Costieres de Nimes


• By Allen Dale "Ole" Olson   |   Tuesday, November 10, 2009 at 1:33 pm   |     |   Print   |   Permalink

The first time I sampled a wine from the Costieres de Nimes, I sent it back. It had gone off. My wife and I were at an outdoor table in a restaurant directly across the road from the Roman arena, one of  Nime’s landmarks. I had asked about a local red wine, and the server brought us one, whose maker I have forgotten. He explained that it came from the Camargue, a wild region in the Rhone River Delta where the Petit Rhone and the Gard form a border between the regions of Rhone and Languedoc. “Last year (1989),” he said, “the Costieres de Nimes received its own appellation, separate from the Gard.” He repaced the spoiled bottle without question.

Even so, I remained timid around wines from that region. Not that I saw that many during my last few years living in Europe. I came to know and appreciate the wines from the Languedoc and hardly gave a thought to Nimes.

Around the turn of this last century, however, I began to see Costieres de Nimes wines on our local retail shelves, and it didn’t take long for me to try them — especially as the dollar went down, the euro went up, and Old World wines became more and more costly.

These are wines with Rhone typicity — produced from red wine grapes such as Syrah, Grenache, Cinsault, Mourvedre, for example and such white grapes as Clairette, Grenache Blanc, and Bourboulenc.

I have yet to see any Costieres de Nimes priced over $15, and most fall between $10 and $13.  Among my favorites: Mas Carlot’s fruity red called les Enfants Terribles and a robust red from Chateau de Campuget. The latter is terrific with lamb and steak, even with barbecued ribs; the former works well with pork, even with pan fried fish.

At 13 to 13.5%, these wines don’t overwhelm you, and we suggest serving them the way they are served along the Mediterranean — between 60 and 66 degrees Farenheit.

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