Boutinot Les Six Côtes du Rhône Villages Cairanne 2016
Grown in ‘agrilo-calcaire’ or chalky clay, Boutinot’s 2016 Les Six Cairanne is composed of 50% Grenache, and 10% each of Syrah, Mourvedre, Counoise, and Cinsault—it exhibits black raspberry, black cherry, Damson plum dried herbs, incense, and spice on the nose. There is too a lovely resinous piney note that reemerges on the finish. In the […]
Boutinot Les Côteaux Côtes du Rhône Villages 2015
Boutinot’s 2015 Les Côteaux Côtes du Rhône Villages is a cuvée of 80% Grenache and 20% Syrah assembled from cru parcels in Sablet, Séguret, and Cairanne. The nose ripples with baritone, atramentous aromas of black cherry, blackberry, black olives, saddle leather, pain grille, savory herbs, and lilacs. Medium-bodied on the palate with well-integrated tannins—menthol, Tellicherry […]
Ferraton Pere & Fils Saint-Joseph La Source Rouge 2015
Displaying classic Northern Rhône character, the Ferraton Père & Fils Saint. Joseph “La Source” 2015 is opaque quinacridone violet in the glass with an aromatic profile awash in smoky plums, blackberries, earth, sun-dried tomato, braised meat, and anise. Crafted from 100% Syrah that has been biodynamically farmed and aged concrete and new and neutral oak […]
Olivier & Lafont Vacqueyras 2015
With a nose steeped in black cherries, black raspberries, violet pastille, warm wicker, cigar box, and baking spice, Olivier & Lafont’s 2015 Vacqueyras is made from old-vine Grenache and Syrah grown on the coolest section of Gigondas’ northern slope. Silky on entry with fine fore-palate tannin accented by a nervy jolt of acidity. It’s polished […]
Delas Frères Condrieu Clos Boucher 2011
Bright lemon yellow, the 2011 Delas Frères Condrieu Clos Boucher emits gorgeous, stratified layers of baked pear and apple, lemon curd, orange blossom, spice, and smoky minerality. It’s bright on entry—graced with both texture and depth at the mid-palate, followed by mineral-driven acidity that picks up mellifluous tones of quarry dust, lemon pith, peach pit, […]
Jean-Luc Colombo Côtes du Rhône Les Abeilles de Colombo Rouge 2016
A juicy blend of 60% Grenache, 30% Syrah, and 10% Mouvèdre, Jean-Luc Colombo’s 2016 Rouge “Les Abeilles” is laden in red fruit—a bushel basket of black cherries, macerated strawberries, and rhubarb are followed by lighter notes of underbrush, vanilla, dusty earth, and anise. On the palate, nimble acidity lends brightness and freshness to this softly […]
Domaine Jean Royer Cuvée Tradition Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2014
A blend of 75% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 5% Mourvedre and 5% Cinsault from vines planted in the galet-laden La Crau and Les Grandes Serres lieux-dits, the 2014 Domaine Jean Royer Cuvée Tradition has slight bricking at this stage in its evolution, with layered aromas of black cherry, plum skin, sagebrush, loamy tilth, cigar box, and […]
Ferraton Pere & Fils Samorëns Côtes du Rhône Blanc 2017
A blend of 60% White Grenache and 40% Clairette, think of the Côtes du Rhône Samorëns Blanc 2017 as value in your glass—pale lemon yellow and bone dry, this classic Rhône blend offers up a convivial bouquet of bruised pear and yellow apple, lily of the valley, and a dusting of chalky minerality. In the […]
Paul Jourdan Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve de Leonie 2015
A blend of 60% Grenache and 40% Syrah, Paul Jourdan’s Réserve de Léonie Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2015 is an excellent value with overtones of sauvage and earth, leather and tar vying for, and claiming dominance over more subdued notes of plum and black cherry. In the mouth, high-toned acidity makes this a wine that begs to be […]
Jean-Claude et Nicolas Fayolle Crozes-Hermitage La Rochette 2015
This classic 100% Syrah from Jean-Claude et Nicolas Fayolle is infused with aromas of boysenberries, plums, charcuterie, camphor, and violets. In the mouth, it’s medium bodied, with a well-delineated vein of acidity that plays nicely with back-palate flavors of plum skins and green peppercorn. A nice find from Garagiste and one that paired beautifully with a […]