Grand Rhone Tasting

K&L Wines, San Francisco
Tasted Saturday, October 6, 2012 by drwine2001 with 469 views

Flight 1 - White (1 Note)

Flight 2 - Southern Reds (7 Notes)

  • 2007 Montirius Gigondas Terres des Ainés

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Gigondas

    Magnum. Medium center, tawny edge. Impressively deep, serious tasting tobacco-tinged red fruit. Positively chewy yet quite lively. Licorice and some back end heat emerge. Very good despite the slight alcohol showing and certainly not a simple, candied wine like many other minor 2007s.

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  • 2007 Domaine Charvin Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    Even medium ruby. Beautiful combination of fresh cut flowers and juicy raspberry fruit. Light weight with olive and lavender appearing in the mid-palate and carrying through to the finish. Only loses marks for some finishing alcoholic heat that slightly mars the otherwise excellent finish. Not perfect, but a beauty in many respects.

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  • 2010 Domaine de la Charbonnière Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Spéciale Les Hautes Brusquières

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    Moderately dark. The nose shows much more herbaceousness than fruit. Deep cherry fruit, much more brooding than the Charvin, with an element of surmaturite and syrupiness. Some anise complicates things and adds interest. This could use brighter acidity and less alcohol. Too extracted and diffuse.

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  • 2010 Clos Saint Jean Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    Medium center, lighter edge. You are greeted by some funk (in fact, the only bretty wine in the series) and garrigue. Full entry with somewhat prickly red fruit and some tobacco. Heat and relatively high acidity rise relatively late, imparting a sharp, short finish that really contrasts with the initial palate impression. I don't see the harmony or balance here.

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  • 2010 Domaine de Marcoux Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    Fairly dark. Remarkably perfumed for such a young wine. Lush entry that verges on sweet until a tobacco leaf savoriness takes over and contributes to a lovely, long, savory finish. Much smoother and elegant than the Clos St. Jean that preceded it. In the end, probably my favorite 2010 red today.

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  • 2009 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    Similar color to the Marcoux. Dense, packed and undeniably sweet yet with plenty of complexity-pomegranate, red fruit, herbs and brown spices. Lowish acidity but this still manages to feel lively in the back of the mouth. Finishes relatively dry despite the big, syrupy front end. This walks a tightrope, pushing ripeness just about as far as I can tolerate, but in small doses, it's delicious. So different from the pre-2003 style of Clos des Papes though.

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  • 2001 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    Lighter red, tawny rim. My god, compared to the Clos des Papes, this smells like Bordeaux! Full of leather and maturing secondary tones. Completely different weight and feel because of the higher acidity. Perhaps a hint of brett? Not at all sweet but some late mocha. Good but not great, average length.

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Flight 3 - Northern Reds (2 Notes)

  • 2009 Domaine Duclaux Côte-Rôtie La Germine

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    Dark and saturated. Classic white pepper Syrah aromas with a bit of weediness too. Full entry with black fruit and graphite, then acidity, licorice and herbs kick in to give it a leaner finish. Nowhere near being integrated and not entirely satisfying for this schizophrenic nature.

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  • 2009 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas

    Thick and black. Massive aromatics of pure blackberry confit. Spherical with very long olive palate. Deep acids and slightly grainy tannins tighten it up at the end. Potentially fantastic but so squeaky clean and polished that it bears little resemblance for the fierce, animal style of Clape Cornas of old. Very much like the difference between new and old Tempier Bandol. Hard to deny the innate quality of this wine, but the style will not necessarily appeal to dyed-in-the-wool traditionalists.

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Closing

It was pretty grand, come to think of it.

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