88 / B+
Tasted by Mike Supple - 15 Apr 2008
Very bright in the glass with a thick purple core surrounded by a fuchsia rim. Fleshy and sweet in both the aromas and flavors. Sweet strawberry wraps around black cherry and blackberry with a nice hint of black pepper. The wine is smooth and soft as it enters the mouth bringing a smoky, gamy undertone of flavors to support the fruit.
This is the perfect wine for bacon cheeseburgers. Rhone wines bring a great punch of spice and smoke in to the fruit, and have a lot more structure and balance than Grenache or Shiraz from most New World producers. This wine is a blend of 60% Grenache and 40% Syrah. The Grenache gives it good acidity and fruit-forward nature while the Syrah provides backbone and pepper spice. This is not an overly complex wine, but it’s a fantastic introduction into the blended styles that the Southern Rhone has to offer. The winery, Paul Jaboulet Aine, was recently purchased by a family famous for their Bordeaux (Chateau La Lagune), so look for some changes and even better quality in the upcoming vintages.
