I am pleased to announce the arrival at ABC Fine Wine & Spirits stores of a new wine from the Appellation of Minervois in Southern France. The wine is Hegarty #1 Minervois 2005, a blend of 60% Syrah and 40% Carignan.

Our ABC wine team first visited the Hegarty estate on June 18, 2011. The English owner, John Hegarty, spared no expense when renovating the small winery with the latest, state of the art equipment.  A unique architectural design is the vinification tanks built into the rocks of the side of the hill. 

We were greeted by Samuel Berger, the winemaker, who showed us around the winery and the sustainably farmed  15ha of vineyards of old vine Grenache, Carignan, Mourvèdre, Syrah, Roussanne and Marsanne.

The unfiltered 2005 Hegarty #1 was barrel aged for two years. The wine exhibits a dark, saturated ruby color and aromas and flavors of blackcurrant, strawberry jam, licorice and plum.  It is medium to full-bodied with silky tannins, nice mouth-feel, good acidity and long finish.

This is a tremendous effort and a bargain at $21.99.

Atanas Nechkov, Central Florida Wine Supervisor

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