Domaine La Casenove - Muscat de Rivesaltes 2011

Bettane & Desseauve

About the domain :

A former press photographer, Étienne Montès took over the family estates, Casenove and Saint-Luc. The La Garrigue and Torrespeyres cuvées form an easily accessible core range. The Commandant-Jaubert cuvée is made when the vintage lends itself to it. It bears the name of a sailor, Etienne's great-great-uncle, who built the estate.

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About the wine :

Favoring Muscat d'Alexandrie and Muscat à petit grain, Montes' 2011 Muscat de Rivesaltes is fragrant with mint, orange liqueur and dried apricot. Fortunately - and unlike so many wines from this appellation - it's not sickening, and although modest in length, it's refreshingly lively, offering a counterpoint to its sweetness.

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About the wine :

In VDN, the 2011 Muscat-de-Rivesaltes appears very generous and evolves on alcohol.

About the domain :

Etienne Montès, a former press photographer, has been at the head of the family estate since the late 1980s. With a thorough understanding of his terroirs and their potential, he produces a fine range of IGP Côtes Catalanes, from simple fruit wines to large-scale cuvées - such as the famous Commandant Jaubert. The VDNs are very serious, but sometimes find it hard to moderate their warm character. The whole range is sincere and of a high standard. Enthusiasts will find fine, authentic wines capable of ageing very well in the cellar. However, alcoholic heaviness is recurrent, hindering the finesse of expression and leading us to withdraw the star from the domaine. A few technical and stylistic adjustments would undoubtedly suffice to dust off the style of these materials, whose depth of taste is undeniable.