Browse Tag

rhône

Christine l’Heureux

Brunel 1995 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Cailloux “Cuvée Centenaire” (Rhône) – Meat liqueur heavy on the salt. Youngish in a way, still showing blackberry amidst its more mature, meat-jerky stew components, but it’s fairly solid and unexpressive. And is that a remnant of vanilla? I wish I liked this more. (5/10)

Starship ballad

Michel Perraud 1999 Cornas “Sarah” (Rhône) – Grippy but light-styled, showing rough (and surprisingly red) fruit, earth, nuts, olives, and ground peppercorns. But really, that grocery list makes the wine sound more interesting than it actually is. Mostly, it’s simple and short…a wine with training wheels and a flimsy frame. (5/10)

My belle

Michel “Domaine de la Charbonnière” 2000 Châteauneuf-du-Pape “Cuvée Vieilles Vignes” (Rhône) – Corked. (5/10)

As the Crozes flies

Jaboulet 2006 Crozes-Hermitage (Rhône) – Watery and insipid, as if liquid smoke had been added to the most timid of artificial blackberry drinks-in-a-box. Embarrassing. (4/10)

Terres it up

Terres d’Avignon “Kermit Lynch” 2006 Côtes-du-Rhône (Rhône) – Drinking very well right now, with powdered pepper and herb softness settling into a plusher blend of dried fruit and light soil than was apparent even a few months ago. When this wine is on, it’s one of the best values in the Côtes-du-Rhône, not least because it fulfills expectations so perfectly. And 2006 was definitely an “on” vintage. 2007…perhaps not so much. (4/10)

Séguret squirrel

Domaine de Mourchon 2005 Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages Séguret (Rhône) – Open for 24 hours by the time I taste it. Big, dusty, and dark, showing strawberry bubblegum and hard tannin. Very purple in nearly every aspect. A little angry. But good. (3/10)

Donjonson

Lucien “Le Vieux Donjon” 1990 Châteauneuf-du-Pape (Rhône) – Smells like a Burgundy, tastes like a Rhône…but something more northerly, perhaps Côte-Rôtie, in its elegance and restraint. And it’s still very primary tannic and tight, albeit from a glacial cellar; more typical cellaring environments might lead to different results. It’s full of suggestions, gestures, and hints, with a peacock tail of aromas just waiting to burst forth. Classy and portending beauty. (3/10)

Soften or Laudun

Texier 2001 Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages Laudun (Rhône) – Pretty much ready, perhaps even a touch past ideal, as the well-soiled meat and rough underbrush are showing signs of male-pattern baldness in the midpalate. The fruit, structure, etc. aren’t fully “matured,” but I don’t think there’s going to be sufficient body in the future to support continued effort along these lines. I’m glad I aged it, though, as it’s more interesting than it was in its more monolithic youth. (3/10)

Texier 2001 Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages Laudun (Rhône) – Concentrating down towards the classic Rhône destination of meat juice, but there’s still blackberry and even a little bit of strawberry lingering about. Straightforward and simple, but good. I’d drink this soonish if I had any more…and hey, what a surprise, I do. And will. (3/10)

Texier 2001 Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages Laudun (Rhône) – Chewy, meaty, substantial. Light around the edges, but dark to the point of opacity within (that’s an organoleptic, not visual, assessment). Probably mature. (3/10)

A little fennel

[vineyard]Soard “Domaine de Fenouillet” 2006 Côtes du Ventoux (Rhône) – There’s some difficulty getting this one started, as might be the case for a partially closed wine. It doesn’t take an enormous amount of coaxing or time to bring forth the aromas, thankfully, though they’re not as expressive as they were in the wine’s youth. Dark and earthy, with the sweet black olive-infused meat aromas of Southern Rhônishness lingering on the borders, it finishes a lot more supple than it begins. Ideally, one would want to let this one rest a while longer. (1/10)