Wednesday August 4th – Southern Rhone Tasting at Wine Watch

"Like a bottle of Chateau Neuf Du Pap
I'm fine like wine when I start to rap
We need body rockin not perfection
Let me get some action from the back section"
Beastie Boys - Body Movin

Southern Rhone Tasting at Wine Watch
Wednesday, August 4th
7pm

The Rhone Valley has been on fire the last few vintages and there are still a lot of great wines in the store from the KILLER 2007 vintage. Tonight we will be showcasing some 2007's along with a few 2006's, these are looking like very good values today and better choices to drink right now than their bigger and more expensive 2007 counterparts. 

This tasting is an annual event and we usually showcase the wines from Eric Solomon's Portfolio: Domaine de la Janasse, Domaine Marcoux, Domaine Roger Sabon and Domaine Guiraud, but tonight we have brought along a few friends and with Bertin Henry Selections and Peter Weygandt Metzler Selections this may prove to be our greatest Southern Rhone tasting ever!

Check out the line-up covering from Cotes Du Rhone to Chateauneuf du Pape and an enticing selection of appetizers supplied by our Catering company, Wine Watch Catering.

Bertin Henri Selections - Dave Snyder

Domaine Jean Marie Royer Petit Domaine 2007
Price: $21         Sale $18.48      Case $214

The wine is primarily the product of declassified Châteauneuf from Grenache sites, but is supplemented with wines from a 0.60 ha. Vineyard near a camping site south of town and a 0.5 ha plot in Orange in an AOC Cote du Rhone site. As a Vin de Table it cannot official bear a vintage designation, but the label provides a "hidden" vintage year.7ème means 2007, and each successive vintage will have a new number on the label to connote the new vintage. This is a delicious wine meant to be drunk upon release but with aging potential.

Light bouquet with a nice amount of garrigue floral notes light aromas of luunch meat, light red berry pie like fruit raspberry strawberry and cherry. Fresh bright berry fruti on the tongue with nice zesty spice and floral notes through the finish. Finish 35+ lots of mass appeal a real crowd pleaser Very Good +

Domaine la Bastide St. Dominique Côte du Rhône Villages 2007
Price: $24         Sale $21.12      Case $245

(89-91 points) The amazing 2007 Cotes du Rhone-Villages tastes like a first rate Châteauneuf du Pape.
Abundant aromas of kirsch liqueur, raspberries, licorice, and garrigue emerge from this fruit-driven, medium to full-bodied, luscious, pure red.  Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate, Issue #179 (Oct. 2008)

Jean Marie Royer Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Prestige 2006
Price: $49.50    Sale $43.56      Case $505

(91-93 points) The wine is made from vines that are up to 100 years old that produce 15-20 hl/ha. The wine is usually 90 Grenache, 5% Syrah, and 5% Mourvèdre, but may vary slightly if the Cuvée Regalis is produced and no Syrah is put in the blend. Parker states that the 2006 Châteauneuf du Pape Cuvée Prestige displays the classic Grenache, kirsch, and raspberry notes intermixed with a hint of nori (the seaweed wrapper used for sushi) as well as some loamy soil notes and a hint of resiny pine forest. It's a beauty, supple and ideal for drinking over the next 7-8 years. Dark ruby. Powerfully scented, complex bouquet of wild strawberry, raspberry, garrigue and tapenade.  Creamy red fruit liqueur flavors pack solid punch but maintain a graceful quality thanks to juicy minerality. Finishes with outstanding persistence-there's nothing exaggerated here.,  Steve Tanzer's International Wine Cellar.

Jean Marie Royer Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Regalis 2006
Price: $60         Sale $52.80      Case $612

M. Royer experimented making a 100% Syrah Châteauneuf. He began this experiment in 2001 and has made it again in 2006, and 2007. In many vintages he blends his Grenache with Syrah, but in these vintages he felt his Grenache was so ripe he felt the other Châteauneufs did not need the addition of Syrah, and so he made this curiously delicious wine.

Florida Wine Company/Eric Solomon Selections
 Anthony Pannone

Domaine de la Janasse CDR Terre d’Argile 2008
Price: $25         Sale $22           Case $255

(88-89 Points) The star of this vintage is the 2008 Cotes du Rhone-Villages Terre d’Argile, which includes the declassified Cotes du Rhone Les Garrigues fruit. From a sector just across the street from where the appellation of Chateauneuf du Pape starts, it has more Mourvedre than normal in the blend. Its deep ruby/purple color is followed by a big, sweet bouquet of blueberries, blackberries, new saddle leather, roasted meat, and spring flowers. It should drink well for 3-4 years. 

Domaine de la Janasse Chateauneuf Du Pape Tradition 2008
Price: $54.75    Sale $48.18      Case $559

(89-91 Points) Only two cuvees of Chateauneuf du Pape were made in 2008. The deep ruby/purple-tinged 2008 Chateauneuf du Pape possesses more Mourvedre than usual (about 25%). It offers up pure black and blue fruits intermixed with fresh mushrooms, meat juices, and Provencal herbs, medium to full body, and plenty of depth and ripeness. One of the longer-lived 2008s, it should last for 10-12 years.  Wine Advocate # 185, Oct 2009

Domaine de la Janasse Chateauneuf Du Pape Vieilles Vignes 2008
Price: $100       Sale $88           Case $1020

(91-93 Points)  A tiny quantity of 2008 Chateauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes was produced. It, too, has much more Mourvedre in the blend than usual (close to 30%) combined with 70% old vine Grenache (60-100+ years of age). The Mourvedre was aged in small barrels and the Grenache in tank. One of the vintage’s most brilliant Chateauneuf du Papes, it boasts a dense purple color as well as notes of charcoal, toast, chocolate, blackberries, cassis, licorice, and earth. This full-bodied, brilliant 2008 should drink beautifully for 10-15 years - atypical for this vintage. Wine Advocate # 185, Oct 2009

Domaine de la Domaine Marcoux Chateauneuf Du Pape 2008
Price: $65.25    Sale $57.42      Case $666

(88-91 Points) There is no Chateauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes in 2008, and the final blend of the traditional cuvee of 2008 Chateauneuf du Pape is 80% Grenache and 20% Syrah. This wine will be bottled early in order to preserve its attractive fruit. In 2008, they achieved 15% natural alcohol, so the wine does not lack substance. It is an elegant, more restrained, softer wine than usual with a deep ruby/purple color as well as a sweet blackberry, black currant, garrigue, pepper, and lavender-scented bouquet. Already performing well, it should drink beautifully for 8-10 years after its release. Wine Advocate # 185, Oct 2009

Roger Sabon Lirac "Chapelle de Maillac" 2008
Price: $23.50    Sale $20.68      Sale $240

The vineyards are situated on hillsides, with soil composed of small round stones (galets) and chalk. Grenache is predominant as with all the wines of the Domaine. It is blended with Syrah, Mourvèdre and Carignan. There is a rigorous selection of the grapes during the vendage. The village and commune of Roquemaure where the wine is produced enjoy Saint Valentin’s patronage. Does this mean that our Lirac is favoured by lovers ?

2008 Roger Sabon Chateauenuf Du Pape Les Olivets
Price: $41.25    Sale $36.30      Case $420.75

(86-88 Points)  The 2008 Chateauneuf du Pape Les Olivets offers spicy garrigue, pepper, black cherry, and currant notes in an elegant, medium-bodied style with good body, depth, and ripeness. This front end-loaded wine needs to be drunk during its first 4-5 years of life. Wine Advocate # 185, Oct 2009

2008 Giraud Chateauenuf Du Pape Tradition
Price: $41.25    Sale $36.30      Case $420.75

(88-90 Points) The deep ruby-colored 2008 Chateauneuf du Pape exhibits abundant fruit, garrigue, licorice, and spice characteristics, medium to full body, and surprising concentration for this vintage. Wine Advocate # 185, Oct 2009

2008 Giraud Grenache de Pierre
Price: $70         Sale $61.60      Case $714

Brilliant oenologist, Philippe Cambie, has completely resurrected this estate, where he is now turning out some of the most extraordinary wines of the appellation, with the old vine Les Grenaches de Pierre an outstanding clone of Rayas. That's not surprising in view of the fact that it comes from the pure sandy soils near Rayas. The traditional cuvee is aged in tank and old barrels, and represents a blend of 60% Grenache, 35% Syrah, and 5% Mourvedre. Les Gallimardes, also kept in tank and old barrels, is a combination of 90% Grenache and 10% Syrah. Les Grenaches de Pierre is 100% old vine Grenache also aged in old barrels and tank.

Peter Weygandt Metzler - JT Morelli

2009 Chateau des Mourges des Gres
Price: $13.50    Sale $11.88      Case $138

The elegant white wine offering, the Les Galets Dores (nearly equal parts Grenache, Roussanne, Rolle, and tiny amounts of Marsanne and Clairette), offers notes of honeyed grapefruit and buttery citrus along with fresh acidity, medium body, plenty of flavor, and a dry, crisp finish. It should be drunk over the next year.

2007 Clos St Jean Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc
Price: $36         Sale $31.68      Case $368

(90 Points) Abundant Roussanne provides crisp acidity, medium body, and loads of rose petal and honeysuckle notes. Drink over the next year.  Wine Advocate # 179, Oct 2008

2007 Chateau des Roques Vacqueyras
Price: $20.25    Sale $17.82      Case $206

My notes for this 2007 Vacqueyras are somewhat generalized since the wine was not yet blended when I tasted it. This should not be a problem since I rated both components 90 points. One blend was composed of 60% Grenache, 20% Syrah, and 20% Mourvedre, and the other was 70% Grenache, 15% Syrah, and 15% Mourvedre, all from Vacqueyras' limestone soils. The 2007 appears to be the finest Vacqueyras I have tasted from Chateau des Roques, which owns 36 well-situated acres in this appellation (the total domaine consists of 95 acres). The 2007 exhibits a deep ruby/purple color, loads of roasted herbs, smoky black cherries, and cassis, good acidity, and a sumptuous, full palate. Elegant and pure, it should be a crowd-pleaser over the next 3-4 years. - WA (89-91) points - Robert Parker –

2007 Charvin Cotes Du Rhone
Price: $21         Sale $18.48      Case $214.20

The 2007 Cotes du Rhone Le Poutet may be the finest example of this cuvee Laurent Charvin has yet made. A sleeper of the vintage, it delivers sexy black cherry and black raspberry fruit intermixed with loamy soil, spice, and roasted Provencal herb notes. With surprising density, a terrific texture, and a lush finish, it can be enjoyed over the next 2-3 years. One of Chateauneuf du Pape's young turks is Laurent Charvin, who represents the sixth generation of the family to run this estate (which was founded in 1851). Prior to 1990, the entire production was sold to negociants, but the estate-bottled production has gradually risen as consumers have recognized the quality in the bottle (which to me has always come close to what was produced at Chateau Rayas under the late Jacques Reynaud). It is a small estate, with a production of approximately 2,500 cases from their 20 acres of vines, all located in the northern tier of the appellation, next to the grand estate of Maucoil. - WA 89 points - Robert Parker 

2006 Charvin Chateauneuf Du Pape
Price: $62.25    Sale $54.78      Case $635

Fresh berry pie like aromas to the bouquet raspberry strawberry and red cherry fruit with an array of fresh flowers and herbs notes of underbrush. Juicy on the tongue with layers of exotic spice and floral nuance fresh acidity and a long finish. Finish 45+ Excellent + 

Menu

Selection of Cheese

Wild mushroom and Tuna Tartar with Truffled Aioli

Braised Duck and Wild Mushroom Tartlets

Syrah BBQ Braised Pork Resting on Roasted Corn Griddle Cake adorned with Scallion Crème Fraiche