itual
is important to the lives of wine lovers and sports fans alike, so it
was a bitter winter and spring for
this taster, what with no Detroit Red Wings
hockey. The Stanley Cup should have been fought for and won by
one team or another weeks ago, but sadly, such was not to be the case. Without going
into personal feelings regarding the politics of the situation, I can
tell you that we haven't ignored our Red Rhônes due to the NHL work
stoppage; we can ALWAYS find a good excuse to pull the corks on some of
those, whether it be a
visit from a new friend, or just getting
reacquainted with an old one. Here's the Rhône - down on the rest of
what we've sampled over the last three of four months, starting with the
latest renditions of a couple of wines we've gotten to know well over
the years.
2001 Paul Jaboulet Aine Crozes Hermitage Domaine du Thalabert,
$26.99, 13% alc.: While not bad wines by any means, these late model
Thalabert Crozes Hermitage just don't seem to fly as high
as they
once did. A deep, dark garnet, fading to purpley pink at the rim,
this one gives a little chocolate and wet dog fur over plenty of dark
plum, blackberry and black cherry on both the nose and in the mouth,
with some garrigue emerging as it opens. It features a smooth, creamy
mouth feel, soft tannins, balanced acidity and a decent finish, but
unlike many of the older models ('91, '94 and '95 come to mind right
away), it's accessible with minimal air, and no decanting is required.
The newer style offers brighter fruit and chocolate at the expense of
the deeper, darker, more brooding qualities of the past, and while I
still prefer the more rustic versions, it'll be interesting to see how
these youngsters age.
Imported by
Frederick Wildman and Sons, Ltd., New York, NY
2002
Domaine le Sang des Cailloux Vacqueyras Cuvée
Doucinello, $23, 13.5% alc.: This dark garnet colored Vacqueyras is
a little leaner than usual, due no doubt to the problematic vintage, but
otherwise it gives pretty much everything you'd expect from Sang des
Cailloux. Typical flavors and aromas of leather, tar, underbrush,
blackberry and black currant are tight at first, since we didn't give
this any air before drinking, something it definitely needs (try
decanting for an hour if you open one of these soon).
Kim found it to be "chalky and
gritty," while
Alan Kerr aka Canadian Zinfan added impressions of "tarry balsa,
graham cracker crumbs and toasty chocolate." Five to eight years worth
of tannins will take this well down the road, but if there's one
weakness, it shows a little less concentration in the transition from
the mid - palate on back through the finish. Still, it's a success for
'02, and a solid, if not great, wine.
Imported by
Kermit Lynch Wine
Merchant, Berkeley, CA
2000 Domaine de la Tourade Gigondas, $19.99, 14% alc.: I can't
say why it's taken us so long to try one of these, because although
we've been fans of
J.C. Mathes' portfolio for years, we've never had a Domaine de
la Tourade Gigondas until just recently, and that's too bad, if this one
is any indication, because it's a nice glass of wine. Dark garnet,
fading to pink at the rim, it shows straightforward earthy black plum,
black currant and blackberry character, shaded with leather and a little
smoke. There are still significant tannins to shed here, and it finishes
with plenty of earth, but the wine opens quite nicely with air, becoming
smoother and more harmonious. Thick, rich and pretty, it drinks pretty
well now, but give it another five years to really show its best.
Imported by
J et R
Selections, Mt. Pleasant, MI
2001 Domaine de la Janasse Châteauneuf du Pape
Vieilles Vignes, $150, 14.5% alc.:
Bill Schwab aka The Psychopomp gave
us a taste of this ruby dark garnet Châteauneuf, and it is an angry
young wine, but one with all the stuff to go quite a way down the road.
It gives up massive flavors and aromas of chocolate, spice, garrigue,
smoke and licorice over deep, dark black fruit, and Bill described a
certain "stinky cheese finish." While the wine does open dramatically in
the glass, gaining even more chocolate, it really needs another ten
years minimum in the bottle. A wine that has everything you need for a
98 Parker - point rating, I guess,
but I don't know about all that chocolate...
2001 Domaine la Soumade Rastau Côtes du Rhône Villages Cuvée
Prestige, $35.99, 14.5% alc.: Deep dark garnet, fading at the rim,
with black currants and berries, plums and nice leathery notes; medium
full bodied, with good presence and medium tannins, slightly drying on
the finish. Good wine, but way over priced for what's in the bottle.
2001 Domaine la Soumade Rastau Côtes du Rhône Villages Cuvée
Confiance, $45.99, 14.5% alc.: Dark garnet, with floral overtones
and hints of dog fur underneath the red and black fruit bouquet; flavors
echo with medium tannins on a medium full bodied frame, offering black
currants and berries, plums, even a hint of red berries, all with an
earthy base and some nice leathery accents. Very harmonious, especially
with air, but $46?! I don't think so.
2003 Domaine "La Garrigue" Côtes du Rhône Cuvée Romaine, $13.99,
13.5% alc.: Dark garnet, shading to pink at the rim, with an almost
Ridge - like bubble gum, sweet oak red fruit bouquet which Kim describes
as "almost floral." Deeper and darker on the palate, while maintaining
overtones of what resembles American (?!) oak; black currants and black
plums, with earth and leather underneath, but where's the garrigue?
Nice, if atypical, and like nothing we've
had
from this producer before; well priced, but purists may not like it.
Domaine de la Janasse, Domaine la Soumade & Domaine "La
Garrigue" Imported by
European Cellars Direct, New York, NY
2003 Château de Segries Côtes du Rhône, 13.5% alc.: Ruby garnet,
with a smoky tinge, giving up red plums, red berries and black cherries
on the restrained nose; flavors echo, with more raspberry, strawberry
and hints of smoke and cola on a medium bodied frame. Fairly rich, not
very tannic, and a nice enough finish. Pretty good for what's in the
bottle, with what seems to be a fair amount of Grenache; not a big CdR,
but a big improvement over
the '02 model.
2003
Domaine de la Mordoree Côtes du Rhône, $13.99, 14% alc.: Deep, dark
garnet, pink at the rim, with a red plum, black cherry, strawberry and
rhubarb nose shaded with notes of wet dog fur and underbrush; these
impressions follow through in the medium full bodied flavors with a
solid earthy base, a little chocolate, a few years worth of tannins and
more and more underbrush - garrigue as it opens. A step up in body and
substance from the Segries, with a nice earthy finish, this is a solid
CdR, and doesn't seem too ripe, despite the hot vintage.
2003 Grand Veneur Côtes du Rhône Reserve, 13.5% alc.: Dark
garnet, pink at the rim, with plum, red berries, a subtle note of
chocolate and a little wet dog fur on the nose; flavors echo and expand
with a more refined personality than the other three from Kysela noted
here, being not quite silky, but not chunky either. Rich, round and
eminently drinkable, this medium full bodied CdR is good to go, now and
for the next few years at least.
2003
Château de Segries Lirac Reservee, 13.5% alc.: Dark garnet, with a
smoky tinge, and not giving much at all on the nose at first, but this
is a wine that needs time to open and show what it has. With a few hours
of air, what at first seemed a somewhat dull, clunky wine evolves to
exhibit some real depth, with earthy dark plum, blackberry and black
currant flavors and aromas that are accented with a little tobacco and
underbrush. Medium tannins will take this at least a few years down the
road, and bottle age should allow this to develop nicely. The best wine
of these four from Kysela, for my tastes.
Château de Segries, Domaine de la Mordoree & Grand Veneur
Imported by Kysela Pere
et Fils, Ltd., Winchester, VA
2001 Santa Duc Rasteau Les Blovac, $24.99: Deep dark garnet
color, with a very expressive deep, dark black currant, blackberry and
iodine nose, and a little menthol lurking in the background. Big flavors
echo, with a streak of leather throughout and tannins that don't intrude
on tonight's drinking pleasure, but it will certainly improve with 3-5
years in the cellar. It turns a bit earthy on the finish, where the
tannins show the most. I really like this, and so does Kim; it turns
more and more leathery with air, and that's fine with us!
Imported by Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, D.C.
2003 Saint Cosme Côtes du Rhône, $18.99, 13.5% alc.: This wine is
a poster child for the "international" styled wines that are more and
more coming out of southern France. A deep, dark garnet fading to
translucent at the rim, it shows chocolate first and foremost, with
plenty of plum and black cherry in support, along with bacon and a
little garrigue in the background. Rich, very ripe and a little fat in
the mouth, with a good dose of tannins and some astringency on the
finish, this is definitely not typical CdR, although it IS in the same
style as
the '01 model. It seems to show the effects of the scorching
vintage, and while I enjoy it for what it is, it's not what I want from
the Rhône; I'll spend a buck more for something like the Domaine de la
Tourade Gigondas.
Imported by
The Stacole
Company, Boca Raton, FL
