I was a little hesitant to try this wine at first – Skip from Highland Wine basically described Le Signal one as a huge blueberry aroma! I thought it was going to be a huge blueberry fruit bomb, totally weird, and what the heck would it go with. So this was a “let’s give it a shot” at Christmas-time when my parents visited. My dad and I compared Le Signal against the Eos Estate Petite Sirah (more on that one later). We also had fun comparing wines poured with and without his new Vintue Wine Aerator.

I’m a big fan of Sweetwater Beer’s Sweetwater Blue beer, with powerful hints of blueberry flavors. Having experienced – and enjoyed – that beer, it’s easy to pick up on the blueberry notes in this wine. Luckily, I don’t have the insanely powerful sense of smell that Skip has, so I wasn’t completely overwhelmed by a blueberry bomb going off in the kitchen.

My dad and I first tried this wine before dinner, with and without some baked brie and mushrooms appetizer. Without food, the tannins are pretty powerful and overwhelming. I’d suggest saving this one for a heavier appetizer or a nice dinner – we had a few delicious Cornish Hens as our Christmas dinner stars, and the wine was an excellent accompaniment. But before dinner, go for something lighter.

Now, on to the story of the wine. Label is iconic but not overly interesting. Two-toned icon of a truck with wine casks on the flat truck bed/trailer area. The story is interesting though – from the label and the website:

In the 1920’s, Louis Lignères delivered the domaine’s wines with his Berliet barrel-carrier truck to the Pyrenees Mountains. His customers couldn’t be impatient: it took him 22 hours at an average speed of 11km/h (6.8mph) to go from Alaric Mountain to Lourdes! And he announced his arrival with the Signal of the truck’s characteristic horn.

Pretty neat. And… I’m also intrigued by grapes I’m not very familiar with – this one being primarily Carignan (also spelled Carignane), a historically popular French grape. This blend is Carignan 80% , Grenache 10%, Syrah 5%, Mourvèdre 5%. I recently read an interesting article mentioning Carignan in Wine Spectator (by the way, I’m appalled by their obvious typos and grammatical errors in each issue) how it is being replaced with more popular New World grapes like Merlot and Syrah. Le Signal is a prime example of why traditional grape varieties should be preserved – and more importantly, why they should be flourishing!

So try something new – Carignan – and expect greatness; you’ll find it in Le Signal!

Origin: Chateau la Baronne, Montagne d’Alaric, France
Where: Highland Wine
Price: $19
Next time: Get a glass!