~$25US, approx 80% Grenache, 20% Syrah, Gigondas, Southern Rhone, France.

I had fun with this one…Saw the single ‘99 sitting in a bin-end & having read great things about Barruol and the Gigondas appellation but never having the opportunity to try either, I bit. I had intended to pick up a Chateauneuf, but I couldn’t miss an opportunity to try something new.

Popped and decanted on Saturday. Had a sip and it tasted good - but the fruit, alcohol and herbiness seemed out of wack. Ended up drinking beer…Put it back in the bottle after 3-4 hrs in the decanter, recorked and threw it in the fridge.

Sunday afternoon, I took it out of the fridge and let it warm up a touch. Beautiful. The time had softened the wine considerably - to almost Pinot-Noir suppleness. Really exciting stuff coming into play. The Thyme/Sage herbal flavors really locked themselves into sweet strawberry and red cherry juice. Great acidity and medium body. Firm and lengthy finish; after all this playing around, the end-grip balanced the fruit’s fullness perfectly.

After nearly a decade, this wine was showing all kinds of beautiful, and had the cojones to go another 10 in bottle. This is a tough wine, but kinda  tough in it’s principals and resolve more than brute force or brawn.

While Chateauneuf-du-Pape is getting expensive and trendy (though always near and dear),  I’ll be buying up all the older Gigondas that I see, thank you very much. And playing with wine for a day or two can be really rewarding.

~US$30, Grenache/Carignan/Cabernet Sauvignon, Priorat Spain

I love Priorat wines for stories and soul that goes into the wines as much as the actual liquid. From accounts and photos of the area, it’s a beautiful and dangerous other-worldly terrain that would seem unlikely to be producing much in the way of agriculture/viticulture. But in the past 20 years,a small group of producers (led by Alvaro Palacios, Daphne Glorian, and Rene Barbier) have proven that through insanely hard work - world-class wines from indigenous varieties can be coaxed from the schisty, terraced cliffs.

Les Terrasses is Palacios’ entry-level Priorat cuvee, comprised of Grenache and Carignan with a bit of Cabernet Sauvignon. Pop and poured - zingy acidity, red fruits, but tight and astringent - so I put it away for 2 days to see how it developed. Retasted and it put on wonderful complexity and weight. Bing cherry flavors melded with a deep, herbal spiciness - primarily lavender and thyme. Immediately comparable in flavors to a Chataueneuf-du-Pape, just lighter in body. The Cabernet brings some nice cedar and currant to the midpalate with an clean tannic lift. Signature Priorat wet-slate finish, which could be lengthier. Even after 2 days open it still had very dry tannins which mark this for pairings with fattier foods - it could make your gums a little too sticky on its own. There is clearly enough fruit here to carry this wine for another day or 2 in an open bottle, or probably till 2018+ in cellar.

Personally, this is a great value @ $30 - because it affords the ability to be played with over a week - and it’s just delicious and not mind-blowingly alcoholic or too fruity or oakey. This is a finessed wine that probably wont be revelatory to the wine-drinker buying Spanish wines in the $10-15 range - but for those who drink the pricier Rhones, Shiraz, and even certain Bordeaux, this wine will have you wondering why you’d want to spend 2x or 3x this price.

~$US35, 85% Grenache, remainder Mourvedre, Syrah, etc. Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Southern Rhone, FranceLess opaque than expected, but a nice garnet hue. Killer nose that just gave and gave and gave. The kind of wine you could just sniff and be satisfied for the evening. Explosive red cherries, serious cigar box (like Cuban Bolivars in a cedar cabinet), some herbal tones of basil and fennel and anise. Rich, but not reductive or jammy. The palate showed signs of serious craftsmanship and longevity for a wine in this price range. Medium-bodied, but deeply flavorful and dry, but not tannic. While enjoyable shortly after opening, the wine still was tight after 6 hours of decanting - not tight in a bad way because the flavors were all there the whole time. The wine simple put itself together continuously organizing the tannins, fruit, herbs, wood, acidity, etc in a way that become more and more harmonious.An excellent wine all said and done - one that you might pair with a good dry-aged steak. I think you’d have to enjoy a flavor-profile that favors herbs and cedar with fruit 2nd (I do!) to really enjoy this. This definitely has a long lifespan ahead, and if I get another bottle, I’ll wait till 2010. This is one of those wines, that despite all the recent popularity and hoopla, shows me why C-d-P is so near and dear to my heart. Big thanks to the 3 Wine Guys for the heads up on this bottle.

 ~$20US, Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, Columbia Valley Washington 

I believe the bottle to be flawed or damaged. Over-oxidized balsamic and grape Robotussin flavor. Disappointing and will reserve judgement on Owen Roe wines until after I try the 2006 ‘Lady Rosa’ Syrah maturing in the cellar. 

~$25US, 51% Mourvedre, 33% Syrah,16% Grenache, Calaveras County

Purple. Juicy, fruity, integrated, with some smoke. Bacon-wrapped plums. Smooth, dense,  and chewey on the palate. Easy to drink due to the quality of the fruit and structure. Coffee and some cocoa through the midpalate. While not the least bit acidic, the tannins and spice give it lift and vibrancy.

Absolutely a new world fruit-driven wine, but done well. Long finish with glycerin, licorice, and mineral-water flavors. A little heavy-handed on the new oak - not obliterating the fruit, but keeping this from becoming a truly outstanding effort.

In any case, I appload the producers in creating something unique- a Calaveras-county(?!)-mourvedre-based-Rhone-style-blend with complexity and style. *%#&@! yeah!

~$45US - Garnacha, Carignan, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah,  Priorat, Spain

Night 1: Sweet-tarts. Strong plum and raspberry fruit, black pepper and zippy acidity. Firm tannins. Very tight. Whisper of oak. Must revisit tomorrow.

Night 2: Still tight, but opened up very nicely over several more hours. Plenty of fruit, but much deeper and longer as the tannins smoothed out. Leather and herbal (basil?) aromas float in and out of focus. Sweet-tartness still a primary attribute. Definite chalky and gravelly flavors on the finish that are just delicious in contrast with the fruit and acidity. White pepper.

This is truly and elegant and subtle wine. It has a fascinating structure - a very focused and linear core of fresh fruit surrounded by a periphery of wild, darting flavors- chalk, leather, coffee, herbs, flowers, rhum agricole.

The components of the blend are so well integrated that it’s hard to tell where one’s contribution ends, and another’s begins. This is a family of 4 grapes; each speaking, but telling one story about their home vineyard. A triumph of place over style or variety.

~$27US  60% Grenache / 35% Carignan / 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, Priorat Spain

MAGENTA! Wicked color on this wine. Nose of fresh blueberries, smoked meats, and provincial herbs. Very chewey, deep-toned flavors of berries and herbs, which revealed the balancing acidity over time in the mouth. Then cabernet added a touch of tannic structure that was very well integrated. As it opened, it became softer and more liqueur-like, with some red-fruits coming into play. Very long finish, with stony and earthy notes.

This wine really offered the best of old and new world wine-styles - big and round fruit, with alluring wild herbal notes and an elegance to the overall presentation (no crazy oak, no crazy ABV, etc). Well done. A rebuy.

~$16US 60% Grenache /24% Syrah /12% Mourvèdre /4% Counoise, Paso Robles, CA

This is my first Tablas Creek wine - A joint venture between the Perrin Family of the Rhone, (Chat. Beaucastel) and their longtime importer, Robert Haas. This, their entry-level offering, was a medium transparent ruby. The nose was shy at first but opened with time to reveal syrupy cherry, raspberry, and saline. The palate was medium-to-full-bodied and hot (15.2% ABV difficult to integrate here), but very juicy and lush. A nice surprising minerality and unique maritime character supported the upfront fruitinesss, with some great dried herb notes - oregano and anise. The herbal notes continued to the finish, but the alcoholic bite bittered the final impression.

This is an exciting wine. There are more complex wines in this price point, but there is nothing wrong with a linear, fruit-forward wine when it delivers the goods without going to Candyland. Most importantly, it achieves real character and a sense of place, which is (arguably) the most profound expression a wine can make. It might have been a tad more alcoholic than it’s framework could support, but the overall feeling was a fine counterpoint and challenge to the typical Cotes-du-Rhone.

~$14US Seguret, Rhone, France

A delicious Seguret, selected by the grand dame of the Rhone, Ms. Feraud. This young but ready-to-drink CdR gives off a rich nose of distinctly ripe raspberries, some cherries and a bit of savory herbs and spices (sage and thyme). Broad and velvetly in the mouth, showing a good balance right out of the bottle. Ripe tannins make this easy to drink, but have enough presence to keep everything together, along with some good acidity. The overall feel shows the fruit as the centerpiece, and brings in the French country funkiness as secondary and supporting flavors. The finish is slightly marred by a slight bitterness and a strange iron note, holding this effort back from the WOW range… Not complex, but delicious, a strong value, and an auspicious peek into what the ‘05 Pegau could look like…

A great food companion and a terrific weeknight pop-and-pour. This wine would be a great ‘transition wine’ for someone used to drinking ~$10 Shirazes, looking to move upto the next tier of complexity and flavor. If only these great entry-level-French wines had critters on the label… well….maybe not.

Calera Mt. Harlan Chardonnay 2004, Napa ~$24US

nose: Caramel apples, alcohol
palate: round but fresh, white peach, green apple.
finish: soft, buttered popcorn, glycerine

A solid California Chardonnay - Oaked, but not over-the-top. Well made, but not outstanding. There are similar wines cheaper, and better wines at this price.

Siete 7, Vinos de Terrunos 2005, Navarra Spain ~$8US - 80% Grenache, 20% Tempranillo

nose: Red cherries, petrol, blacktop, some dirty, wet leaves
palate: Serious. Cherries; appealing acidity, juiciness and smooth tannins. Some balsamic notes = brett maybe?
finish: Spree, long.

Similar to the ‘Les Ruffes”, except this one is from Spain and has Tempranillo. Also a great value, probably more interesting in its earthiness. And sweet label.