Wine Focus September 2022: Grenache!

[David M. Bueker]

Sipping on a 1998 Pegau right now. So good.

1998 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (9/10/2022)
Decided to open my last bottle, and really enjoyed it. Dusty cherry fruit, a little roadside dust and saddle leather - the quintessential Chateauneuf experience. Very easy to drink, as the tannins have mellowed to near invisibility. A compelling wine from first sip to last.

Mrs M often says Grenache is her favourite red variety so I make sure to buy some. We have even more Grenache is blende - new world GSMs and Rhone (and Rhone type) blends. But this week we had a 100% Grenache.

2018 Undurraga Grenache Cauquenes (Chile, Maule Valley)

Pale colour, light fruity (strawberry and black pepper?) flavours. Very gulpable; not really anything more to say about is. A wine for drinking rather than analysing.

Went well with Ratatouille that Mrs M said was the best I'd ever made. It had a secret ingredient.....

[Jenise]

2018 Domaine André Brunel Grenache Vaucluse
Summery ripe notes of strawberries and raspberries, with a little bit of rhubarb grit and peppery spice. Medium bodied and not exceptionally complex, but what it lacks in that department it more than makes up for in cheerfulness. We smiled to the last drop. Nice deal at $18 locally, but I see it's on wine.com for just $14.

[Jenise]

Something I enjoy about these Focus exercises is that I'm prompted to cast about in the cellar for things I've forgotten about. So it was with this wine from a Bernard Magrez property:

2016 Herencia Del Padri Priorat Grenache Blend
Loved this last night. Makes me realize how rarely I truly love a wine vs. just like--but this was true love. And for a $16 wine? Crazy; drinks way above it's price, which may or may not have been discounted. Not sure. 60% Grenache, and 20% each CS and Carignan. A dark garnet-black colored wine dominated by rich earth, black plums and shiitake mushroom flavors that segue into a long finish. The paprika notes that stood out a year ago are pretty much gone. Very sorry that I only have one left.

[David M. Bueker]

Someone actually asked me the other day when I last had a Priorat wine. I honestly could not recall.

[Jenise]

This is the only Priorat I own. They just don't land at my feet and I have no reason to select one over and above anything else. Though, must say, this one makes a compelling argument to reconsider. I've opened five of these over about four year span and each has been at a different stage of evolution and unrecognizable from the last bottle, but each one impressed as way above average. The first was all strawberries and red bell pepper and each subsequent bottle got darker and showed paprika and red chile flavors. Now I'm getting mushrooms. Have no idea what to expect next but I'm confident it will be terrific. Fantastic evolution in a short time frame; everyone should want this wine.

By the way I have a few Washington versions of Priorat, including a Cayuse called La Rata which is very good but also $75 if you could find it which you can't because it's Cayuse.

2016 Domaine Brusset Tradition le Grand Montmirail Gigondas

70% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 10% Mourvèdre, 10% Cinsault

My last bottle of this was corked, so I was excited that this bottle had a beautiful nose right out of the bottle of raspberries, cassis, garrigue, and lavender. Tastes of raspberries, plums, and white pepper on the palate. A lingering acidity through the mid palate along with slightly grippy tannins gave a wonderful texture through the long peppery finish. Very enjoyable to drink!

[David M. Bueker]

I have some Gigondas coming this fall. It’s been too long.

[Jenise]

2016 Domaine Brusset Tradition le Grand Montmirail Gigondas

Good description, I can just taste it. Been a long time since I've had a Brusset, I think '08 might have been the last vintage I bought. Great stuff, though, .

I feel with climate change, Gigondas is going to be a major player and prices will be going up unfortunately.

[David M. Bueker]

I feel with climate change, Gigondas is going to be a major player and prices will be going up unfortunately.

Like what has happened with St. Cosme.

[Jenise]

A few nights ago we wanted wine with a spicy beef curry I made. The overriding flavor was beefy but with underlying currents of sweet coconut, lemon grass and spicy red curry paste. I decided to wander off the usual riesling reservation and serve it with a young, fruity red wine. If I'd had a young Beaujolais on hand I'd have grabbed that, but I didn't so I chose this which turned out to be a fantastic complement for the food:

2018 E. Guigal Gigondas Red Rhone Blend
Juicy and exuberant brambly, peppery dark red fruit. A good, complex pop n' pour that drinks well immediately but will improve with mid-term cellaring.

This is widely available in the $30's even in my neck of the woods and the quality-price ratio compared to most domestic offerings is pretty impressive. It makes me painfully aware of the fact that I have become too accustomed of late to spending $50-75 a bottle for wines that 1) I have to wait for, and 2) that don't please me as much as wines like this do. I definitely need less of those and more Gigondas in my life.

[David M. Bueker]

Interesting pairing!

I had a few bottles of the Guigal Gigondas in bygone days. Might have to revisit.

[Jenise]

It was quite delish. But more than that, and excuse the crazy talk, but I'm findingb there's something endorphin-inducing about young grenache. I've noticed it before in Beaujolais (Steve Edmonds has too, why he calls his pink gamay 'bone jolly'), and I've noticed it this month in the three younger grenaches we've opened. How it works in the chemistry of my brain I have no idea, but it's a happy pill of sorts and I just love that.

We continue to drink quite a lot of French Mediterranean blends which often represent good QPR. I can't find any precise information about this cuvée's varietal blend but the estate's website states they have planted the classical Roussillon red mix of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Carignan. My guess from the taste is that the presence of the last three is quite significant here, but in many places the Roussillon terroirs do contribute more minerality than common in the Rhône valley.

2019 Domaine Pouderoux Côtes du Roussillon Villages Le Petit Dernier - Grains Mêlés - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Roussillon, Côtes du Roussillon Villages (20/09/2022)
This is a pleasing Mediterranean blend from Roussillon which steers well clear of the excessively sweet fruit and even cloying of many similar blends and has enough savoury earthiness, acidity and backbone to stand up to a stew in a tomato based sauce. I will try get more at its present price of c.€10. Good.
Posted from CellarTracker

Thanks Tim. I have had some fine wines from Roussillon over the years.

2017 Las Carlinas Garnacha Campo de Borja.

Good natural cork, $22 Cda, 14.5% alc, cooperative, seen some new oak along the way. Cellared 18 months.
Medium cherry in color, very light rim. Red fruits and baked spice on the nose. Initial entry thought is medium bodied, soft tannins, good fruits here. Nice length in the pleasing finish. "Blackberries and cherries, complex, full-bodied, and well-balanced" from across the table, so some varying thoughts here. Could have drunk earlier but you all know me!!

[Robin Garr]

This won't run in the Wine Advisor until tomorrow, but since the end of the month is coming up on us, I figured I'd post it here today. It's a pretty good Grenache-dominant Southern Rhône named-village red for under $20, with a caveat: My taste buds were still just a little weird at that point in my post-Covid recovery, so my notes are the best I had (with comments from Mary) at that point. I think it's a fair report.

Boutinot 2018 "Les Six" Cairanne ($18.99)

A blend of six (hence the name) traditional Southern Rhône grapes – 50% Grenache Noir and 10% each Mourvèdre, Syrah Carignan, Counise, and Cinsault – shows a dark blackish-purple in the glass with a garnet line at the edge. Ripe raspberry and black pepper aromas, typical of this regional grape blend, lead a ripe red- and black-fruit aroma and flavor that adds mineral notes of clay on the palate. Mouth-filling and sharply acidic, its juicy fruit flavors add firm tannins and a touch of peach-pit bitterness and the warmth that 14.5% alcohol provides. It's a good-quality Southern Rhône red, better suited with food than aperitif service. U.S. importer: Boutinot USA, Sanford, Fla. (Aug. , 2022)

FOOD MATCH: According to the producer, this wine has a natural affinity with herby lamb and would also go well with grilled meats and roasted vegetables. We enjoyed it with a hearty dish of bucatini with meat sauce.

WHEN TO DRINK: It's ready to drink but not intended for long cellaring. The importer suggests enjoying this 2018 vintage through 2024, and that makes sense to me.

VALUE:
It's a competitive value for a currently drinkable quality dry red wine at Wine-Searcher.com’s $19 average U.S. retail.

WEB LINK:
Here's a detailed fact sheet in English from Boutinot Wines.

FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
Check prices and find vendors for Boutinot Cairanne "Les Six" on Wine-Searcher.com.

Follow this Wine-Searcher link to find listings for dozens of other wines from Cairanne.

Learn more about Southern Rhône red blends and find many more wines and vendors at this Wine-Searcher link.