2009 Domaine Janasse Cotes du Rhone

(87 Points) The 2009 Cotes du Rhone, which is 50% Grenache and the rest Syrah, Cinsault and Carignan, offers up a lively nose of sweet strawberry jam intermixed with blacker cherries. This wine has admirable purity and loads of spice, glycerin and body, as this is a lower-acid vintage with slightly more alcohol. It should drink nicely for 2-3 years.

This impeccably run estate, in the capable hands of Christophe Sabon, his sister Isabelle, and their father, is one of the superstars of the southern Rhone Valley. Over the last 12-15 years, the quality of the wines has gone from strength to strength, with brilliant wines being produced in all price categories. They make sumptuous, complex, world-class red, white and rose Cotes du Rhones, and year-in and year-out, their Chateauneuf du Papes are among the top three or four wines of the vintage. Tasting two great vintages (2009 and 2010) from the Sabons was one of the most thrilling tastings I have had this year. My tasting began with some unbelievable Cotes du Rhones. Wine Advocate #197, Oct 2011