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Another classic Gigondas producer.  From the stellar 2016 vintage.  Purple/ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is great with earthy black cherries and roasted herbs.  Great texture.  Black cherry fruit, cinnamon and herbs over char and earth.  Tight complexity.  Nice finish.  This is packed tightly and slowly unwinds in the glass.  It probably needs another five to seven years to mature and should be good for ten to twelve after that.  If drinking soon, decant for a few hours.  It drinks great on its own this calls out for something fatty; lamb stew would work well.  

Great showing for this wine.  In a recent tasting of Gigondas wines, this finished as the groups favorite wine.  It was the oldest wine in the tasting suggesting that ten years is a very nice sweet spot for the better wines of Gigondas.  Purple in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is great with black raspberries, coffee with underlying herbs and earthiness.  Medium bodied.  Tart black cherries on the palate with underlying minerality.  Also spices with a hint of lavender.  Light tannins.  Nice finish.  This is drinking at peak now but should give at least five to seven more years a

A classic Gigondas producer.  A blend of 78% Grenache, 14% Syrah, with the rest made up of Cinsault and Mourvèdre.  Ruby in color (a bit lighter), mostly clear and bright.  Lovely nose with raspberries and bitter cherries.  Some herbs come out with air.  On the palate, a slight cough syrup quality, but very tasty.  The alcohol is a bit noticeable at first but it blows off with some air.  Light tannins.  Cherry, bitter cherry and raspberries over a bit of alcohol and char.  Some herbs and spice mix in as well.  Long finish.  This should improve over the next few years and drink great for ten

Brézème actually sits between the Northern and Southern Rhone Appellations and is the only Cotes-du-Rhone appellation with its own AOC.  This is their white coming from a biodynamically farmed vineyard.  The wine is made in a natural way with little sulfur and from vines planted in 2009.  Golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is interesting as it shows a persistent vanilla streak.  I don't think the wine sees any oak as it aged on its lees in concrete.  There is also a white raisin note and slight citrus (tangerine).  Medium bodied.  On the palate, there is a slight cider/oxidized no

This was not the wine I was expecting as it has a very different profile in 2015.  Much drier and more savory than a typical vintage but still quite good.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose has some lychee but is more about sea air, some pine, and pears.  Slightly viscous.  On the palate, the pears come out with a strong minerality.  There is plenty of depth and tight complexity at the moment.  This will no doubt develop more over time.  It will need another five to seven years to reach peak and should drink well for a decade after that.  It works better with food.  Thai is

There is good news and bad news about this wine.  The good news is that it is one of the least expensive Chateauneuf du Papes in the marketplace.  The bad news is that in reality, there are lots of Cotes du Rhones that are better for less money.  That said, it is certainly a fine wine to drink.  It is a blend of 60% Grenache, 15% Mourvedre, 15% Cinsault, and 10% Syrah.  Deep ruby in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose has tart cherries, cranberries with a bit of pepper.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, the cranberries dominate with a touch of rhubarb.  One dimensional.  Easy drinking. 

What a beautiful wine.  At age 15, this has settled into a nice sweet spot.  Sealed with a screw cap.  Golden in color, but too dark.  The nose is big with dried honey, pears, orange peel and salinity.  Full bodied and slightly viscous.  On the palate, this is slightly sweet.  Delicious with great minerality.  Oranges and honey over minerals.  Still showing youthful with lots of verve.  Long finish.  This should easily go another fifteen to twenty years.  It works great on its own and will work with less sweet or fruit based desserts (especially pears or oranges).  

A dangerous vintage for this wine as they had winery wide issues with cork taint in the late 80's.  This bottle, however, showed very well.  Pop and pour, it took about 30 minutes to really get going.  After that it kept opening in stages for the next couple hours.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  Mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with cassis, leather, a slight horse note and with air, cigar box.  On the palate, this is fresh and drinking well.  Tannins are pretty much resolved.  Layers of fruit and earth unwind in the glass.  Good finish.  I would drink these sooner than later

Very nice showing for this wine.  Pop and pour, it took about 30 minutes to open up and then kept improving over the next couple of hours.  Deep ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with cassis, cigar box, slight funk.  On the palate, this is full bodied.

Great showing for this wine.  I did not find a vintage code that was decipherable on the label so it is unclear what vintages made this bottle (LALBU).  It was excellent.  Medium deep ruby/orange in color, clear and bright.  A thick mousse with lots of tiny bubbles.  On the nose, this is very pretty with raspberries and strawberries.  Those flavors carry thru to the palate with some apple added in along with underlying minerality.  Very lively acidity.  Nice finish.  This wine should be consumed in the next five years or so.  It will work with just about any food from pop corn to BBQ Ribs.