GSM Blend/Rhone Blend

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

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. 

One of the more humorous labels in the wine world (check it out).  It is a bland of 52% Grenache, 35% Cinsault, and 13% Syrah.  This is much less robust than prior vintages of this wine.  Deep ruby in color.  The nose has cherries, bitter cherries, baking spices and black pepper.  On the palate, this is medium bodied.  Plenty of cherry fruit with underlying char and spice.  Nice finish.  This is drinking well now and should continue for seven to ten years.  It worked well with a curry dish and will work better with food.  

By.Ott is a third line of wines from Domaines Ott, the venerable producer of wines in southern France.  These are a tad less expensive but still on the pricier side of Provence rosé's.  The blend is 60% Grenache, 25% Cinsault, 10% Syrah and 5% Mourvèdre.  Pale pink in color, shimmering bright and clear.  The nose is very pretty with cherries, strawberries, minerals and slight grapefruit.  Light bodied.  Very refreshing.  Easy drinking.  The cherries and citrus carry thru to the palate.  This should be consumed in the next couple of years to enjoy its freshness.  This drinks well on its own

This is 47% Grenache, 28% Mourvedre and 25% Syrah.  It would be tempting to call this a Chateauneuf styled wine, but this is clearly full of California sunshine.  Purple with ruby swirls, opaque and bright.

This is another project from Elaine and Manfred Krankl.  Very impressive wine.   It is a blend of 53% Mourvèdre, 16% Syrah, 14% Grenache, 9% Petit Sirah, 6% Graciano and 2% Viognier.  It comes in a very cool shaped bottle and label, which by the way lists the alcohol at 15.8%.  Inky purple in color.  The nose has black cherries, black raspberries, some char, plums and mint.  What a wonderful texture.  Its is big yet dances on the palate with energy.  Delicious.  The black fruits come thru to the palate but there is an ash quality  that is very interesting too.  A long finish.  This is drink

A tremendous Chateauneuf year in and year out.  This is drinking great right now.  80% Grenache, 10% Mourvedre, 5% Vaccarese and miscellaneous grapes.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose has black cherries, plums, spice/garrique, slight bacon fat and dried flowers.  On the palate, this is just approaching prime.  Lush black cherry fruit with plums and underlying spices and earthiness.  Great texture.  Complex.  Vibrant.  Long finish.  This drinks great on its own and works well with a diverse set of roasted foods.  It should drink well for the next ten to twelve years.  

This is a blend of Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Syrah and Grenache.  The name comes from the period of non-compete after Orin Swift sold the Prisoner Wine label before he could create his own wines.  The wines are, in fact, very similar.  That is to say, they are big, bold and fruity wines that people will mostly love or not.  For me, they are delicious and serve an important reason to drink wines.  Purple in color.  The nose is nice with black cherries, black raspberries, blueberries, slight baking spices and slight chocolate.  Full bodied.  Moderate tannins.  The palate has the same black fru