The Story The Belleruche Rose’ 2016 is a blend of 50% Grenache, 40% Syrah, and 10% Cinsault sourced from vineyards in the Cotes du Rhone region of France. This Rose’ is made by M. Chapoutier Winery, they have been producing wine in the Rhone for over 200 years. One very interesting thing concerning the label,…
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The Delas Cotes du Rhone Saint-Esprit Rouge 2015 is a blend of 60% Syrah and 40% Grenache sourced from vineyards in the Ardèche department near the towns of Saint-Julien and Saint-Alban in the Northern Rhone region of Southern France. Delas Freres is the winery and it was founded 160 years ago and is currently owned by the Champagne House…
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The Valreas Cotes du Rhone Villages Cuvee Prestige 2014 is a $6.49 Trader Joe’s import exclusive, produced by a Co-Op Winery from grapes grown around the village of Valreas. Valreas is known as “the enclave of the Pope“, because in 1317 the Pope stopped by during his travels and enjoyed the local wine. A Co-Op is…
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The 2011 Chapelle-St-Arnoux Cotes-du-Rhone Red is a blend of 70% Grenache, 25% Syrah and 5% Mourvedre, the vineyards used featured vines that where at least 50 years old. This bottle is from the Negociant Eleveur side of Arnoux & Fils, a family owned wine business founded in 1717. A Negociant Eleveur purchases excess wine from existing…
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The 2012 Goats do Roam Red is a blend of 46% Syrah/Shiraz, 23% Grenache, 17% Mourvedre, 11% Cinsault and 3% Durif/Petite Sirah sourced from multiple vineyards in South Africa’s Western Cape wine region. The name, Goats do Roam, is a play on the Cotes du Rhone AOC grape growing area in the Rhone Valley in…
Read MoreThe LePlan Classic Cotes du Rhone Rouge 2010 is a blend of 60% Grenache and 40% Syrah sourced from vineyards in the Southern Rhone Valley. The winery is owned by Dirk Vermeersch an ex-GT race car driver from Belgium. His wines are true to the Rhone Valley, but there are no Domaine this or Chateau…
Read MoreThe 2011 Caves du Fournalet Cotes du Rhone Red is a $5.99 Trader Joe’s import exclusive. Caves du Fournalet is a Negociant-Eleveur with cellars in the Chateauneuf-du-Pape area of the Southern Rhone Valley in France. A Negociant is someone who buys wine from various producers and then sells it under their own label, a Negociant-Eleveur…
Read MoreThe 2009 Paul Jaboulet Parallele 45 Blanc is a White Blend containing 50% Grenache Blanc (one of the main White grapes of the Cotes du Rhone), 20% Marsanne, 20% Viognier and 10% Bourboulenc (a White blending grape from the south of France, gives the wine body and smoky citrus flavors) grown in vineyards in the…
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When tasting a new wine, I always try to go through the standard approach: look at the wine, swirl the wine without ejecting it from your glass, stick your nose in and smell, sip (of course), and hopefully savor the after taste. For this Syrah, I wish I had paid more attention after swirling…
Read MoreThe Domaine Lafond Cotes du Rhone Rouge is a blend of 70% Grenache and 30% Syrah sourced from two vineyards in the Southern Rhone Valley. Since French wines are all about “terroir” (the effects the weather and the soil have on the wine), one vineyard was rocky with clay soil and the other was sandy…
Read MoreThe 2010 Domaine d’Andezon is a blend of 90% Syrah (40+ year old vines) and 10% Grenache (60+ year old vines) sourced from a co-op located south of Chateauneuf du Pape in the Cote du Rhone region in France. This is a wine put together and imported by Eric Solomon. The wine is aged in…
Read MoreThe 2010 Perrin Nature Cotes du Rhone is 95% Grenache and 5% Syrah sourced from a single certified (ECOCERT) organic vineyard located outside the village of Tulette near Domaine de Guarrigon in the Cotes du Rhone AOC of the Rhone Valley, France. A traditionally made wine that is aged in both stainless steel tanks and…
Read MoreThe 2010 Domaine Les Aphillanthes Cote-du-Rhone Rose’ is a blend of 60% Cinsault, 20% Grenache, 15% Counoise (a Rhone red grape used in blends) and 5% Mourvedre sourced from Estate bio-dynamic vineyards in the Southern Rhone Valley in France. A Rose’ is red wine grapes made in a white wine style, the grape skins are…
Read MoreThe Les Trois Couronnes (the 3 Crowns) Cotes-du-Rhone is 80% Grenache and 20% Syrah sourced from sustainably grown grapes in the south of the Rhone Valley, France. This is a negociant wine (the negociant is Cellier des Dauphins), they purchase excess wine from different producers and make their own less expensive bottling out of the…
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