather does not make the distinction between red and white grapes- if an area if blighted by frost, early freezing or too much sun all the varietals suffer. Just as the weather can be radically different in BC than from Ontario, so too these weather differences can and often do occur in each separate wine growing region. It might be more accurate to say: 2000 was a good vintage for Fitou, or Pauillac, or Bergerac etc.

[Carema]

Here is a nice map:

FitouMap Link