Rasteau Côtes du Rhône Villages 2000 – Domaine Gourt de Mautens – Alc.14%. I have had mixed experiences of this much hyped estate finding its 1998, 1999 jammy and close to cloying and its 2001 drying out; these 2000s were buried under a stack of other bottles and I was not expecting much remembering the comments of David Bueker a couple of years ago. “A dried out husk of a wine. This was a beast when it was released, and it has now answered the question of what would become of it with some age. It's all dried herbs, light funk & brutally drying tannins. There is no balance here & no flavor interest either.”.
Germaine had made a quasi-Moroccan preparation of quails in a sweet sauce of raisins and apricots and, in my desperation for a wine which might not be spoilt, I unearthed this bottle. Luckily it seems to have aged much better than David’s. There was still a lot of sweet, rich fruit with some English malted fruit cake touches and the sweetness of the pairing made the acidity seem quite lively; tannins there were but well covered by the richness. I can imagine that with most pairings this would be cloying like the 98 and 99, but with these sweet quails it worked well and I would give it 16/20.
Cairanne Côtes du Rhône Villages Réserve des Seigneurs 2009 – Domaine de l’Oratoire St.Martin, F&F Alary – Alc.14.5% made from Grenache 60%, Mourvèdre 30% and Syrah 10%, is this estate’s basic Cairanne and has for many year’s been one of my stand-bys. Colour was a vigorous deep red, body was full and richer than in many years with plenty of red and dark fruit, and the usual pepper, spice and leather together with smooth/lively acidity and firm tannins. A dry streak which I noticed running through the wine on a previous bottle was attenuated but not completely absent and a mild jamminess was still there. I prefer the 2010 for its being more lively and less cloying. 15/20+.