2006 Domaine de la Janasse Cotes Du Rhone Tradition

(87 Points) The 2006 Cotes du Rhone, which is aged totally in foudres, is a wine of 50% Grenache, 23% Syrah, and the rest Cinsault, Mourvedre, and Syrah. This deep ruby/purple wine reveals loads of pepper, licorice, smoke, herbs, and sweet cherry and black currant. Excellent texture, medium body, soft tannins, and low acidity make for quite a luscious style of wine to drink over the next 3-4 years. Tasting at Janasse is fun. It is a large estate of 195 acres with 45 of them situated in Chateauneuf du Pape. Even if you weren’t obsessed with their fabulous Chateauneuf du Papes, they have a portfolio of brilliant wines from Cotes du Rhone as well as a vin de pays. Young proprietor Christophe Sabon, working with his wife and father, continues to fine-tune his winemaking skills. He is already brilliant at reds and shows increasing confidence in the quality of his white wine cuvees. Wine Advocate # 173, Oct 2007