Red Wings and 
Red Rhônes ’00-01
Part 2

10/17/00: Goalie Manny Legace just missed recording his second straight shutout in the young season, with a strong performance in a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues at Joe Louis Arena. The game was scoreless until 16:01 of the 2nd Period, when Sergei Federov slammed home his 3rd goal of the season. Martin Lapointe added the game winner a minute and twenty-one seconds later, but Jochen Hecht erased the St. Louis goose egg with a wrap around goal at 17:39 of the 3rd. The boys looked strong in dominating the Blues, last year's President’s Trophy winner with the best record in the league.

1998 Domaine Les Pallieres Gigondas, $25.99, 80% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 5% Mourvedre, 5% Cinsault, 13.5% alc.: Like the Sang des Cailloux and the Le Mas des Collines, we reported on a previous vintage of this ruby dark garnet two years ago, and I was a little surprised this wasn’t a deeper, darker mystery like that was. A partnership of Kermit Lynch and the Brunier family of Domaine du Vieux Télégraph have recently purchased the estate from the Roux family, owners since 1400. Neither restrained nor exuberant, the bouquet features nice earthy plum and berry/Provencal herb that expands on the palate with the emphasis on the earth. Medium tannins make it a little chunky, with good acidity and a reasonable, if not overlong finish, but it really smoothes out with extended air, gaining pretty notes of creamy chocolate. Probably best with at least another three years in the cellar, I have to admit, it’s drinking pretty well already.

10/21/00: Manny Legace started his third straight game, but needed an overtime goal from Brendan Shanahan to get the win, as the Wings edged the Buffalo Sabers in an exciting up and down affair. Pat Verbeek, that "little ball of hate," added two goals for Detroit in his best showing so far this season.

1996 Chateau de Saint Cosme Gigondas, $16.99, 13.5 % alc.: Kim took one whiff of this dark garnet beauty and exclaimed, "Major pepper! Like sticking your nose in a bowl of freshly ground black pepper." There was that all right, along with plenty of prune/ leather/Provencal herb/cedar/cola/red licorice/sea air on the nose, and the cedar/cola is accentuated on the palate. The acidity is about perfect for this taster and the tannins only clamp down on the finish somewhat, finishing with a lingering earthiness. This will only get better with a little more time, and is easily one of the two best wines noted here, along with the ’96 Trignon. Very tasty stuff!

11/12/00: I was set to go with the seven wines already noted, when I ran into a late vintage model of an old friend, and had to say, "What the hey!" The Wings just happened to be playing on the very evening I brought this home, so we decided to double our pleasure and pull a companion whose predecessor had also been featured in our first Red Wings and Red Rhônes extravaganza. The fact the boys won 3-2 over the Anaheim Mighty Ducks (I’ve NEVER gotten used to that name) on the Duck Pond only made matters more enjoyable. Brendan Shanahan scored two goals, including the game winner, and Detroit came home with five out of six possible points after a three game western road swing.

1996 Domaine la Garrigue Vacqueyras, $15.99, 13.5% alc.: The nose on this dark garnet is all dusty plum/prune, with earth/ pepper/underbrush lurking in the background. It’s very peppery on the palate, dominating the earthy fruit at this point, with plenty of tannins and good acidity. Like most red Rhônes, this continues to open with air, and more fruit emerges in the flavors. This should improve over the next few years, and it’s a decent Vacqueyras, but I wouldn’t spend the money on a second bottle; the QPR just isn’t that great.

1996 Paul Jaboulet Aine Vacqueyras Reserve Personelle, $19.99, 80% Grenache, 20% Syrah/Mourvedre, 13% alc.: This dark garnet is rather more robust than the Dom. la Garrigue, with character redolent of plum/smoke/ brasso/coffee/leather and a hint of raisin. Richer, more intense than its sparring partner, this really smooths out with three hours of air, but there are still tannin issues to resolve, especially those drying on the finish. If it's just a wee bit thin on the mid-palate, that's my only complaint, except perhaps for the price. I'd cozy up to this more if it had cost about $5 less, and maybe that’s why this was the last one in the cellar from hell. An eight to ten year wine, especially if you can find it at a discount. A special selection of winemaker Jacques Jaboulet.

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By Bastardo

1998 Domaine Les Pallieres Gigondas

1996 Chateau de Saint Cosme Gigondas

1996 Domaine la Garrigue Vacqueyras

1996 Paul Jaboulet Aine Vacqueyras Reserve Personelle

Part I

1996 Chateau du Trignon Gigondas

1996 Domaine le Sang des Cailloux Vacqueyras

1997 Domaine le Sang des Cailloux Vacqueyras

1994 Le Mas des Collines Gigondas

1995 Le Mas des Collines Gigondas