The La Joie du Boeuf Ventoux 2014 is 100% Grenache sourced from organic vineyards in the Ventoux AOP on the foothills of Mount Ventoux in the Rhone Valley of southeast France. La Joie du Boeuf translates to “joy of beef” and has a happy cow frolicking on a sunny day in a field of flowers on the label, but if you search for La Joie du Boeuf on Google you will get pages of French language recipes concerning cooking beef with Red wine. So I think they ate that happy cow. Southeast France and into Northeast Spain along the Mediterranean Ocean is the sweet spot for the Grenache grape (Garnacha in Spain), often blended with Syrah and occasionally Mourvedre. This Grenache is sourced from 30 year old vines and was aged in cement vats for 6 months. Using cement vats, as opposed to stainless steel tanks or oak barrels is common in Southwest France and the wines taste slightly different than wood aged or steel aged wine. The alcohol content is 13%.
The color is a raspberry jam red with black highlights. The nose is blackberry, perfume, light herbs and exotic spice, with a final splash of strawberry. This is a fruit forward, but balanced Red with an interesting flavor palette. It tastes of ripe blackberry, tea, licorice, and cola. The mid-palate brings soft herbs, light dusty spice, and blueberry. The tannins are soft and the acidity is well-balanced by the body of the wine. The finish is bold and does not go away.
The La Joie du Boeuf Ventoux 2014 is a modern version of a French country wine. There is an attractive complexity to the flavors and textures in your glass. This is a $9.99 wine and often ten buck wines taste fine can be a bit boring and lacking in personality (8 years ago this was common, today less so), the La Joie du Boeuf Ventoux 2014 is definitely not boring. As for pairing, I would take the advice of all those French beef recipes and pour some of this Grenache into the sauce for the roast and save the rest for dinner.
