- 2007 Eric Texier Côtes du Rhône-Brézème Vieille Serine Domaine de Pergaud - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône-Brézème (1/3/2022)
This is a wine that evokes memories before I even taste it. The associations of friends (some still here, some gone), acquaintances and casual encounters that have been touched by Texier wines are too numerous to account. We dealt with plastic corks (thankfully for a brief period), different bottlings that looked similar, only to be quite unique, and unpredictable aging curves that opened and closed like the opening of the windmill on the mini-golf course. Ultimately every wine was at the very least interesting, and often (as with this wine) fascinating.
My usual reaction with the Serine bottlings is to say “no, not yet.” Impulse finally got the best of me, one year before the rule of 15 kicked in. It’s still young. As it was on release the wine is largely savory, with fruit being an afterthought behind an umami bomb of soy, roasted meat, and tar. It’s Syrah(Serine) stripped down to its sinews, the underlying form of wine rather than its finery. I wish I had a haunch of venison roasting over wood coals, but the bone chilling January night will have to provide an atmosphere. This is wine for a cabin in the woods, after a successful hunt.
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