2007 Domaine Roger Perrin Côtes du Rhône Cuvée Prestige Vieilles Vignes

Garagiste

• By Jon Rimmerman
  12/12/2008, (See more on Garagiste...)

  (Roger Perrin Cotes du Rhone VV Prestige) 2007 Rhone Dear Friends, If you are looking for a house wine in 2009, this is a serious contender for anyone's value cellar. Roger Perrin considers this to be the equal of his CdP VV cuvee (from outside the boundaries) and while I wouldn't go anywhere near that far, it is a beautiful wine with incredible levels of classic, pure old-vine fruit. In 2007 it was easy to let the vintage come to you and that's what Perrin did with his Vielles Vignes cuvee - he had little to do but wait for the roadmap of the sun, soil and days of the week to pass - the wine almost made itself (I heard the same story from many vintners in Bordeaux and Burgundy during 2005). In the end, the vines presented him with raw materials that were not only bursting with potential, they were nearly perfect. This wine is from Perrins's most intense selection of vines, some planted before 1900. It is completely hand-picked and hand-made in the exact same fashion as the Chëteauneuf du Pape. From mostly Grenache (with parts Syrah, Vaccarese and Counoise), he only produces this wine in vintages deemed "exceptional". Always slow to come around (much slower than the regular Cotes du Rhone), it acts more like a jr CdP. While I questioned the production of this cuvee in 2006 (I thought all of the old-vine fruit should have gone into a single Cotes du Rhone) there is no question that 2007 gave the raw materials to produce a Vielles Vignes. This is a big and tough Southern Rhone, with tannin, chewy fruit and layers of old-vine intensity that just wont quit. You can taste the vintage and the fruit (not to mention the galets and their influence) with stains of grape skin, pepper and crushed dried rosemary swirling throughout. At last count, the wine was only 13.5% alcohol which was close to impossible in 2007 (there are some CdP cuvees close to 17% in 2007 - check the alcohol levels very closely before purchasing any 2007 Chëteauneuf that you haven't tasted first) and the freshness in the black fruit is outstanding: Luc Perrin is one of the good guys of the Southern Rhone and he prices his wine like the old days - I'm more than happy to lend our support to an individual that lives and breaths their profession (with great success) without allowing it go to their head. In 2007, the temptation was to raise prices (for obvious reasons, and even more so after the Parker vintage comments) - Perrin refused - he wants everyone to drink his wine without worrying about its financial worth - "I make wine too drink, not as an investment" - something tells me most of this will be consumed long before it has the chance to be an investment... ONE SHIPMENT ONLY directly from the cellars at Roger Perrin VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED as a top-level 2007 Southern Rhone value: 2007 Domaine Roger Perrin Cotes du Rhone "Cuvee Prestige" Vielles Vignes Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Rhone8901