Domaine Bisconte

A classy, if slightly jammy, Big Red from Roussillon

I've been drinking a lot of Laithwaites' reds recently - not entirely through choice, I must add.

They score highly for Look-At-Me expressiveness, but less so for elegance, tending to be somewhat chewy and overextracted.

This Domaine Bisconte is very much in the Laithwaites style of Big Red; high in alcohol with baked, jammy fruit but what sets it apart from the others is a degree of finesse, freshness and balance which so many of the others lack.

For my palate, it's something of a curate's egg; it's technically very well made and the tannins are faultless. I'm just not keen on the baked, jammy character, but if you drink a lot of Parker-esque California or Barossa, it may even seem quite restrained.

Domaine Bisconte 2017 (£13.99, Laithwaites) ripe, baked dark-berry fruits with damson and plum, slightly jammy and overcooked ; garrigue herbs, oaky spice and a balanced freshness that just about holds it in check; complex with very fine tannins.

Thoroughly pleasant.

Will age.

Match with roast red meat, especially garlic-and-rosemary leg of lamb.