1999
Caves des Papes Gigondas Reserve des Fustiers $
(19.99) 
This
blend of Syrah, Grenache, Cinsault and Mourvedre brings the strength and
beauty of the Chateauneuf du Pape, at a great price.
Dark cherry, plum, cedar, and spice burst through to please the far
reaches of your taste buds.
2000
Chateau de Beaucastle Chateauneuf du Pape Rouge
$$$ (54.00)
Hospitals should keep this wine in a sniffer bottle to revive
patients. The more you swirl
and sniff this one, the more delightful aromas come to light.
I don’t know if it is the fruits or the cedar and spice, but this
one makes me weak in the knees. Please,
treat yourself once to this wine.
2000
Domaine du Vieux Lazaret Chateauneuf du Pape
$
(19.00)
Impressive for under twenty dollars, this wine is why I love southern Rhone.
There is a great cherry, cedar spice to the nose and dark fruits, a
hint of chocolate and a smooth velvety finish.
If I have fallen, I will gracefully do penance for this one.
2000 E.
Guigal Chateauneuf du Pape $$
(28.00)
What can I say? Rhone and Guigal are the reasons I love this region.
Plenty of high cherry and raspberry flavors with a spicy tone that
captures my attention every time.
1997
Chateau Pauillac $$ (27.99)
Allow this one to breathe for a time as it's tannins greet you and hang out
for the first course. But rich
dark cherry, cassis, and earthen tones give rise with a hint of chocolate on
the back palate.
1999 Clos de L’Oratoire des Papes
Chateauneuf du
Pape
$$ (26.99)
Ripe
fruit leads to rich flavors in this attractive, full-bodied Chateauneuf.
Long and complex, with roasted game, plum, spice, smoked wood and grilled
meat character. Long aftertaste needs cellaring.
1997
Eric Rocher Terroir de Champal Saint Joseph $
(8.99)
It gets half a point since
the label said it is red wine.
2003
George Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau $
(7.99)
This year is delivering a darker, richer color and a more intense
flavors of raspberry and strawberry with a nice balance of acid. A notch up in body and flavors.
1998
Domaine Andre Brunel Cotes du Rhone Cuvee Sommelongue
$ (8.99)
It was interesting the see restaurants inching back to serving French wine
by the glass. This
Grenache/syrah blend didn’t bring a lot to the table. Thin and light
on the fruit.
2001
Meffre La Chasse du Pape Prestige Cotes-du Rhone Rouge
$ (8.99)
They had the right idea, blending Syrah, Grenache, Cinsault and Mourvedre
together and it could have been a beautiful thing.
But the balance was off, no bass line and very little depth
1994 Mas de Gourgonnier
Les Baux de Provence Cuvee Rouge gift
This blend from a smaller Southern Rhone appellation carried a maturity and
softness even with liquid sipping out the cork.
Fading in color but full on fruit with dark cherry and plum flavors.
2001 Mas de Gourgonnier
Les Baux de Provence Cuvee Rouge $
(13.99)
The younger brother to the 94, this blend of Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre,
Carignan and Cinsault boasts a raspberry, cherry and tobacco nose with a bit
of untamed tannin. Sit this one
down for two years and enjoy the change.
1997
Joseph Drouhin Gevrey-Chambertin $$
(34.95)
Like glancing across the room and spotting a well dressed attractive woman,
I hesitated to approach this wine but once you gather the courage and walk
over to say hi, you find out she likes football.
There is a grace to the red and dark berry flavors and a finish that
makes you turn your head as it walks out to the lounge.
1997
Chateau Pesquie La Quintessence du Chateau Pesquie Cotes du Ventoux $
(15.99)
Find
this one at a local shop and give it a try. This grenache and syrah blend is
a full-bodied wine with beautiful Syrah aromas of dark, ripe blackberries
and blueberries, as well as wonderful, complex floral and oak components. A smooth long finish makes this a winner for value and
quality.
1999
Chateau La Nerthe Chateauneuf-du-Pape $$ (gift)
This pre-Iraq war gift from Wino John was a pure delight.
A shinning example of the depth, structure and finish of this region
I adore. Dark cherries, herb and spice undertones with a velvety
finish make this a dinnertime special event.
1997
Chateau Saint-Lo St. Emilion Grand Cru $$
(24.99)
A mild Merlot-based Bordeaux that shows a bounty of cherry and
currant with earthiness and wood to keep it interesting.
2002
Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau $ (8.99)
Where’s the fruit? This wine
should be screaming with raspberry and strawberry and a brash bit of acid,
but I found it to be rather unexciting.
This serves as my once-a-year dose of Gamay, but does not show the
wine in the spirit it should be. I
was looking for a packet of Starburst but got gummy bears instead.
1996 Chateau
La Commanderie St. Emilion ?
Though the nose on this wine reminded me of smelly diapers, this was a big,
velvety, fruit packed wine with soft gentle tannins and a long finish.
I am not much of a Merlot fan, but this wine is one to try.
1995 Chateau LaRose-Trintaudon
Haut-Medoc $
(14.99)
This wine delivers a great nose of Cabernet Sauvignon, filled with
earthen and barnyard aromas, but brace yourself for the slap in the face tannins
that greet you at first taste. The
tongue dries instantly and the brash tannins strangle the fruit for quite a
while. But have faith, a fill of
black cherry and currant reveal itself for the final glass.
I recommend you save a glass of this to compliment fresh baked walnut
brownies.
2000 Gerard Gelin Domaine Des
Nugues Beaujolais Village $
(12.00)
This wine offered acidity and red fruit to balance with the cherry, and
apricot. Delivering a light bodied
red as not to over power the flavors in the stuffing I chilled this one slightly
to lower the acid and bring the fruit forward.
1998 M.
Chapotier Belleruse $
(10.99)
This wine is one to keep around for the everyday drinking or the surprise
visit for friends dropping in with pizza. The
fruit is full and luscious with and excellent balance of spiciness and tannins
to make this flexible for many different situations.
2001 George
Dubeof Nouveau Beaujolais $
(7.99)
Though I complained about the pricing, this wine delivered more than I
expected. Well-rounded fruit with
strong hints of strawberry and raspberry, complimented well with an acidic
component to deliver a quality wine. I
do not drink much cru Beaujolais, but this gives an indication that 2001 is a
great year for Gamay.
1997 Chateau
Larose-Trintaudon – Price $31.00 (CA Supermarket)
I had some very big expectations for this Haut Medoc and was left
wondering “if only”. If only
this wine had some fruit, some personality, some reason to finish the bottle!
It certainly looked good going into the glass but that is where the fun
stopped, initial flavors of alcohol and dusty barrels were all this Bordeaux
offered. The label claimed this be
a blend of Cabernet, Merlot, and Cab. Franc but I’m still wondering if this
was actually made of grapes! Rating
= Not worth Rating. Wino
Hondo
1996
Duhart-Milon Rothschild $$ (36.00)
An earthen nose and dark fruit rise from the glass, but the taste of this wine
was a bit flabby.
Smoke and tobacco and soft tannins kept this from standing out.
2000
George Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau $ (6.88)
This
wine delivered a light, raspberry aroma, but high acidity on the pallet that
killed any fruit flavor. The strong
alcohol scent lead me to believe that cellaring this Beaujolais will reap a more
enjoyable wine in the future.
1996
Chateau Vaugelas Cuvee Prestige $ (9.99)
This wine is from the Corbieris region of southern France. Thin, weak,
and watery describe the disappointment I tasted.
The aroma in the glass did make me think this would be a much better
tasting wine than it was.
1995
E. Gigal Cote Rotie
$$
I can only guess at the retail price, because I enjoyed this half bottle at a
restaurant. My guess is that this
is a 35-40 dollar bottle of wine.
For
lovers of the syrah grape, this is one of the two Mecca.
This wine was the perfect compliment to the rack of lamb I ordered. Full body, jammy, deep fruit and soft tannins gave this a
good structure. This wine is not
for the weak at heart. Prepare for
this, work up to it so it does not take your palette by storm.
1996
Chateau Bel Air Haut-Medoc $$
I do not know the price of this wine, but I’m guessing 25-28
dollars. No major tannins hiding
the fruit here. This wine smelled
rich and full and drank well. I
recommend this for a great dinner compliment or sitting with friends on a
summer’s evening.
1997
M. Chapoutier La Sizeranne
$$ (38.00)
This, friends, is a kick-ass wine for those of us that like it big and
bold and chewy. This is not for the
weak of heart or for those who get loopy on white zin.
From the strong fruit aroma of the syrah grape to the big, bold,
mouth-filling texture of this wine, it is one to experience.
Even
though this big wine is a 97, you can enjoy it now or save it for years to come.
1997
Pere Anselme La Fiole du Pape $ (17.99)
As I took in the aroma of this wine, it spoke to me, in French.
Come taste my spicy berry flavor and the long lingering pleasure that a
full French Red wine has to offer. So
I tasted and was disappointed that the flavor did not have the power that the
nose of this wine had. I expected
more, but as I swirled the wine in my glass, the color was not as deep and dark
as other Chateauneuf-Du-Papes that I have enjoyed.
This wine was OK, not gooood, definitely not great.
1996
Cuvee du Vatican Cote du Rhone $ (8.95)
As Rhones go, this was a good bottle, full of spice and fruit.
The only down side to this wine is that it did not have the length to
make this a great buy. Not too
tannic, not too heavy, not too long. This
wine can be a fun bottle for the porch on a summer’s eve, but will not make
the dinner table.
1996 Chateau de Beaucastel
Chateauneuf-Du-Pape $$
(36.00)
Right
from the start, the golden color of this wine was very impressive, comprised of
80% Roussanne grapes with the balance a mix of Grenache Blanc, picarddan,
bourboulene and clairette. This was a red wine hiding in a white grape cloak.
A scent of pear was right up front.
This full body wine coated my mouth and slid south with a silken texture.
The impressive quality I found was the length the wine lingered in my
mouth after swallowing each sip.
1994 Paul Jaboulet Aine
Hermitage- La Chapelle
$$$ (64.00)
As
this wine opened up, it revealed a full-bodied gem that was a pleasure from the
first sip to the last drops. Strong
fruit with mellowed tannins made this a treat.
