Browse Tag

rhône

Ségway

Costières & Soleil “Sélection Laurence Féraud” 2007 Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages Séguret (Rhône) – As I’ve worked my way though my rapidly-decaying stash of the 2005 version of this wine, this bottle has only served to confirm my conviction that this is a label for immediate consumption. I don’t personally think that Séguret should decline as quickly as this one does, but the evidence is clear: drink it when you buy it, and not later. Smooth, succulent Southern Rhônishness, full of garrigue and musky fruit scented with earth and that grenache-y touch of gum. Nice. Did I mention to hurry up and drink it? (9/09)

Féraud swine

Costières & Soleil “Sélectionnée par Laurence Féraud” 2005 “Plan Pégau” (Rhône) – A hyped wine that has never really done a whole lot for me aside from my first taste. It’s flavorsome and full, but it’s also boring and more than a little disjointed, with soil and herb here, tobacco and tar there, and no real middle in which to meet. (10/09)

Cairo

[vineyard]Gaillard 1999 Côte-Rôtie “Rose Pourpre” (Rhône) – Very aromatic, but it’s not all the violet-infused terroir…it’s the wood, as well, which is still hovering and expansive, though signs of its eventual integration are apparent. Beef-tinged earth does not detract from an overall elegance, but there’s reticence as well, and many veils yet to be penetrated. This has many, many years to go. It’s a modern-inflected wine, for sure, but it’s not wholly New World. Rather, it attempts to straddle the line, and whether or not one responds to it depends, I suppose, on one’s tolerance for wood with syrah. (10/06)

Foxy

Allemand 2005 Cornas Reynard (Rhône) – The brooding, dark heart of Cornas, with 50% less apocalypse. Very nearly perfect in form, and thus set up for long aging. Right now, there’s a lot of (ripe) tannin and smoke, but I expect rather a lot to emerge in the years decades to come. (7/09)

Paradis is a protected form of art

[bottle]Clos du Paradis “Domaine Viret” 1999 Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages Saint-Maurice “Les Colonnades” (Rhône) – Sweetish black meatfruit liqueur, in the manner of so many aged Rhônes, but thinned out and giving way to some acidity and brittleness after a decade of age. A disappointing performance, frankly. (7/09)

Clos du Paradis “Domaine Viret” 1999 Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages Saint-Maurice “Emergence” (Rhône) – Corked. (7/09)

Heart of Glas

[grapes]Glas “Domaine de Poulvarel” 2005 Costières de Nîmes (Rhône) – Redder-fruited than some of its neighbors tend to be, with fair acidity, yet also heftier than its fruit can quite withstand. It’s of its place, and I don’t mean to suggest that it should be lighter (or, heaven forefend, ultra-concentrated), but there’s a struggle for balance that’s not resolved within the wine’s confines. (7/09)

The sound of winemaking

Kreydenweiss 2005 Costières de Nîmes “Perrières” (Rhône) – Starting to lighten, which either indicates a coming closed stage or ongoing maturation; this wine hasn’t existed long enough for me to be sure. The fruit is dark and chewy nonetheless, there’s good structure that’s of a more brittle nature than is common from the region, and while the temptation is to attribute this to the sensibilities of an Alsatian winemaker, the reality is that it just may be a function of this particular site. Anyway, there would seem to be promise here, but with the right animal flesh it’s pretty tasty now…just don’t expect any complexity as of yet. (7/09)

Leydier lay

Leydier “Cuvée Sélectionnée par Kermit Lynch” 2006 Vin de Pays de Vaucluse (Rhône) – Black crystal infused with black pepper and churning purplish-black fruit. Yet there’s herbal complexity, as well. An absolutely delicious wine for the price. (7/09)

Oil of Soleil

Costières & Soleil “Sélection Laurence Féraud” 2005 Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages Séguret (Rhône) – Turning a little sludgy and strewed, but showing better than other bottles have, of late. Dark, soy-based earth-fruit and leather, the blackened memory of blueberry dust, some dried-herb aromatics. Heavy. (7/09)