Red Wings and 
Red Rhônes ’02
Playoff Diary
Round 3 - Part 1
    

After dispatching the St. Louis Blues in 5 games in Round 2, the Detroit Red Wings had a full week off before starting their next playoff series against their arch-rivals, the Colorado Avalanche. It was the match-up that everyone had been waiting and hoping for. The two best teams in the league would square off to see who would advance to the Stanley Cup Finals, and there is quite a history of bad blood between them. Detroit had home ice advantage, but did the long layoff take the edge off of their powerhouse game? Only time would tell, but we were prepared to do our part and keep that Red Wings-Red Rhône mojo working with some fine selections.

Game 1 – Detroit Red Wings vs. Colorado Avalanche, Saturday, May 18, 2002, Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, MI: The Red Wings looked ragged during the opening period as expected, but still managed to buck an 8 game trend by winning Game 1, 5-3, despite not having scored first. Colorado jumped out to 1-goal leads in each of the first 2 periods, only to see Detroit tie before intermission. Then Darren McCarty took over in the 3^rd Period, scoring 3 consecutive goals, the natural hat trick, his 1^st ever in playoffs or regular season. A late power play goal by the Avs was much too little, thus the final score.

1999 Domaine de la Charbonnierre Vacqueyras, $18.99, 14% alc.: More Friday night mojo for the Saturday matinee with this one; it has a dark garnet color that looks pretty in pink when given vigorous swirlatude. It’s also one of the earthiest wines I’ve ever encountered, smelling like dirt, plums and berries, with a hint of vegetation as well. These follow through on the palate with some chewy tannins on a full bodied frame, with good acidity, and as the earth recedes with air, some licorice emerges. A rather rustic wine, it‘s very dry, with a somewhat astringent finish. It opens up with 3 hours of air, showing more fruit and some underbrush-garrigue, and it’s even better after 4 hours, but it never loses the earth, and it’s still not exactly a fruit bomb. It’ll never be a Sang des Cailloux, but it IS an interesting and enjoyable Vacqueyras. Give it at least 4 or 5 years to mellow those tannins some.

Imported by Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkely, CA

Game 2 – Detroit Red Wings vs. Colorado Avalanche, Monday, May 20, 2002, Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, MI: As in Game 1, Colorado scored first in each of the first 2 periods, only to see Detroit tie the game. Unlike Game 1, the same thing happened in the 3^rd period, sending the game into overtime, where Chris Drury scored on a great individual effort to win for the Avalanche and gain home ice advantage in the series. It’s not like we didn’t have the makings for what should have been some powerful mojo here at Gang Central though...

1999 Domaine du Pegau Châteauneuf du Pape Cuvée Réservée, $29.99, 13.5% alc.: This is a smoky wine. The dark garnet color has a smoky tinge to it, and so do the flavors and aromas, giving a delicious tone to the plum, black cherry and leather character. Deep, rich and concentrated, it explodes from the glass, and the considerable tannins can’t hide the abundance of fruit. With good acidity and a long lovely finish, this just screams great Châteauneuf du Pape, and Kim added an exclamation point to that by gushing, "I just LOVE this wine!" Big, but not necessarily brawny, it should be absolutely beautiful when the tannins are toned down in about 10 years or so. That’s assuming, of course, that you can keep your hands off until then.

Imported by J et R Selections LTD., Mount Pleasant, MI.

Game 3 – Colorado Avalanche vs. Detroit Red Wings, Wednesday, May 22, 2002, Pepsi Center, Denver, CO.: The Wings and Avs were tied at 1-1 through 3 periods, on goals by former L.A. Kings Rob Blake (Avs) and Luc Robitaille (Wings). The Wings’ Fredrik Olausson scored the winning goal at 12:44 in the 1^st overtime period, in a thrilling game that was everything that everyone expected from these two teams. The Wings deserved this win, outshooting the Avalanche by a wide margin. Both goalies were great; Patrick Roy was a little bit better, but the Red Wings' team was a whole lot better.

1998 Domaine Bois de Boursan Châteauneuf du Pape, $29.99, 13.5% alc.: The more I taste this producer’s wines, the more impressed I am, although I’m not so charmed by the price increase since just the last vintage. This one’s a deep dark garnet with a pretty smoky blackberry and plum bouquet showing violet overtones and a certain earthy quality underneath it all. Flavors match with plenty of tannins and acidity, and of course, those tannins clamp down on the finish some. Still, it opens nicely over 5 hours, becoming even more perfumed. A 10 year + wine showing wonderful promise.

Imported by J et R Selections LTD., Mount Pleasant, MI.

1994 Domaine Le Mas des Collines Regis de Taxis Gigondas, 14.99, 13.5% alc.: I had to scramble to pull something out of the cellar when the game went into overtime, and this old friend is what I came up with. Still a dark garnet showing no rust as of yet, it has an earthy, funky, tarry nose right off the bat, then quickly opens to show some nice red currant and cola with vigorous swirlatude. Flavors echo with a hint of leather and garrigue, some tannins still to resolve and good acidity. As is almost always the case with these Rhônes, this really opens up with air, and a little quicker than the usual two hours or more this time. It gains some nice raspberry character, and if it never has that long a finish, it never came from that great a vintage to begin with. Still, it drinks like a Beaucastel with the big Red Wings win, and I firmly believe that the Red Rhône mojo is working again, after last game’s disappointment. This is a nice wine that will probably continue to improve for a year or two, but you won’t go wrong to decant it for an hour and enjoy it with some grilled red meat and/or a Red Wings game.

Imported by J et R Selections LTD., Mount Pleasant, MI.

Game 4 – Colorado Avalanche vs. Detroit Red Wings, Saturday, May 25, 2002, Pepsi Center, Denver, CO.: The Red Wings outplayed the Avs through 2 periods of this Saturday matinee game, but only had a 1-1 tie to show for it, thanks to another strong game by Patrick Roy. Then, a quick 3^rd period goal by Colorado’s Joe Sakic gave the home team momentum, and they went on to post a 3-2 win. Brett Hull’s goal in the dying seconds of the game was too little, too late for the good guys.

2000 Domaine de L’Oratoire St. Martin Cairanne Côtes du Rhône Villages Réserve des Seigneurs, $14.99, 13.5% alc.: We’ve been aware of this producer's reputation for making high quality wines for a while now; we even tried some of them a few years ago, and while we liked them then, I don’t remember them being as good as this one, much less the following selection. This is a deep dark garnet that exudes a deep dark plum, black raspberry nose with hints of licorice that shows a certain Grenache character to it. The rich, dense, earthy flavors generally echo, and take on some added leather and underbrush, but reflect more of a Syrah and/or Mourvedre profile. There’s a good dose of tannins here, which clamp down on the finish, and good acidity as well. A deep, impressive wine, especially for the price, give it at least 5 years for the tannins to resolve themselves.

Imported by J et R Selections LTD., Mount Pleasant, MI.

2000 Domaine de L’Oratoire St. Martin Cairanne Côtes du Rhône Villages Cuvée Prestige, $19.99, 13.5% alc.: This inky garnet is almost opaque, showing a fragrant, if not quite floral bouquet reminiscent of plum, chocolate, leather and underbrush, with just a hint of smoke. These impressions follow through on the palate with even richer fruit than the Réserve des Seigneurs, along with a slightly less density to the texture, and a little more refinement. It’s not as tannic, has excellent acidity and a fairly long finish that should lengthen as it ages. It features a lush, velvety mouthfeel, and gains a faint hint of coffee as it opens. Again, it seems to have more Syrah and/or Mourvedre in it than Grenache, and I’d give it 3-5 years to start showing its best. Marvelous wines, these!

Imported by J et R Selections LTD., Mount Pleasant, MI.

On to Part 2

Back to Round 1

Back to Round 2

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By Bastardo

Part 1

1999 Domaine de la Charbonnierre Vacqueyras

1999 Domaine du Pegau Châteauneuf du Pape Cuvée Réservée

1998 Domaine Bois de Boursan Châteauneuf du Pape

1994 Domaine Le Mas des Collines Regis de Taxis Gigondas

2000 Domaine de L’Oratoire St. Martin Cairanne Côtes du Rhône Villages Réserve des Seigneurs

2000 Domaine de L’Oratoire St. Martin Cairanne Côtes du Rhône Villages Cuvée Prestige

Part 2

1994 Paul Jaboulet Aine Crozes Hermitage Domaine de Thalabert

1995 Alain Graillot Crozes Hermitage

1995 Eric et Joel Durand Saint-Joseph Les Coteaux

1995 Eric et Joel Durand Cornas

1995 Marcel Juge Cornas Cuvee C

1991 A. Clape Cornas