Drink of the Week: Chateau D’Oupia Les Hérétiques 2007

While it’s easy to find an inexpensive red table wine, it can sometimes be tricky to find an inexpensive red table wine that’s worth drinking. Fortunately, there’s Chateau D’Oupia’s Les Hérétiques 2007. We recently took note of this engaging and affordable French red at a Louis Dressner tasting, and we’ve been clamoring to get our hands on another bottle since (we just spotted it on sale at the Wine Library for $7.98). What makes this Vin de Pays stand out is estate owner André Iché’s careful tending of his vines (some of which were planted nearly a century ago) and a thoughtful blending of select vineyards. Iché’s Les Hérétiques blends Syrah with old-vine Carignan for ripe, clean flavors of cherries and plums, and it’s dotted on the finish with bright acidity and tannins typically found in bottles more than twice the price. It’s bold enough to pair with roasted pork or chicken skewers, but we especially like this Languedoc red with an pizza topped with mozzarella, peppery arugula and salty prosciutto.