2004 Chateau La Nerthe – Chateauneuf du Pape – Rhone – France

This is a blend of 56% Grenache, 24% Syrah, 12% Mourvedre, and 8% Cinsault. It’s also another wine I bought and decided to open up before it had much age on it as a way to gauge what “young” wines taste like.

This has nice dark fruit aromas black currant and black cherry along with dark violets and chocolate. Most noticeable though are the white pepper aromas that emerge at the end. It is a deep rich purple color with a somewhat tannic structure but still smooth (although it would certainly become smoother with age.

This is a nice and solid wine that although it drinks well know, I can tell that with enough age (or air), it will just soften and blossom.

2005 Marquis de Fonsequille – Vacqueyras – Rhone – France

Purple hued with red brick towards the edges. Overall fruit forward with predominate cherry and strawberry notes. Accented by cedar aromas.

Medium bodied with overall good balance of fruit and acidity. Soft and round texture but with a somewhat short finish.

Overall decent wine and at $15 from Northside Wines in Ithaca, not bad. Would by again.

Brooklyn Tasting Group: Northern Rhone

This past Thursday I had the pleasure of taking part in a tasting with the Brooklyn Tasting Group where the theme was Northern Rhone wines, both red and white.

The wines and the company where all wonderful. Kudos to our host and thanks for the invite.

eRobertParker thread with tasting notes here.

Wines included:
Cuilleron 2006 St. Joseph Blanc "Lysereas"
Chapoutier 2005 St. Joseph Blanc "Les Granits"
Vincent Paris 2006 Cornas "Granite 30"
Levet 2001 Cote Rotie
Porter Creek 2001 Syrah "Timbervine Ranch"
Jamet 1998 Cote Rotie

2003 Chateau do Mourre du Tendre - Côtes du Rhône - France

2003 Chateau do Mourre du Tendre is from France’s Côtes du Rhône region.
Brick red color. Earthy. Red fruit and floral notes. Maybe even cigar box or smoky notes… Regardless, somewhat complex in nature. It’s a little hard to describe but overall it has a really lovely aroma. Medium bodied. Very dry with a medium finish.

This is a good wine, especially for the money. A solid B which sells for $13 at Astor Wines.

I should also note that I just finished reading Kermit Lynch’s Adventures on the Wine Route and just felt the need to have a solid unassuming French red. I’m glad I did!

2006 Domaine de Montvac - Vacqueryras - Rhone - France

The 2006 Domaine de Montvac from Vacqueryras in France’s Rhone region is medium bodied with a light purple hue. Red fruit and spice on the nose. Possibly some light floral and licorice notes as well. Earthy too. Soft texture and a nice medium long finish.

Fresh.

Just a really good, solid drinking wine that paired well with the homemade mac & cheese we had for dinner.

What more could you really want! $17 from Astor Wines.

Wines in the Cellar

One of the things I’m guilty of is holding on to wines that I really should be drinking. The reasons for this are many. For one, some wines like the handful of classified growth Bordeaux I have, I feel like I have to wait for a special occasion. Another reason is not wanting to open wines that we bought on vacation. That $10 euro wine we brought back from Italy that’s probably already started its down-hill slide… still in the cellar. With some, I loved the first bottle so much that I don’t want to open the second because I wouldn’t be able to find a replacement.

Anyway, I’m trying to get over this and I think I took a baby step forward with the 2003 Perrin & Fills Les Sinards Châteauneuf-du-Pape. We had some friends over for dinner, went through the first two bottles and I was looking for a third to open. This was it.

The wine was deep purple in color with really earthy notes of smoke and leather mixed in with dark fruit including blackberry and black cherry. The wine was smooth with a nice long and lush finish. It’s a blend of 70% Grenache, 15% Syrah, and 15% Mourvedre.

I loved this wine and gave it a B+. It also made me want to explore the Rhone Valley more, an region I know relatively little about.

I didn’t sit on it forever. I might not have know what I was missing.

P.S. - One thing I like about Perrin & Fils is that they have a blog!

2005 Mon Coeur - Cotes du Rhone

The 2005 Mon Coeur is a Cotes du Rhone from J.L. Chave which I picked up for $15 from Garnet Wines on the Upper East Side.

It was ruby red in color with spicy aromas lingering above the dark fruit. The spice was white pepper. Fruits were blackberry and a hint of blueberry. There might have been some dark cherry buried underneath there too. The aromatics were really lovely. Medium bodied with a soft, long, spicy finish.

Very good. B+.

So… I felt I had to write that note in past tense as it comes to me from a scrap piece of paper found in my jean pants after they had gone through the washer and dryer. Now you know how my note taking often works. Drink a wine, reflect, and write something down on the closest piece of paper. They more than likely make it in some form on the blog. Sometimes they don’t make it. Sometime the path is a bit circular as it was here. At least it made it. Whew!

P.S. On the same sheet of paper, it says to drink your bottles of 1996 Brico Manzoni. The essence of the dark fruit is there but its lost some of its complexity. Tar notes are more predominant now. Drink up!

2005 Cuilleron Roussanne – Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes (France – Rhone)

Straw colored. Very floral with some lemon and just a hint of orange peel. This really smells like flowers though. Which ones… I can’t place them. I’m not a florist. Soft texture as the floral notes come through on the taste as well. However, this is another guess as I’ve never actually tasted flowers. Medium long finish.

A very good B+ wine for its uniqueness. $16 at Garnet Wines.