“More Red Rhônes and… Detroit Lions?!”
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I found these two wines this past Saturday at our friendly neighborhood Costco. We love all the Rhône varietals, so it was an easy choice to buy them both and bring them home. Being that I almost never indulge in alcohol during the day, I had no intention of opening anything during yesterday afternoon’s Lions-Buccaneers game. I figured I’d just wait and see how the game went, and maybe open something accordingly afterwards, but my wife Kim wanted a glass of red wine during the 2nd half, and after looking over the selection in our wine rack, she decided on the Gigondas.
Happily, the Lions won the game, and are moving on to the conference championship next weekend against the San Francisco 49ers. The Gigondas turned out to be quite good too, as I found when I poured myself a glass last evening. Afterwards, I decided to see what the Côtes du Roussillon is all about, and I really enjoyed it as well, although it’s rather different in style from the southern Rhône. Here are my impressions of each.
2020 Domaine du Grapillone d’Or Gigondas Cuvée 1806, 80% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 15% alc., $19.99: Deep, dark and intense, this is a powerhouse that delivers plenty of black plum, black currant, earth, iron, some pepper and underbrush and even a little licorice. Big and well-structured, it will (and probably should) cellar well until its 10th or 15th birthday, but there’s so much here, it’s already lip-smackin’ good if you give it some air before pouring glasses. Almost appassimento-like in its intensity, this is a seriously good deal for a wine of this quality. Find this wine
The Domaine du Grapillon d’Or, evokes an authentic and beautiful family history. Created in 1806, the estate is the property of the Chauvet family. Since 1893, when the estate won its first gold medal at the Concours Général Agricole in Paris, the wines produced by the Chauvet family have been regularly rewarded.
The estate’s vineyard consists of 14 hectares in the Gigondas appellation, about 3 hectares in the Vacqueyras appellation and 3 hectares of Vin de Pays. The estate’s wines come from a selection of small plots that produce wines of great intensity, characteristic of a promise of longevity.
Imported by Flying Blue Imports, Brookfield, WI
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2015 Domaine de L’Agly Côtes du Roussillon Villages Latour de France Les Cimes, 65% Syrah, 15% Grenache, 13% Carignan, 7% Mourvèdre, 14.5% alc., $19.99: A little tarry at first, in both flavor and aroma, but there’s a solid core of the kind of dark fruit you expect from these southern French varietals. Full bodied and a bit earthy, with shades of underbrush and leather just starting to show themselves, this still seems like a young wine, even at 9 years of age. It has the tannin-acid structure to go for another couple o’ years, at least, but it also gives a dramatic demonstration of how much a wine can open with some air right now. Decidedly dry, and the more I taste it, the more I like it. Find this wine
The Domaine de l’Agly is located in mountains above Latour de France, a medieval village which once marked the entrance to the Kingdom of France, on the border with Spain.
This 12 hectare vineyard of mica schist on blue granite is nestled at an altitude of 300 meters, overlooking the magnificent valley of the Agly river between Mount Canigou, Pyrenees and the Mediterranean Sea.
Our small vineyard is in AOP Côtes du Roussillon Villages Latour de France. These plots, some very old planted in 1900 and 1919, and the youngest ones planted in 2006, are carefully maintained with High Environmental Value.
Imported by Wine Wine Situation LLC, Signal Hill, CA
Reporting from Day-twah,
Bastardo
