2007 Southern Rhone Wines
K&L Wines, San Francisco
Tasted Saturday, July 25, 2009 by drwine2001 with 873 views
Flight 1 (8 Notes)
Closing
The more of these wines I try, the more I worry about the alcohol levels in the bigger ones. It is really distressing to find such an imbalanced wine from a good producer like Usseglio. That said, the best wines have gorgeous color, great fruit, and outstanding freshness, but it will take more work than throwing a dart to find them.
2007 Domaine Grand Veneur Côtes du Rhône Villages Les Champauvins
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône Villages
Nice deep purple. Medium weight with a profile of licorice and spice suggesting a good bit of Syrah in the blend. Good.
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2007 Montirius Vacqueyras Garrigues
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Vacqueyras
Again, deep purple robe. Slightly rounder and fleshier than the Grand Veneur Cotes du Rhone. Blend of herbs and red fruit. Crisp finish. Also pretty good, but as with my first tasting of this, it was outpaced by other similarly priced bottles..
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2007 Château Mourgues du Gres Costières-de-Nîmes Terre d'Argence
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Costières-de-Nîmes
90% Syrah and it looks like it-thick and almost black. Creamy blackberry fruit, round tannins. OK, it's simple, but this is a mouthful for $18.
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2007 Domaine de Fondrèche Ventoux Persia
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Ventoux
Also 90% Syrah but not quite as opaque as the wine that preceded it. Some upfront funk, but this has excellent dark fruit, spice, good acidity, and a sense of some lightness to mitigate the size of the wine. Real interest, flavor, and complexity at this price point ($27).
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2007 Comte Louis de Clermont-Tonnerre Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Patricia
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Also quite dark, although not to the extent of the 2 previous Syrah-based cuvees. Bright, candied red fruit combined with garrigue in a very pleasing middle weight package. Lively acidity and no excess alcohol. The most complex and feminine wine so far and very, very good. Not inexpensive at $30 but not unfair either.
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2007 Delas Frères Châteauneuf-du-Pape Haute Pierre
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
70% Grenache, 30% Syrah. More typical medium ruby color. Very pretty, round, and forward with a touch of caramel. Only marred by a little blurriness and a bit of heat at the end. Still, this should be attractive over the short run. There are many better alternatives at or below this price level, though.
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2007 Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Medium red with the least saturation of all of these wines. Overt alcohol and surmaturite on the nose. The heat cuts right through any fruit to give a thin, astringent feel. I was shocked at how poor this was given the track record of this producer, and can only hope that this bottle is not representative. Need to taste again.
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2007 Domaine de la Vieille Julienne Châteauneuf-du-Pape
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Very dark, rich looking. Darker toned nose with some perfume. Big, broad, and for the most part, well balanced with sweet raspberry fruit that is brighter than the nose suggests. Substantial buried tannins. Some alcohol creeps into the finish here as well, which makes me wonder about its development over time. While there is much to like here, I am not a buyer because of this concern.
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