Rummaging through my cellar (okay, the bottom of my wardrobe) I discovered a bottle of Mas de Daumas Gassac 2006.

I had bought it about a year ago and as luck would have it, I interviewed the man who made the wine, Samuel Guibert, two weeks ago. Read the interview here.

Having chatted to Samuel Guibert about the winemaking philosophy at his property, I was keen to seek out the finesse, complexity and balance which he had told me about. It wasn’t hard to find.

After a good 6 hours in a decanter I served it up with a simple enough dish from the south of France, cassoulet.

Samuel had told me that it was quite “atypical” of wines from the Languedoc. And he was right, this had many of the hallmarks of a classed growth Bordeaux and to me, justifies the accolades, comparisons and hyperboles like “Lafite of the Languedoc”.

Why is it like a Bordeaux? It’s a red blend, dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, but it has a whole host of other red varietals in there too (Merlot, Petit Verdot, Pinot Noir, Syrah and another 9 in smaller quantities).

Despite or because of this unusual blend, it truly does match the best of the Bordeaux. And seen in this light, it’s a bit of a bargain.

The 2006 (if available) and subsequent vintages sell for around €38 where many Bordeaux will sell of upwards of €80 (not counting the first growth craziness).

The 2008 is currently on sale from rednosewine.com and curiouswines.ie has the 2009, both good vintages according to the vintage reports on Mas de Daumas Gassac website.

With food?

Perfect with lamb, game or the big bird at Christmas. My cassoulet was a little too rich for it.