RED RHONES-RED WINGS '98-'99 After a long season that featured both highs and lows, the Red Wings finished with a flurry and several new faces. Clark, Chelios, Ranford and Samuelsson all provided a much-needed lift to a team that, frankly, seemed flat. The regular season record was good enough for the 3rd seed in the Western Conference, as was the case in each of the last two campaigns. Considering who the Stanley Cup Champions have been the past two years, there may be cause for optimism here... Now the drink of choice for most hockey fans is beer, but such is not the case at Gang Central. Give me a good Rhone during most of the season, and I’m as happy as a certain proverbial pig! (It must be admitted that as the playoffs continue, a switch to Zinfandel and Pinot Noir will be in order, as many of the Rhones become heavy and oppressive to this taster during the summer’s heat.) The first official Gang of Pour Red Rhones-Red Wings Tasting was held on November 6, 1998. I’d been looking for an opportunity to sample three 1990 Gigondas that I’d been sitting on for a year, and finally decided to simply create one. Invitations were extended to the Bored Doughnuts, Zinvocate and Wine Syrahn with the intention of simply kicking back, hopefully enjoying some nice wine and root the Wings home to victory. Two other selections from different vintages were added as well to round out the field. There was nothing formal about the gathering; dinner consisted of beef tenderloin grilled on the Weber and sliced for sandwiches, tabouli, Madame’s homegrown homemade pesto, assorted cheeses and an olive melange. My only concern had nothing to do with the wine or food, but rather with the fact that "the boys" were in the midst of a three game slump and skating into Phoenix, where the Coyotes always play the Wings tough.
1990 Domaines les Pallieres Gigondas: I’ve been saving this dark garnet for the better part of a year, waiting for this occasion, and boy, it certainly didn’t disappoint! We were immediately struck by a big hit of port-like alcohol on the nose, followed by pruney raisin/coffee/leather flavors and aromas. It’s certainly a different critter than the first bottle, and reminded me of an Amarone. Despite its aggressive nature, it’s smooth and went well with the food. BD liked this the best of the Gigondas selections; I liked it as well as the first, but for very different reasons. 1990 Paul Jaboulet Aine Gigondas Pierre Aiguille: Zinvocate got "more tartness and up-front tannins" from this dark garnet than the first two, and we agreed. It has pruney aromas with a hint of raisin that aren’t as forward as the Pallieres. Madame got lots of barnyard on the nose, but I thought it wasn’t nearly as prominent as a bottle tasted last May. There is red currant/black cherry with hints of cola/leather/tobacco on the palate. It has more tannins and acidity than the first two, but it isn’t harsh. Neither is it as charming as those, being more restrained and losing a little fruit on the mid-palate. A good Gigondas, but not a great Gigondas. 1989 Paul Jaboulet Aine Gigondas Pierre Aiguille: Zinvocate took one look at this wine in his glass and exclaimed "Purple!" He also called it "regal." It features plenty of fruit, including red currant/plum/prune/touch o’ leather/hint o’ barnyard, but these struggle with the abundant tannins and a somewhat astringent finish. This is a big wine that needs the most time of the four, and certainly made a decidedly different impression from the one we got last year when it wowed us and blew away Four ’89 Chateauneufs.
We had a great time on this occasion; the four Gigondas showed a surprising variety of style and nuance, while the Chateauneuf overpowered them all, powerful young monster that it is. And in the Small World Department, we discovered that I once played in a rock band with a cousin of Wine Syrahn’s more years ago than I care to admit to! The only bummer was the fact the boys lost their 4th in a row, 3-1. CHATEAUNEUF NEW YEARS EVE 1992 Domaine du Pegau Chateauneuf-du-Pape Reservee $19.99: We had a few glasses of this with The Zinfidel (formerly known as The Artist) at his place on New Years Eve. It’s a dark garnet with big olive notes that dominate the smoky plum/prune/pepper/Provencal herb on the nose and the palate. It has good concentration on a medium full-bodied frame, and a certain vacancy on the mid-palate and finish fills in nicely as it opens with air. This is a solid wine from a lousy vintage in the southern Rhone, and shows more "olive" character than any other red I can remember tasting. A geo t. 88. 1994 Domaine du Pegau Chateauneuf-du-Pape Reservee $23.99: After leaving The Zinfidel’s, we stopped in briefly on Chanteuse and The Bookseller, where we enjoyed a few glasses of this dark garnet. The nose is much more sub-dude here than the ‘92, with plum/red currant/pepper/faint olive/herb/cola flavors and aromas, along with added notes of saddle leather on the palate and "serious licorice/anis," according to Chartreuse. (She was spot on.) Despite being more full-bodied and showing more tannic and acidic byte, this is actually a bit less concentrated on the palate than the ’92, and I preferred the older model. A geo t. 86. Fortunately, we were otherwise engaged with our fellow Gangsters and I didn’t have to suffer through the angst of a 4-2 loss to the Mapleleafs, extending a seven game winless streak for the Wings. Oh well, better in December than April, May or June, I guess… Here’s a random rundown of some other fine selections from the last few months: 1994 Domaine Le Mas des Collines Gigondas $14.99: This was an easy choice, given our fondness for the '90 model, and it didn’t disappoint. Dark garnet with a pretty nose of black cherry/berry/red licorice/cola and subtle herbal/floral overtones. Flavors echo with added notes of dark chocolate. There’s good acidity here, and the ample tannins clamp down on the finish, leaving only earth and tar. The obvious "house" style is one that I really like, and we’ll try this again in about three years to see how it’s developing. Good QPR, and the Wings routed Vancouver 7-1. 1995 Domaine du Cayron Gigondas $17.99 - Guido’s been extolling the virtues of this producer for some time now, and when the current vintage finally showed up in the area, I snapped some up right away. Boy, he wasn’t kidding! This ruby/dark garnet is a beauty, with pretty plum/ leather/herb on the nose that expand on the palate to include plum/cherry/berry/red licorice/ Provencal herb flavors that gain a note of cola with air. The wine is surprisingly rich, soft and lush for so young a Gigondas. It’s not quite as heavy as some from this appellation, and despite good tannins and acidity, it’s very enjoyable already. Still, this will be at its best a few years down the road. Very nice. Tasted twice with consistent results, unfortunately including losses to the Maple Leafs on both occasions.
1993 Domaine Santa Duc Gigondas $16.99: We tasted this dark garnet along side the ’95 Dom. du Cayron, and at first it seemed rather closed compared to the last time we tasted it almost two years ago. It did open with lots of air though, showing nice plum/black currant/licorice/pepper flavors and aromas, along with hints of barnyard/burnt matchstick on the nose. It doesn’t have the bright beam of fruit that it had back then, nor the cola nuance, but there ARE still good tannins and acidity, so I’ll sit on the last one in the cellar for another few years and see what develops. 1995 Domaine Santa Duc Gigondas $19.99: We really liked the ’93 a few years ago (and again recently), and when I saw some of this a month into Hockey Season ’98, it was a no-brainer. It’s a big, brawny inky dark garnet with a nose full of grilled meat/plum/prune/red currant/black cherry that follows through on the palate, gaining spicy red licorice/pepper/smoke and even more black cherry as it opens over a three or four hours. Chewy, rich, intense, tannic and astringent on the finish, this is a terrific southern Rhone that needs three to five years to tone down a bit. The boys lost to Dallas again… 1995 Domaine du Vieux Lazaret Chateauneuf-du-Pape $18.99: Tasted this the same night as the ’95 Santa Duc, just for the hell of it. Lighter in color than I expected, it’s a ruby-dark garnet with somewhat floral prune/black cherry/red currant/licorice/hint o’ aquarium bouquet and added notes of chocolate in the flavor profile. Smoother and not as gutsy as the Gigondas, it takes on whiffs of herb/cream/smoke. This needs time to be sure, but is actually the more accessible of the two. Good stuff here. 1989 Domaine des Pesquiers Gigondas $17.90: This ruby garnet has a slight hint of brick and a rather typical nose featuring black cherry aromas accentuated with subtle nuances of nutmeg/ leather/tobacco/barnyard. Flavors echo, with an added note of cola as it opens in the glass. Not as rustic as a Domaine la Garrigue, but without the bright beam of fruit that a Santa Duc might have, this is a tasty, satisfying Gigondas. Good acidity and tannins will let this age for five more years anyway, but alas, it was my last. No game played this night. 1993 Domaine des Pesquiers Gigondas $15.99: Tried this based on the taste of the ’89. Once this big dark garnet finally opens up after 4 hours in a decanter, it really shows well. Flavors and aromas of prune/plum/red currant/herb/bitter chocolate /hint o’ barnyard/touch o’ cola gradually emerge from some serious tannins with decent acidity, a dry, somewhat astringent finish and a pretty little perfume to the bouquet. By the time we were done with this I was saying "Yumm, yumm, yumm!" Enjoyable now with lotsa air; I’ll try another in three years to get an idea of how much longer it will need. 1993 Domaine Raspail-Ay Reserve $19.99: Here’s another that we first tried and liked a few years ago, and it’s only gotten better. Dark garnet, with plum/black cherry aromas that are shaded with a bit of barnyard and a hint of violet. Flavors generally echo, showing plum/red currant/bit o’ barnyard/hint of herb. Kim described "major olives," and a little lavender comes out with air as well. Acidity is fairly low, but the tannins are still ample, so of course, this needs the obligatory two hours minimum in a decanter before drinking. Then, it turns smooth, even a little creamy, with a nice long finish. A lovely Gigondas. Playoff Diaries coming soon...
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1995 Domaine du Pegau
Chateauneuf-du-Pape Reserve: We all invested in some of this, thanks to Zinvocate’s
connections, and we were dying to taste it, so we took this opportunity to do just that.
This dark garnet shows beautiful rich damson/black cherry/chocolate flavors and aromas
that are concentrated and intense. BD got a touch of raisin as well. This is very smooth
despite the big tannins and ample acidity, but it obviously needs years in the cellar to
reach its great potential. Wonderful Chateauneuf!
1995 Domaine le Sang des
Cailloux Vacqueyras $15.99: This is an inky garnet/purple at the rim with a BIG
plum nose that has hints of leather/black cherry/smoke. My notes read: "It even
smells purple; tastes purple too!" Flavors echo the aromas; the wine is dry, dense
and tannic, with an astringent finish. But as it opens with air, it really smoothes out,
gaining more leather and a gamy note. One of the very best Vacqueyras I’ve had. Went
well with a 4-1 victory over the Blues; Shanahan had a rare natural hat
trick (3 consecutive goals by the same player in one game). 
