Amateur Reviewer: Ross Patrick

Fitou, Cuvee Pierre,Paul Jacques 2003

Having often been given 'the look' by Clive regarding my views on wine I decided that as I was joining the family over Easter this would be a good time to gather a group's view of the wine rather than trust my heathen view. The first thing we noticed about this wine was the name, Fitou. Having travelled extensively through France it was not a region I was familiar with so after diving into a map of France we then got down to the job at hand and opened the bottle. The deep red colour of this wine gave its first hint of what was to come: a strong, full-bodied, spicy flavour with a hint of pepper and vanilla undertones, a robust wine with a lasting nose.

We decided that this wine would be best enjoyed in two ways, firstly:- sat round the dinner table by a roaring fire accompanying a cheese platter of strong flavoured French cheese or secondly:- a fine complement to the strong tastes of a summers BBQ.

So our conclusion was it was a wine for all seasons and a good reason to dust off the maps of France and reminisce about those long summer evenings with lovely fresh crusty French bread and cheese.

Buy this wine now for just £5.95 a bottle inc. VAT.