Tag Archives: southern rhone

Domaine la Guintrandy Louise d’Agoult 20, Beaumes de Venise, France

13 Saturday Dec 2025

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Medium ruby colored with medium viscosity (14.5% ABV).  Medium intensity aromas of black plum, black raspberry, cracked pepper, bacon, green herbs, licorice, and açaí berry.  The palate is dry with medium acidity, a full body and medium tannins.  Medium (+) intensity flavors, with black pepper being the most noticeable.  The tannins sneak up on the mid palate.  The finish has a slight green note and is medium in length.  Decent cellaring capacity unless you like a fresh wine with a slightly tannic mouthfeel.  A blend of Grenache and Syrah from the Southern Rhone that gets 90 points from me.  At $15 it’s a 5 star wine to drink till 2030.  Salut….

Domaine la Guintrandy Louise d'Agoult Beaumes de Venise

Domaine du Grand Montmirail Vacqueyras Mas Carré 2022, Rhone Valley, France

29 Monday Sep 2025

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Medium ruby colored, with slight staining, and a medium (+) viscosity (14.5% ABV).  The nose has medium (-) intensity aromas of smoke, bacon, black cherry, black raspberry, garigue, and wet stone.  The palate is dry, with medium acidity, a full body, and medium (+) tannins.  The flavors are more pronounced than the nose but the dark, brooding fruit is there as are the smoldering notes.  Licorice appears and there’s a slightly gamy profile thanks to the Syrah (45%) that is tempered by Grenache at 55%.  The finish is a bit astringent, which is actually enticing.  The length is medium (-).  It’s a fun, food centric wine that might be a touch ascerbic if drunk alone.  89 points from me, with a drink by window till 2030.  At $25, it gets 3 stars.  I am pairing it with roasted Shoulder Filet and Harissa potatoes.  Salut….

Domaine du Grand Montmirail Vacqueyras Mas Carré

Domaine Durieu Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvee Reserve Lucile Avril 2020, Rhone, France

09 Monday Jun 2025

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The closer at the 40th virtual wine tasting was this CDP.  Medium ruby colored with a high viscosity (15.5% ABV).  The group found medium intensity aromas of black cherry, bramble berry, funk, blackberry, leather, green leaf and a benzene note.  On the palate it was dry, with medium (-) acidity, a full body, and medium tannins.  Flavorwise- it was syrupy with black raspberry, bramble berry, overstepped black tea and black cherry.  Slightly astringent, it finished long.  It was not my favorite by a long shot and only garnered 15 points out of a possible 20 on our tasting sheet but technically speaking- this $45 effort got 90 points making it a 3 star wine.  It has some cellaring capacity even though it’s currently open for business. My buddy gave it a perfect score but then again he was pretty cheery by the close and loves Southern Rhone wines in general.  A blend of 80% grenache, 10% syrah and 10% mourvedre.  Salut….

Domaine Durieu Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvee Reserve Lucile Avril

Domaine du Grand Montmirail Vacqueyras Mas Carre 2022, Rhone Valley, France

18 Tuesday Feb 2025

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Medium ruby colored turning to a watery meniscus, with high viscosity (14.5% ABV).  The nose of this Grenache/Syrah blend has medium (-) intensity aromas of blueberry, red raspberry, tar, juniper, licorice, charred oak, acai berry, and tomato stalk. The palate is dry with medium acidity, a medium (+) body, and medium (+) tannins that are a touch gritty.  Flavors of raspberry, blueberry, acai, tar, licorice and green notes of juniper and tomato stalk.  There’s an interesting astringency that keeps me wanting another sip.  The finish is medium in length and somewhat austere.  I kinda like it!  The heat is noteworthy on the back end unfortunately.  This is a delicious, slightly green wine that will pair nicely with stews, game meats or Duck breast.  It gets 90 points from me and for $25, 4 stars.  Drink till 2032.  Ps. It has opened up nicely with a bit of air.  Salut….

Domaine du Grand Montmirail Vacqueyras Mas Carre

La Reserve De L’enclave Cotes du Rhone Villages 2022, Southern Rhone, France

21 Thursday Nov 2024

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Medium ruby colored with medium viscosity (14% ABV).  The nose has medium intensity aromas of red and black raspberry, steeped black cherry, rhubarb, tobacco leaf, blueberry, wildflower, black pepper and granite.  The palate is dry (very), with medium (+) acidity, a medium body, and medium tannins.  Flavors of dark red fruit- cherry and raspberry, with some green notes of fresh tobacco leaf, wildflower, pepper (both green and black), as well as some granite.  The fruit/tannins are quite sharp and produce a distinct dryness on the mid palate.  The finish is a bit mouthwatering and of medium length.  The astringent nature of this wine is akin to over steeped black tea- but it’s quite pleasant.  A blend of 65% Grenache and 35% Syrah- I don’t get the gaminess associated with the latter, but it does offer up the candied red fruit I dislike.  Overall this $18 is very tasty and will cellar nicely till 2030.  91 points from me and 5 stars.  Grilled meats are the ticket here.  Salut….

La Reserve De L'enclave Cotes du Rhone Villages

Domaine Durieu Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvee Reserve Lucile Avril 2016, Rhone, France

17 Sunday Jul 2022

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I love a CDP, as does our virtual tasting group but this one was not a crowd pleaser.  Medium ruby colored it had pronounced aromas of game (road kill), tomato, sawdust, violets, herbs de Provence and baked/stewed blueberry.  The palate was dry with well integrated medium (+) tannins, low acidity and a medium body.  Flavors of game, stewed blueberry, charcoal, smoke, and a waxy component were noted.  The finish was decently long for this 91 point wine.  I scored it 15 points on our grading scale and for $50 it only gets 3 stars from me.  The pro’s went as high as 96 points for this old vine Grenache blended with Syrah and Mourvedre.  I would drink this angular wine with stews or perhaps a venison roast.  Cellar wise- it should go till 2030.  Salut…..

Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2012, Rhone, France

20 Wednesday Apr 2022

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It’s my birthday so this treat got pulled to go along with char-grilled New York Strip steaks.  At 10 years of age it is still deep ruby colored with no signs of bricking.  The nose is intense with gorgeous aromas of ripe raspberry, red licorice, violets, red plums, vanilla, garigue, coffee and black cherry- it is amazingly complex and the smells are making my mouth water.  The palate is dry, slightly tannic and delicious.  Super smooth and full bodied, this blend of Grenache, Cinsault, Mourvèdre and Syrah presents a mouthful of flavors and great structure from the medium firm tannins that are integrating nicely along with medium (+) acidity.  The finish is quite long and tends toward red and sour cherry with raspberry supporting.  The tannins are fine grained on the back end and caress my gums ever so.  A beautiful wine that is in youth right now and will drink well till 2030 at the least.  94 points for this silky smooth $100 offering makes it a 5 star wine to be opened at special occasions.  Salut….

Domaine Saint Damien Gigondas Vieilles Vignes 2017, Rhone, France

17 Sunday Apr 2022

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I’ve been on a big Grenache kick lately and bought several different offerings from this producer whom I’ve tried before.  This one is medium ruby colored and has some nice red fruit and meaty aromas.  Raspberry, black cherry, bacon, lavender, red plum, red licorice and sweet cedar.  The palate is dry and tannic upfront.  Great acidity balances the well integrated tannic component and the flavors are delicious.  Red fruit, Ceylon tea, game, florals and oak nuance all mingle together.  The mid palate has a slight astringency akin to tea meets charred oak and mineral slate.  The finish is quite long for this full bodied wine that needs a bit of time to flesh out methinks.  I think it will be a great wine in a few years but right now it turned a bit angular on me.  I’m going with 90 points for now on this $32 blend that has some Mourvedre in it.  4 stars with a drink between 2024-2030 window.  Salut….

Domaine Saint Damien Gigondas ‘Les Souteyrades Vieilles Vignes’ 2017, Rhone, France

21 Thursday Oct 2021

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I’m grilling Beef Tri-tip tonight so a hearty French red will do the trick.  This blend of Grenache and Mourvedre is semi opaque ruby with watery legs which is a bit suspect as the label clearly states 15% ABV!  The nose has got good red fruit flavors of raspberry, redcurrant, oak nuances of charred wood and clove alongside pepper, cinnamon and some meaty characteristics-perhaps from the dash of Mourvedre?  Anyways, the palate is super smooth with gorgeously integrated tannins, medium acidity and medium body.  The mouthfeel is stupendous.  All the aromas I got are mirrored on the palate with some Rooibos tea as well.  The mid palate and finish are where the tannins start to grip a touch, nothing overdone.  The back end is very smooth and it lasts a good long while.  A very impressive wine that is ready to go and will last till 2030 at the very least.  93 points from me and at $34 it is a great intro to yummy Southern Rhone wines.  5 stars.  Salut….