Important Update From the Founder
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Early Release 2009 Rhones
K&L Wines, San Francisco
Tasted July 9, 2011 by drwine2001 with 552 views
Flight 1 - White (2 notes)
White
2009 Château St. Esteve d'Uchaux Côtes du Rhône Blanc
Pale. Faintly aromatic. Light, some perceptible sweetness. Not much to it, but at least what is here is well balanced.
White - Sparkling
N.V. Jean-Claude Raspail Clairette de Die Grande Tradition
Frothy and fragrant. Some residual sugar. Fun but it falls off rapidly and is not as zippy as the best sparkling Muscats from Piemonte.
Flight 2 - Red (8 notes)
Red
2009 Domaine Charvin Côtes du Rhône (Le Poutet)
Medium to light red. Gently fragrant. Light bodied, some herbs in addition to red fruit. Insubstantial, ready to go now, pleasantly balanced.
Red
2009 Château de Beaucastel Côtes du Rhône Coudoulet de Beaucastel
Spicy, berry aromas. Heftier and more somber than the Charvin, more depth and far more tannin. You taste the Mourvedre and strong acidity. Very good but demands more time.
Red
2009 Montirius Vacqueyras Garrigues
Medium depth of color. Closed but with coaxing, garrigue and black fruit. Deep, spicy fruit and herbs. Good intensity and freshness due to its core of acidity. Tannic finish. Lots of potential and good value for the price.
Red
2009 Domaine St. Francois Xavier Gigondas Prestige des Dentelles
Medium red with clearing. Quite perfumed. Elegant, more obvious red fruit than the Montirius, and more approachable now than that wine although some tannin rises on the finish. Excellent first impression in the mouth, but it fades and loses something in the mid-palate and finish.
Red
2009 Domaine Faury St. Joseph La Gloriette Vieilles Vignes
Moderately deep. All spice and olives on the nose. Gorgeous middle weight feel with violet, lavender and olive expanding in the mouth. Wrapped up by a good dose of tannin and acidity. Pretty exciting at this level of the northern Rhone hierarchy. Second time I've had this, and I found it enormously impressive both times.
Red
2009 Domaine Vincent Paris Cornas Granit 60
Purple but not dense. Relatively light, clean, and elegant with crisp acidity. This is awfully civilized for Cornas, and in fact reminded me more of Cote Rotie in its texture and gentle nature. As with so many of the wines today, I was again struck by its balance.
Red
2009 Domaine Combier Crozes-Hermitage Clos des Grives
Dark center. Floral tones. Medium body, good acidity, some olive and more soil than anything else today. Finishes relatively lean and astringent. At present, the entry is more attractive than the final impression, but this may well improve with a year or two.
Red
2009 Jean-Michel Stephan Côte-Rôtie
Medium color. Smoky. Lively red fruit, minerality and earth. Elegant and essentially delicate wine. Excellent complexity for such a young wine and very expressive of it "Cote Rotie-ness". First experience with this producer and a very positive one at that.
Closing
As my exposure to 2009 increases, I am more and more impressed with the wines, both from the north and south. In many bottles, there is refreshing acidity and wonderful balance. These 2 descriptors hardly ever applied to the '07s I tasted, and thankfully, I am not finding the oppressive levels of alcohol in the younger vintage. Who knows? Maybe this will make me rethink my hiatus in seeking out and buying these wines.