A call from Jojo went out last Monday to meet up at The Cage for a late afternoon of tasting some Rhones blind. The Cage is Jojo's personal locker located above his wine shop. It contains 4000 bottles from his personal collection and is temperature controlled to 55 degrees fahrenheit.
Wine A - Slight prune and jam. Quite sweet and ripe but with good acidity, Modern. A little bitter in the finish. Soft tannins and good to go. Clos du Caillou Les Quartz Cotes du Rhone 2007.
Wine B - Slight barnyard. Sweet tobacco nose but the palate is quite dry. Earthy, tannic, very young. Domaine La Garrigue Cotes du Rhone 2005.
Wine C - Sweet, jammy nose. Full, tannic and rich. Quite complex. Coffee and bacon. My favorite in the lineup. Domaine Ste. Anne Les Mourillons Cotes du Rhone 2003.
Wine D - Nice nose but tannic and weak finish. Sweet. Not too interesting. Perrin Vinsobres 2003.
Wine E - Young. Very tannic. Dry and closed. Despite a one hour decanting, still not giving much. Needs major aging or hours in a decanter. Chapoutier Hermitage Le Meal 2002.
And lastly, a bonus bottle.
Torbreck The Factor Shiraz 2002 - Very dark, rich, sweet. A little burnt character. Caramel and coffee. Very long finish. A good wine but no oomph for me.