First Taste of the 2012 Rhones - Chateau Beauchene Cotes du Rhone

Cotes du Rhones are my favorite everyday reds so I was very excited when the bottlings from the very heralded 2012 vintage starting showing up on retailer's shelves. 2011 wasn't a bad vintage but there were some problems during the growing season that led to some variable quality across the board. Not so with 2012. A more typical growing season has led to wines of consistently higher quality than those from 2011. It's got the fruit and balance you want from a good Southern Rhone vintage.

Chateau Beauchene is run by a family that has been in the region since the 17th century. They call this bottling their "Grande Reserve" though I don't know why you would give that label to your entry level wine. No matter, this is usually a very good everyday wine and it shines brightly in the light of a good vintage like 2012. This lovely blend is made up of 60% Grenache, 27% Syrah, 10% Carignan and 3% Cinsault from de-stemmed fruit. It spends a short 6 to 8 months in oak prior to bottling. This very nice Cotes du Rhone is translucent ruby red in color and has all the bright cherry and peppery aromas you expect from these wines. In the mouth it has smooth cherry and berryish fruit supported by floral and Provencal spice notes. It finishes with very smooth tannins and good supporting acidity, and at $10.99 it's an excellent value. This beauty is imported by Regal, a company with an excellent portfolio of small to medium sized producers. Bottoms up!

The Forgotten Grape: Syrah - Domaine de Chateaumar "Cuvee Vincent" Cotes du Rhone

Syrah is a grape that has never really caught on here in the states. Yes there's a fairly broad category of $30 and up bottlings but there's very few in the everyday wine realm. Those that exist are mostly generic tasting, fruit driven examples that don't really give much in the way of complexity. There are Syrah bottlings from Australia of course, where they call it Shiraz. Some of those inexpensive labels are pretty good, like The Jump Stump and Boxhead to name a couple. And there's the ubiquitous factory wine Yellowtail of course. The shelf space allotted to Syrah in stores here in NJ is incredibly small.

Syrah was once hailed as "the next big thing" to come in the US wine world and it was a proclamation that never happened. Eric Asimov's feature on Syrah for the New York Times in 2010 is an interesting read. Most California Syrahs were dark, dense, overly extracted versions that were heavy and dull - and there's still more than a few of those. Many Cali Syrah producers have changed the way they work with the grape and are striving for more balance in their bottles. And there are the "Rhone Rangers",  producers line Bonny Doon, Edmunds St. John and Ojai who have worked with Syrah for a long time, bottling the best examples we have here in the states. Many other expensive Cali Syrahs like to claim all sorts of "terroir" notes in their aromatic and flavor profiles but in reality, there's still no Syrah on the planet like the ones that come from the northern Rhone appellations of Cote Rotie, Hermiatge, Crozes-Hermitage and St. Joseph. In general, you can't really understand what good Syrah is meant to be until you throw down more than a few bucks for one of these wines.

However, every once in a while a good, inexpensive version from the southern Rhone shows up on our shores and when one does I find myself going back for more again and again. Syrah is a grape that needs a lot of sun but not excessive heat. It ripens early so it can lose acidity and character if it's left to hang too long. In the northern Rhone, the steep, rocky hillsides limit yield and preserve the special aromatics and flavors that Syrah can present.

Cotes du Rhones are usually blends based on the Grenache grape of course, but this 2010, 100% Syrah bottling of Domaine de Chateaumar from that southern Rhone appellation is a fantastic example of everything that Syrah can achieve, yet in a $12.99 package. It's got those wonderful, gamey Syrah aromas of black cherry fruit, black olive and spice notes with a distinct minerality. It's one of those wines I could sit and sniff all night, trying to define all the nuances. In the mouth it's got a big, fruity mid-palate supported by the olive and spice notes. It finishes medium in length with soft tannins and that mineral spine giving it shape. The vineyards here are sustainably farmed with no herbicides used at all. This beauty is imported by Bourgeois Family Selections, an importer I know nothing about. I will however be seeking out more of their wines. Cheers.

Flavors of the French Countryside - Pont de Nyons Cotes du Rhone 2010

There are certain kinds of wine that really resonate with consumers. Some folks might be Zinfandel fans. Others might only drink Cabernet Sauvignon - a phenomenon I have witnessed many times in the store I moonlight in. Still others have to have their Malbec and only Malbec. As someone who is equal opportunity and likes to try wines of many different types, varietals and origins, I sometimes find this obsessive loyalty almost comical. I mean really, are you actually going to drink a cab with pasta and clam sauce? The evening's dinner dish should have at least some influence on your wine choice and though I am no food and wine pairing dictator, you should give a modicum of thought to your choices.

That being said, I always have 2 or 3 Cotes du Rhones in my kitchen rack. There's no other wine I'd rather drink on an everyday basis. They're good with just about any meat dish and I've had them on numerous occasions with shrimp dishes, grilled or pan fried salmon and grilled tuna as well. The best ones are blends based mostly on the Grenache grape with other Rhone Valley varietals playing smaller but important supporting roles. For me, the common thread that links good Cotes du Rhones from different producers, is the black pepper element in the aromas. As soon as I smell that, I know I have what I like - as long as the fruit is there as well.

The 2010 Pont de Nyons Cotes du Rhone is a private label project of HB Wine Imports and R. Shack Selections, bottled by a friend of theirs in the village of Cairanne. 2009 and '10 were wonderful vintages in this part of the wine world, and this bottling gave me all I could want. The blend in this case consists of 70% Grenache, and 10% each Syrah, Carignan and Cinsault. Forthcoming aromas of black cherry, black pepper and what the French call "garrigues", a blend of local spice elements that may or may not suggest lavender, rosemary or thyme etc., are supported by mineral elements from the old vines that produced this fruit in very stony soils. In the mouth, there's lovely texture to the dark berry flavors, excellent supporting acidity and pepper and mineral elements repeating on the long, lightly tannic finish. This everyday winner cost me a mere $9.99. Cheers.

End of Summer Update - Petit Chapeau Cotes du Rhone 2010

I have a soft spot for this utterly drinkable everyday red as it was the first bottle I touted on these pages. As many of you know, I also have a fondness for these blends from the Rhone Valley of southern France. Factor into the equation a great 2010 vintage and a $9.99 price tag and you have a winner. This great little bottle is comprised of 50% Grenache, 25% Syrah, 20% Cinsault, and 5% Mourvedre and is a private label project of Daniel Johnnes, which means that the wine was tailored to his taste and imported with his name on the bottle. Mr. Johnnes is one of the most important Sommeliers in the U.S. and imports quite a few wines as well. Most of the top importers now have at least one private label wine in their portfolio.

The Petit Chapeau red has just what you expect from a Cotes du Rhone, with classic aromas of black cherry, cola, damp earth and a note of black pepper. In the mouth it has excellent concentration to it's dark berry flavors, but never tastes heavy as it's bright acids lend balance and give it lift. It finishes long and lightly tannic and should make excellent company for a roast chicken, grilled sausage or even grilled shrimp. Imported for Daniel Johnnes by Michael Skurnick. Cheers!

Domaine du Pesquier Cotes du Rhone 2009

I've previously stated my love for these wines for everyday use and here is another great example from the fantastic '09 vintage. There is something special about the Grenache grape from this part of the world. In this version, the blend is 70% Grenache, 20% Mourvedre and 10% split between Carignan and Cinsault. This beauty features prominent aromatics of dark berries, licorice and pepper. It's bold, very ripe and fruity in the mouth, with coffee and earthy notes. It finishes long and lightly tannic, though in this case the fruit balances the tannins out. At Pesquier, the destemmed grapes are fermented in cement tanks that provide excellent temperature control and are then racked into large wooden tanks called "foudres". There's no new wood on these wines whatsoever. They also use a technique called "delestage", which removes the seeds from the fermenting process. Seed tannins are generally thought of as being harsher and greener than skin tannins, so this process will theoretically produce a softer, more approachable wine. Imported by VOS Selections, this tasty wine cost me $12.99. Cheers.

Kermit Lynch Cotes du Rhone 2009

 Kermit Lynch is an importer who in no small way has helped bring about the world wide quality revolution in wine. He was one of the first importers to travel the back roads of France seeking small quantity, high quality producers doing things the natural way. Although now in his 60's, Mr. Lynch is still traveling those back roads. His 1988 book, "Adventures on the Wine Route: A Wine Buyer's Tour of France", was extremely influential. Nowadays, many of the small importers that I've written up have the same philosophy as Mr. Lynch - that small production wineries making wine in the most natural way possible will produce wines that express the soil that the grapes are grown in. Eric Asimov of the NY Times wrote a brief profile of Mr. Lynch in 2007.

The private label Cotes du Rhone that bears Mr. Lynch's name is a perfect example of everything that he stands for in an inexpensive everyday format. 2009 was a wonderful vintage in southern France and here beautiful aromas of black cherry and pepper are complicated by floral notes. It's got great concentration and balance with bold berry flavors and a distinct earthiness that keeps you coming back for more. This beauty finishes long and lightly tannic with good acidity and firm structure. At $12..99, this is a bottle I could easily pick to be my house wine. Cheers.

Domaine Boisson Cotes du Rhone '09

Yes, I sometimes sound like a broken record (you remember vinyl don't you?) but I can't help it. Cotes du Rhones are hands down my favorite everyday reds. For me, no other wines give as much complexity and pleasure in the low end category. 2009 was a fantastic vintage in the Rhone Valley and the CDR from Domaine Boisson is an absolute steal at the $9.99 my local shop is charging for it. This beauty is a blend made up of 60% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 10% Carignan, and 5% each Cinsault and Mourvedre. It's got all the stuff I love; big aromatics of bing cherry, pepper and Provencal spice and a big bold mouthful of dark berry fruit. It has excellent structure and finishes lightly tannic with note of minerality. I could easily go through a case of this over the next month. We sampled this beauty last night with some southwest style venison burgers with chipotle mayo. Imported by the wonderful small importer Alain Junguenet and his company, Wines of France, this is a portfolio to seek out. Cheers!

Clos du Mont Olivet "Font de Blanche" Cotes du Rhone '07

   I still love Cotes du Rhones. There are very few wines that serve up such complex aromas and flavors at their price point and are so versatile in terms of what you can pair them with. We've had CDR's many times with salmon, shrimp or tuna as well as just about any meat preparation. '07 was a great vintage in France's Rhone Valley as is the case with '09. But the '07's are special and now that they have had the benefit of resting for a year or two, they have smoothed out a bit and they are drinking really well. I am thrilled every time I walk into my primary wine shop and see that the owner still has the '07 Mont Olivet on the shelf. He either bought a ton of it or I'm the only one drinking it, which would be a shame. These wines are blends that are usually based on the Grenache grape with other grapes like Syrah, Mouverdre, Cinsault and Carignan filling out the blend. This particular beauty serves up quintessential Grenache aromas of cherry, raspberry, pepper and garrigue, which is kind of an amalgam all those Provencal herbs like lavender, rosemary and marjoram. This wine is sweet and smooth with bright cherryish fruit and a finishing note of licorice. An import of Michael Skurnick, this house favorite cost me $12.99. Cheers!