What’s the French word for moonshine?

In theory, it’s possible that this Grenache and Syrah blend has a pleasant, peppery taste of tart cherries. It’s also possible that it has an enticing smoky smell. But I’ll never know, because all the potential strengths of this Perrin Reserve 2005 Cotes-du-Rhone are completely overwhelmed by alcohol and acidity. I left this bottle half finished and came back to it a couple of days later; the nose had settled down a bit, but the taste was still much too hot for me. Maybe this is something that would calm down with age? I’m generally not patient enough to leave a $9 bottle lying around for long enough to find out.

Edit: I did a bit of reading on this after finding out that Perrin also runs the famed Chateau de Beaucastel. Surprisingly, the New York Times called the 2004 vintage of this Cotes-du-Rhone its #1 red wine under $10 about a year and a half ago.  I can’t say I tasted the “dark earthy fruit flavours” that the Times writer found, but I’m curious enough to track down a bottle to compare.