Sunday, February 1st, 2009
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.
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Tags: 2006, 45, aine, black, blackberry, cherry, Cotes, du, france, fuchsia, game, grenache, jaboulet, parallele, Paul, pepper, purple, red, red wine, Rhone, smoke, Southern, strawberry, Syrah, wine
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Wednesday, January 21st, 2009
91 / A
Tasted by Mike Supple - 14 Jan 2008
Ruby core with a touch of crimson on the rim. Blueberry aromas with blackberry, raspberry and a touch black cherry with sweet violet floral aromas, black pepper, a hint of leather over wet earth. Smooth and dark with very impressive balance for a 2003 (warm vintages raise ripeness levels, often throwing off the balance of fruit and alcohol). Dark rich fruits are backed by a solid core of baker’s chocolate, leather and sweet tobacco. Medium bodied with a medium length finish. Drink now or in the next 4 years. Outstanding wine with steak and fries!
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Tags: 2003, Autard, baker, black, blackberry, blueberry, Chateauneuf, cherry, chocolate, Domaine, earth, floral, france, fruit, leather, Pape, Paul, pepper, raspberry, red wine, Rhone, ruby, Southern, sweet, tobacco, violet
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