Decanterberry Tales - A Willamette Valley Wine Blog - cotesdurhone tag

Paul Jaboulet Aine, Parallele 45, Cotes du Rhone, 2006

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 04:15:13 GMT

This is an old favorite. This wine always seems to be a good value. It's not great. But then, it's not expensive either. This is a good table wine, or a fine wine to bring to a dinner party (or even a party without the dinner). And this year's addition was no different. Wine Spectator gave this an 86; not bad. So what did we think?

The nose was leather, coffee, pomegranate, orange (strange, but true), and wood chips. The taste was plum, black cherry, and raisin. And the finish was mainly raisin and dry wood. The most noteable quality was how smooth this wine felt. It's only $12-$13, so it's super smooth compared to wines normally in this price range. No, not one you'll keep in your cellar for a decade waiting for that special occasion. Yet, it's an easy grab at the grocery store on the way to the party. No one will complain.

Cost:

Rating: 7.0

(no, 7 does not equate to "70" on our scale; think of "7.0" as in 70%, or a solid "C" grade).

(60% Grenache, 40% Syrah)

Heritage des Caves des Papes, Cotes du Rhone, 2004

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 06:04:51 GMT

Here was another nice little Cotes du Rhone we had around Thanksgiving. Nothing special I suppose, but definitely quaffable (sometimes it's good if those cheap bottles aren't so memorable). The nose was pine needles, moss, prune, bark, and wood. Denise got a strong metallic taste, though I didn't get at all. It tasted like raisin and prune to me. It was also musty, and it had a meaty finish too it.

Cost:

Rating: 6.0

(Grenache 70%, Syrah 25%, Mourvedre 5%)

Domaine Beau Mistral, Cuvee Tamara Gail, Cotes du Rhone, 2005

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 18:51:31 GMT

I'll start with the plain and simple: I really liked this wine. I can't say that other critics would think it was anything special, but sometimes there's that je ne sais qui -- and this was that. It was like that Domain de la Guicharde we had not so long back. It's basically mushroom and manure -- but in the best possible way to use those words. If you like earthy and dank and dirty, then this is a wine for you (it was for me). Yum.

The nose was all kinds of things: veggie, mushroom, bark, stems, rhubarb ... and manure! And peat, tobacco. The body was surprising for a Cotes du Rhone -- definitely a solid medium body. The taste was not too prune-y, and not too dry. The taste was mainly cherry, but it was quick to return to that veggie plus barnyard thing in the nose. And peat! Zucchini. Pepper. And butter lettuce (that's it)! The finish was that apple dryness, but subtle. You could also make out black cherry, bark, and pepper.

Yes, I will be hunting for more bottles of this at the store.

Cost:

Rating: 9.0

Domaine d' Andezon, Cotes du Rhone, 2006

Sat, 08 Nov 2008 06:32:54 GMT

Here's yet another Rhone review. I'd apologize for this rut, but they really are quite good, and cheap!

The nose is earthy: dirt and a subtle moss. There's also cherry, rhubarb, and salmon berry -- sort of fruity with a slight sourness (not in a bad way). Denise got some eucalyptus and nutmeg. The taste is black cherry, and maybe some plum. There's pepper too, but it's very subtle. And Denise found roses and fig. The dark cherry lasts into the finish along with blackberry.

We had this following the Westrey Pinot Noir, and this was noticeably more dry than the Pinot. It has that red-apple dryness thing at the end of the finish. In fact, this one was a bigger crowd pleaser than that Pinot (me, I'm always a sucker for Pinot).

Cost:

Rating: 7.0