GSM Blend/Rhone Blend

This is from the northernmost AOC in the southern Rhone Valley in France.  It is a blend of 65% Grenache and 35% Syrah.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has black cherries and black raspberries with spice and slight floral note.  Full bodied.  Nice balance.  On the palate, lots of deep black cherry fruit.  A bit chunky in a rustic sort of way.  Good finish.  This is a nice value wine that will work well with a pizza or or burger.  Drink over the next few years.  

One of my go value wines.  Just about every vintage in the southern Rhone is good these days, so this is usually good, too.  Certainly 2020 fits right in with prior vintages.  Purple in color with some ruby swirls.  The nose is nice with black cherries, char, spice and slight floral notes.  Medium to full bodied.  Nice texture.  This drinks easily with lots of black cherry fruit and underlying char.  Nice finish.  I suppose it will age for five to seven years, but I usually just drink mine right away.  Nice on its own, this is great with chili, or stew.  

This is a blend of 45% Grenache, 29% Mourvedre, 18% Syrah and 8% Counoise.  15.7% abv.  Just a beautiful wine, albeit a bit young at age 9.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is great with black cherries, black raspberries, black pepper, plums and char.  Full bodied with a lush, rich texture.  On the palate, this is delicious.  Loads of black cherries and black raspberries with some pepper and spice.  Light to medium tannins.  Long finish.  This should drink well for the next twelve to fifteen years.  Great on its own, this will work well with meats or veggies off the grill

This is a blend of 48% Syrah, 21% Mourvedre, 20% Grenache, 10% Petite Sirah, and 1% Roussane from California's Central Coast.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is great with black raspberries, grilled meats, plums, roasted herbs, and char.  Full bodied.  High energy.

One of the top producers in Chateaneuf and one with out a luxury cuvee.  This is a blend of 60% Grenache, 30% Mourvèdre and 10% Syrah.  Served pop and pour, this took about 30 minutes to really open and then drank beautifully.  We shared the bottle with friends while listening to Latin jazz at an outdoor café.

This is a blend  of 75% Grenache, 11% Mourvèdre, 11% Syrah, and  3% Roussanne.  One of the best Grenache wines from California.  This is concentrated and intense, but not over the top.  Deep garnet in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is great with black cherries, spice, game meats and roasted herbs.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, this is delicious.  Black cherries, some black raspberries, roasted herbs  and slight beef notes.  Long finish.  Almost seamless texture.  This is drinking well but will no doubt improve over the next couple of years.  It should drink well for an

This is a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Petite Sirah from various vineyards across California.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, opaque and bright.  The e nose has black cherries, black raspberries and some smoke.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  Nice texture.  On the palate, this is ripe but short of cloying.  It has a balance to it that makes it easy to drink and very tasty.  Black raspberries with underlying char.  Alcohol is noticeable on the finish.  This probably drinks better on its own than with food but would work with a burger.  Drink over the next five years.  

This an attractively packaged Rose from the South of France (Provence).  It is a blend of 40% Grenache, 35% Cinsault, 10% Carignan, 10% Syrah, 3% Mourvèdre, and 2% Rolle (Vermentino).  Pale pink/orange in color, clear and bright.  The nose has slight cranberries, cherries, thyme and slight salinity.  Light to medium bodied.  On the palate, this is refreshing.  Well balance, this drinks easily.  Cranberries and light cherry fruit.  Clean.  Slight bitter cherry notes on the finish.  This is nice on its own and will work well with salmon or tuna.  Drink over the next few years.  

This is a Rose blend of 70% Grenache and 30% Syrah from France.  13% abv.  This is a very tasty wine that represents a nice value.  It is a deep salmon pink/orange color, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with strawberries, slight pomegranate, with a hint of dried herbs.  Slightly oily texture.  On the palate, raspberries with pomegranate.  Clean.  Good acidity.  Nice finish.  This drinks nicely on its own and will work well with lighter foods but also fried chicken.  Drink now.  

An Eric Solomon selection sporting a new label.  This is always an excellent value that is a blend of 50% Garnacha, 30% Merlot, and 20% Syrah.  Garnet in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with black cherries, cherries, spice, roasted herbs and slight black pepper.  Full bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, this is easy drinking and very tasty.  Lots of black cherry fruit with some black raspberries and cherries.  Clean.  Works great on its own and enough acidity to work well with pasta or burgers.  Drink over the next five years.