2006 Vins de Pays Cotes de Brian Clos du Gravillas "Le Rendez-Vous du Soleil"

This wine came to my attention at K&L in San Francisco last weekend when a friend of mine asked a clerk for something earthy from France. He suggested this bottle, saying it had that dirty taste she was looking for.

Mix of 30 percent each cab, syrah and carignan, with 5 percent each of mourvedre and grenache. Aged 25 months (in what, I wonder? Bottle just says the length of time).

In appearance this wine is dark and murky, with cranberry-tinged edges. The nose has an old, musty earth smell as well as black fruit scents.

In the glass, I got dense currant flavors and blackberry preserve. I wanted to write down jammy because this felt so thick on my tongue, but it wasn't overly sweet, which I typically associate with the "jam" description.

This wine has a rich mouthfeel and was hard to interpret at first. I detected several strains of fruit on my palate, but separating them in my head was difficult because of the weight of the overall wine. Tangy, almost bitter tannins bring the wine to a finish.

This is certainly a beast of a wine, and is a good example of how something can be powerful but not overdone with oak, vanilla, and gooey sweetness. Not bad for $15.99. I have had dirtier wines, but if you're not sure if that's a flavor you're into, this could be a good entry bottle.