Rhone (Rhône)

• Châteauneuf-du-Pape
• Cornas
• Crozes-Hermitage
• Gigondas
• Hermitage
• Lirac
• Saint Joseph

Pop and pour, this took a few minutes to open, then just kept getting better.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, opaque and bright.  The nose is great; earthy with black cherries, some black raspberries, smoke and black olives.  Medium bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, this is tight but unwinds in the glass.  Layers of black raspberries, black pepper, black olives and char.  Good acidity.  Long finish.  This is not a big wine, but has all the stuffing.  It still will improve a bit more.  Drink over the next twelve to fifteen years.  A nice match for a lamb or beef stew.  

This started a bit tight, but with three hours of air, this was absolutely singing.  80% Marsanne with 20% Rousanne grapes from multiple vineyards.  Golden in color with some green hues, clear and bright.  The nose initially shows tightly with limes, some melons and spice.  With air, more notes come out; salinity, butterscotch, almonds but also more melons and slight lemons.  Really complex.  Great "slick" texture with pin point balance and energy.  The palate mirrors the nose and really explodes with lots of air.  Melons, quince, spice, minerality and a bit of almonds on the finish.  Layer

White Rhones can be tricky, but this one was hitting on all cylinders from the get-go.  This is made from the Marsanne grape.

This is made from 100% Syrah in the Northern Rhone.  Purple in color with a ruby rim, opaque and bright.  The nose is nice if a bit reticent at first.  Boysenberries with slight sandalwood and a bit of floral qualities and char.  Full bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, this is understated but quite good.  Boysenberries with some char and spice.  Deep.  Good balance.  Long finish.  This is nice on its own and better with hearty food.  It went well with Roasted Peppers and Root Vegetables.  Drink over the next eight to twelve years. 

From the excellent 2007 vintage, this winery consistently makes some of the better Gigondas wines.  Ruby/brown in color, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with cherries, black raspberries, black pepper and slight dried flower note.  Medium to full bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, black raspberries, some cherries, spice and some earthiness.  Good finish.  This seems to be at peak, but will probably start declining soon, so, drink up.  A nice wine with braised lamb of beef.  

Nice to revisit this.  Back in the day, this was our house wine ($20), but then it was awarded the Wine Spectator WOTY and overnight, the price doubled and that was that.  New vintages are around $65, so it hasn't gone up a lot in 20 years since.  Too bad, because while this might not be a top CdP, it is a very nice wine and this one has held up great.  Ruby in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose has cherries, and Provencal spice.  Light to medium bodied.  Tannins completely integrated.  On the palate, cherries with some char.  Moderate finish.  Drink up if you have any.  A nice wine

This is a really interesting wine.  As the story goes, Xavier Vignon is a Rhone producer who also consults.  In his travels, he discovered this wine as it was sitting in a concrete tank with very low levels of oxygen.  It is unclear who made the wine originally.  It was bottle recently and released.

Great showing for this bottle at age 17.  Purple in color with some ruby swirls, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is great with plums, black raspberries, worn leather, slight dried floral note and spice.  Full bodied.  Tannins mostly resolved.  On the palate, this is deep and complex.  Flavors of plums, raspberries with some spice.  This bottle is clean with just a bare touch of funk.  Nice finish.  Seemingly at peak, these bottles probably should be consumed in the next five to seven years.  Great on its own, this works better with food.  Chili or beef stew would be a nice match.  

This is in a lovely place right now.  Deep ruby in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is great with cherries, slight black cherries, violets, spices and just a hint of funk.  Full bodied.  Light tannins.  Great energy and balance.  On the palate, this is complex, layered and delicious.  Cherries and black cherries with some char, spice and earthiness.  Long finish.  This is just about at peak right now and should be at this level for five to eight more years, but this will drink well for another five to ten after that.  Great on its own, this will work 

Whoa!  Not a wine that shows up often, and its expensive, but this wine is amazing!  15.5% abv.