2014 Stephane et Marjorie Gallet Effet Papillon Cotes du Roussillon Rouge 750 ml

The “Butterfly Effect”

One fall day in 2010 in Paris, we did what we never do: We took a day off.

After a double espresso and a couple of croissants, we grabbed a bench in the Jardin du Luxembourg, where we read 200 rat-a-tat-tat pages of a James Ellroy mystery. Then we took a brisk walk along the Seine. At 3 pm, we hailed a cab and made a beeline for the 7th arrondissement.

At Restaurant Guy Savoy, lunch was just winding down. That was fine with us. We hadn’t come to eat, but to peruse. We asked for the wine list and went to “work,” jotting down unfamiliar names of producers from Burgundy to the Languedoc-Roussillon. Then we hailed a second cab.

Our next stop was Le Pré Catelan. Again, we studied the wine list and jotted down more names. After a square-eyed look from the bartender, we ordered a bottle of Evian, then winced when the waiter dropped the bill. We peeled off three 5-euro bills and hurried out the door.

Our last stop was Le Crillon. Amidst a lobby filled with Armani, Gucci, and Hermès, we stood out like sore thumbs. As we leafed through the third wine tome of the afternoon, we stood instead of sitting, determined not to drop 20 bucks on espressos. A half-hour later, back in the Jardin du Luxembourg, we collated our notes. It was then that we realized that we’d written one estate’s name three times — Marjorie and Stéphane Gallet’s Roc des Anges.

If you visit France next summer and decide to head south, take a trip to Roussillon. Weave your way north out of Perpignan, past the solemn, whitewashed villages that seem stuck in time. When you arrive in Montner, take the turn out of town where 100-year-old Carignan, Grenache, and Mourvèdre spider close to the ground, protecting themselves from hot 160 km/h summer winds. When you arrive at the Gallets’ spanking-new Roc des Anges, head to the cellar that nearly 50 Michelin-starred sommeliers know all too well.

Drawn from an old-vine mix of deep-rooted Carignan, Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Syrah, dollar for dollar — if you’re looking for sheer hedonism in a bottle — the 2014 “Effet Papillon” ranks among the most simply DELICIOUS $14 bottles in France!

Deep ruby/purple to the rim, infused with intoxicating primary-fruit aromas of blackberry, redcurrant, black raspberry, and sweet spice. Rich, piercing, and vividly concentrated on the attack, packed with a juicy mix of crushed red and black fruits, drizzled with crème de cassis, the finish remains penetrating and vibrant, speaking volumes to the schist soils on which these old vines thrive.

$70/bottle chez the Michelin stars. $14 today on WineAccess. You make the call.