Those of you who have followed me for a while know of my love/hate relationship with the Rhone valley. My first real excitement for French wine grew from exposure to good southern Rhone - notably, a 2004 Vieux Telegraphe. But so many of the Rhone wines of the last 15 years have been over extracted, heavy, high in alcohol, overwhelmed by overripe, even stewed fruit. And a number of producers thought new oak would make them even "better". So...
Tonight we opened a simple 12 year old Cotes du Rhone from Domaine Sainte Anne - their 2007 - and were amazed at the age-worthy purity of this wine. To provide context, the current release (2016) is selling for $13 right now - in other words, a daily drinker from which you should not expect too much - and certainly not over a decade of aging. This was a very warm, even hot, vintage - the 2007s were hailed as good, but big and ripe. This wine showed incredible freshness, particularly given age and vintage. It was still full of dark fruit - black raspberry, cherry, and plum - and extensive garrigue - that herbal mix of wild herbs. The finish was quite lengthy, and while ripe and a bit high in alcohol, it retained an unexpected balance.
I have tasted a number of wines from these folks - and they inevitably have a great quality to them. There is definitely a house style that emphasizes freshness and darker fruits, while still respecting both the terroir and vintage. They remain among the best priced Rhones, and will continue to attract my attention at tastings and for the cellar.
NOTE: I have not been provided with any of the wines discussed here by the producer, a distributor, or anyone else with financial interest. So you get my honest, unvarnished opinion.
No comments:
Post a Comment