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 2005
Domaine Sainte Anne Cotes du Rhône Villages Rouge, 13.5% alc., $15.99: Clean
ruby garnet color, not as dark as the ’04, nor as generous on the nose, giving
some dusty, earthy black fruit. It’s not as expressive on the palate either, but
still, it offers nice enough flavors of earthy red and black berry with no
frills. Full bodied, with solid structure and presence and good length. This is
real wine, with no pretense to anything more; to be fair, it only suffers in a
side-by-side comparison to the previous vintage, because on its own, it’s my
kind o’ red Rhône at a good price. It really wants a good cut of grilled medium
rare beef or lamb. Find this wine2006 Domaine Sainte Anne Cotes du Rhône Villages Rouge, 13.5% alc., $15.99: Deep, lovely color, with red plum, red berry and a note of violet on the nose; dry flavors echo with a nice earthy base and excellent balance. Not as big or muscular as the ’04 or ’05, but structured for 3-5 years in the cellar. Nice right out of the bottle and doesn’t need much air to really please. Find this wine  2004
Domaine Sainte Anne Cotes du Rhône Villages Cuvee Notre-Dame des Cellettes
Rouge, 14% alc., $20.99: Clean dark color, with violets, black plum and
blackberry on the nose; the slightly dusty, earthy flavors generally echo with
less violets, some added forest floor and nice notes of leather and old wood.
Fairly smooth, with good structure and length, this is coming into a nice
drinking window, even if it still seems to be at least a few years from it’s
best. All in all, a very nice wine, made very much in what is obviously the
“house style.” Find this wine2004 Domaine Sainte Anne Cotes du Rhône Villages Saint-Gervais Rouge, 14% alc., $25.99: Showing good dark color, with aromatics of smoky mahogany, truffles, violets and black fruit that carry over onto the palate so nicely, so expressively. Lovely balance on a full bodied frame, with good structure, silky tannins and a smooth texture. The smoky mahogany sets the tone here and tends to be the quality that lingers most on the finish. You’d expect the priciest wine in the lineup to drink the best, and this one does just that. Just a pleasure to sip and enjoy. Find this wine  2005 Domaine Sainte Anne Cotes du Rhône Villages Saint-Gervais Rouge, 13.5%
alc., $25.99: Deeply, darkly colored, with subtle smoke and earthy black
plum, berry and currant in both flavor and aroma; full bodied, big and muscular,
with the structure for at least another 5 years in the cellar, but still, it’s
already drinking pretty well. Find this wineImported by AHD Vintners, Ltd., Warren, MI We’ve been fans of Alain Graillot Crozes Hermitage for many years now, but for the last several, we had to elsewhere to find some, because it wasn’t being distributed in the Detroit area. Happily, things have changed, so as soon as I saw this one, I got a bottle to try, and wasn’t disappointed in the least.  2006 Alain Graillot Crozes Hermitage, 13% alc., $30.99: Deep dark color
to this one; charter Gangster Scott “the Geek” Tobias
comments immediately on the “game and meat” character, and you can add some
herbal underbrush and leather along with deep, dark, rich black plum and berry;
there’s actually a little more fruit and a little less earth than I expected,
based on past vintages of this wine. Full bodied and well structured, yet quite
approachable with an hour in a decanter; should be a 10-year wine, no sweat.
With extended air, more herb, underbrush and leather emerge. Find this wineImported by Europvin U.S.A., Van Nuys, CA 2006 Eric Texier Cotes du Rhône Brezeme,12.5% alc.: Much better than most of the bizarre ’99 versions of this bottling that we tried, this shows clean, dark color and weighs in at medium full to full in body, with nicely balanced earthy red and black berry, black plum and even some black cherry. There’s good structure for at least a few years worth of improvement, but it’s already drinking well. Not as muscular as many CdRs, but it compensates with a tasty, food friendly personality. Find this wine
Imported by Louis/Dressner, New York, NY
geo t.
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And
so, another summer has passed, and this was a happy one in which each of
the Detroit Red Wings took possession of the fabled Stanley Cup
for a day to do with as they pleased, their reward as champions of the
National Hockey League. Another season is now underway, and it seems that
the best team on ice is only better, having absconded with two members of their
vanquished foes, the Pittsburgh Penguins in the persons of
Ty Conklin and the brilliant
Marion Hossa. And, as always, we’ve renewed
our tradition of watching our favorite team in sports whilst enjoying a glass or
two of fine red wine from France’s Rhône Valley. 
