From Delas, this is a sound Côtes du Rhône rouge from the 2017 vintage. It has aromas of berry and spices. The palate is medium bodied with moderate acidity and chalky tannins. Ready to drink now. Rating: Good. Website: http://www.delas.com/en/; wine-searcher.com. Reviewed: June 2020.
Sablet is one of the Côtes du Rhône Villages appellations in the southern Rhône Valley in France. This wine from Domaine de la Roubine is a blend of 70% grenache, 25% syrah and 5% cinsault. It has aromas of stalk, rosemary and a green bouquet garnis character. The palate is full bodied, with medium tannins and rich expression, together with high alcohol (15%) and no edges. Ready to drink now. Rating: Good. Website: http://domainelaroubine.com/en/ledomaine.html. Reviewed: June 2020.
I’ve tasted a couple of vintages now of this entry level syrah from the Cave de Tain and the Collines Rodaniennes IGP in the Rhône Valley, France. The 2016 vintage is reviewed here. The 2018 vintage is also of good quality. It has typical syrah aromas of wet rosemary, spice and bouquet garnis. The Australian equivalent would include cool climate Yarra syrah although this wine has fewer angles. The palate is full bodied, spicy, has soft tannins and a medium length finish. Ready to drink now. Rating: Good. Website: https://www.cavedetain.com/en/. Reviewed: June 2020.
This is an excellent expression of Crozes-Hermitage from Jann Chave in the northern Rhône Valley, one of the region’s stronger producers. It has cedar and spice aromatics. The palate reminds of syrah with its pepper and spice character. Some pastille notes express themselves at intervals. Overall, this is a very good wine that is enjoyable now and can be approached over the next 5 to 8 years. Rating: Very Good. Abv: 12.5. Price: $50s. Website: https://www.yannchave.com/en/our-wine. Reviewed: June 2020.
This is a heady Côtes du Rhône Villages wine. It opens to spicy and peppery aromatics. The palate is full bodied and the length on the finish medium. Spices, rosemary and some raisined, but savoury, fruit emerges with time. Ready to drink now. Rating: Good. Abv: 14.0. Price: $20. Website: http://tardieu-laurent.fr/en/la-maison-2/. Reviewed: May 2020.
This is a very good Saint Joseph syrah from Coursodon and the 2017 vintage. In the glass, there are aromas of baked plums and a distinctive, resonant pepper character. Although ripe, the wine remains medium bodied, finishing with medium to long length and peppery overtones. Ready to drink now and over the next 5 to 8 years. Rating: Very Good. Abv: 14.5%. Website: https://www.domaine-coursodon.com/en/. Reviewed: February 2020.
Cave de Tain is a Rhône Valley cooperative that is well regarded. This syrah is from the IGP appellation of Collines Rhodaniennes indication géographique protegée, north of Valence. It has a restrained aroma of plums and anise. The palate has good balance and expression of sour red fruits. Ready to drink now, this is a good value syrah. Rating: Good. Abv: 13%. Price: $22. Website: https://www.cavedetain.com/fr/. Reviewed: October 2019.
This is a delicious Châteauneuf-du-Pape, a region whose wines I taste infrequently. From the 2015 vintage, the Clefs des Papes has aromas of savoury plums, stones and smoke. The palate has great length and is moreish. This is a great value CNP that is ready to drink now. Rating: Very Good. Abv: 14.5%. Price: $50. Website: n/a.
Here are two sound releases from M. Chapoutier, both from the 2016 vintage. Luberon sits between the southern Rhône valley and Provence, whilst Crozes-Hermitage is in the northern Rhône and quite different in style. The 2016 vintage appears sound in the northern Rhône and a great vintage in the southern Rhône. I find Jancis Robinson’s website useful for vintage reports, although they can be on the tough side. See here www.jancisrobinson.com/learn/vintages.
Luberon Les Incontournables 2016
This is pretty good for $14. A grenache blend, it has fruity aromatics and an intensity that could place this wine as from Australia. There’s sweet fruit, herbs and chocolate by way of aroma. The palate is full bodied, with good length and a hot finish. Rating: Good. Abv: 14%. Price: $14. Website: www.chapoutier.com.
Crozes-Hermitage Les Incontournables 2016
This is quite a lovely Crozes-Hermitage release. Less deeply coloured than the Luberon, it has fragrant aromatics of perfume, roses, florals and apricot. The palate is quite primary with some jammy fruit and approachable tannins. This wine is ready to drink now. Rating: Good. Abv: 13%. Price: $28. Website: www.chapoutier.com.
This is a deeply coloured syrah wine from Xavier Gérard in Saint-Joseph in the northern Rhône valley. One sniff however and it is immediately a vin de terroir with its very distinctive aroma of rosemary and spice. The palate is dry, full bodied and made in a ripe and approachable style with mid weight tannins. Good length on the finish completes the picture. Rating: Good to Very Good. Abv: 13.5%. Price: $70.